''You can't avoid Sasuke-kun forever, Kaira.'' Hinata murmured softly, wrapping her fingers around the warm cup before taking a sip of the tea she just prepared. ''You have to talk to him.''

Kaira clenched her jaw, tapping her nails against the wooden table as she tried to picture how she'd even face her fiance. 

She couldn't.

What was Kaira supposed to say, supposed to do? Nothing came to mind. She only felt mixed emotions which confused the hell out of her. If she were to see Sasuke now, she'd just run away again.

Kaira was nowhere near ready to meet up with him.

''I know.'' The Uchiha whispered, staring at her drink. ''But I don't know what I want. I haven't made up my mind yet.''

Hinata put down the cup and looked at Kaira for a few seconds, hesitating about asking a question regarding what she just said, but she decided to do it anyway. ''Are you talking about staying with Sasuke-kun?'' She asked reluctantly.

It was silent for a while, but then Kaira nodded. ''I don't know if I still love him.'' She whimpered, her voice cracking as she dug her nails into her palms. ''My own feelings confuse me. I don't know what I want anymore and if Sasuke is the one I want to continue with.''

Hinata blinked, perplexed. ''The one you want to continue with?" She repeated hesitantly, surprise obviously visible on her face. ''Kaira, is there someone else?''

Kaira covered her face with one of her hands, clenching her jaw even tighter when she felt tears burning in her eyes. She found it hard to talk about, but she could only go to Hinata for this. After all, talking to Yuuji about how she possibly felt about him was impossible for her. She liked him. A lot. But if these were romantic feelings, she didn't know.

Maybe she simply wanted it to be Yuuji. He was such a kind guy, always friendly and reliable. Shunsuke, Kazu and Daichi were all very fond of him too and Yuuji also loved her three sons. Shunsuke probably saw Yuuji as a father-figure. He had never met Sasuke before after all.

In short, Yuuji would be the perfect partner for her, but if they were meant to be, that was the question.

After all these years of friendship, had her feelings developed to something more, or had Yuuji just been some kind of replacement during Sasuke's absence? Kaira absolutely hated it to think of him as a substitution, but she couldn't deny that there was some truth to it.

He was an amazing friend, no doubt about that, but was he more than to Kaira or not?

She had thought about it a lot, especially last night, when she lay next to him. Since Aki's bed was too small for her, Kaira slept next to Yuuji. Neither of them minded. They've been friends for years and it was a double bed.

It had been so long since Kaira slept next to another man and instead of feeling uneasy, his warmth and his presence comforted her. Instead of feeling lonely like usual, she was finally able to enjoy another person's company besides her children's. 

She loved it.

''I'm at a loss.'' Kaira whispered, closing her eyes for a brief moment. ''Just what am I supposed to do?"