"Ashley..." Seto whispered softly. "I do believe I love you."
"Aww, Seto, that's so sweet! Love you too!" She kissed his lips quickly. "Now, let's go. We'll be late!"
She walked off quickly and Seto followed, faithful as a dog to its master, though he was slightly disheartened by her response. He cheered up, though, when he decided that she was just worried about being late.
Later that day, Seto and Ashley were in Zales, looking at jewelry. Ashley quickly picked the most expensive-looking one. "Wow! That's so pretty!"
"Do you want it?"
"No, no, it's too expensive, I couldn't possibly..."
"Nonsense. I love you, Ashley, nothing is too expensive for you."
"But...$867? Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
"Well...okay. If you're sure."
He bought it for her, and she seemed to have no trouble putting it on happily, with no sign of guilt. He looked at her questioningly, but then decided that she was just happy that he would spend so much money on her, and that it was a token of their extreme love for each other.
A few days later, Seto was sitting in his office, when his cell phone rang. Recognizing Ashley's number, he answered the phone happily. "Hey, sweetheart. What's up?"
"Seto, it's over."
"What's over?" He asked, confused.
"Us. You and I. Our relationship." Her voice was cold, with no sign of guilt or regret, no pity.
"B-but...why?"
"Tomuro Chou is richer than you, and he asked me out."
"B-but...I thought you loved me!" Seto could hear the tears in his own voice.
"I loved your money, not you. It was pretty obvious. You were fooling yourself if you thought otherwise. Well...see you!" She said happily, and hung up the phone.
Seto hung up his end, and tears slowly formed in his eyes. He brushed them away impatiently, however, thinking, 'I refuse to cry. I refuse to.'
He grabbed his coat and walked out of his office, headed downtown. Turning off his cell and his pager as he went, the 22-year-old businessman did something her had never done before in his entire life. He walked into a bar, and he got trashed.
He was standing on top of a bar stool, singing country songs, when a girl walked over to him, hands on her hips, and asked, "Seto Kaiba? What the hell are you doing?"