It had been a week since Natalie agreed to marry Seto for the sake of her father. Every news outlet took wind of their engagement and it seemed like it was all they can talk about. Everyone wanted to know what brought about the richest bachelor's engagement to one of his business partner's daughter and what Tenji Harada thought about it. Natalie knew that Seto had leaked their engagement for the purpose of making it seem like they had actually fallen in love and that there was no contract. They were both forbidden to talk about the contract to anyone but the parties involved, but Natalie was given permission to inform her father. Nevertheless, she was determined to not let him know why she was marrying Seto.

Natalie had asked the nurses and doctors attending to her father not to speak about her engagement near him because she wanted to be the one to surprise him with the good news. It was obviously the farthest from the truth, she didn't know how to bring it up or how to make her lie convincing enough to tell him she was marrying Seto out of love and not convenience.

The young heiress stood in front of her fiancé's door, trying to muster up the courage to knock. Despite it being a week since their engagement, she had only seen him once since then. She had mostly dealt with his secretary to get the information on the wedding and to send Seto the details of her plans. Sucking in her breath, she knocked.

"Come in," his commanding and intimidating voice beckoned her.

Opening the double doors she was greeted by a bright smile coming from the younger Kaiba. He quickly ran to her as he spoke her name and wrapped his arms around her waist, his head resting against her stomach. A soft smile appeared on her face as she greeted Mokuba kindly.

"How have you been Mokuba?"

"Great! I'm so excited for the wedding! Can I help you make the guest list?" he chatted animatedly.

Her grin grew wider at the young boy's excitement. She was glad that she was accepted and liked by the younger Kaiba, as Mokuba meant the world to Seto and being on Mokuba's bad side also meant being on Seto's bad side and that was where she did not want to be. She had been worried that Mokuba would be unhappy about their marriage especially knowing the circumstances of their marriage. "Of course! I would certainly need your help."

Mokuba unwrapped his arms around Natalie and went back faithfully to his brother's side. "Seto, you must be so excited! I can't wait until Natalie's part of our family! I've always wanted a sister."

Natalie saw Seto visibly tense up at the mention of Natalie becoming a Kaiba. 'I guess he's not used to the idea either,' she thought.

"Mokuba," Seto said, stopping Mokuba's rambling. "Natalie and I have some stuff to talk about."

Nodding obediently, Mokuba smiled at his brother and then at Seto. "I'll see you later Natalie! See you at home big brother!" he yelled and happily ran out the room.

"I'm glad he's excited," Natalie commented, before sitting down in front of Seto. "It would make one of us," she muttered to herself. "I wanted to know if you would be okay with me inviting Yugi and his friends."

Natalie and Seto were currently attending the same high school, with Natalie being more social of the two; she became quick friends with Yugi and his friends. Despite being good friends with them, she was well aware of Seto's distaste for Yugi and his friends since they had returned from the Duelist Kingdom tournament. It didn't come as a surprise to her either since she knew that Seto wasn't a fan of very many people anyways.

Sighing, Seto shrugged his shoulders carelessly, but she knew that he was annoyed with the idea of Yugi and the "geek squad" being at his wedding, no matter how unreal it was. "Invite whoever you want so long as that mutt Joey behaves himself. Important investors and future partners are going to be there," he warned her sternly.

She nodded obediently and turned her attention to the floor as if it was incredibly interesting. "I-I was wondering if you could join me in telling my father about the engagement. I don't want to tell him about the contract, just that we're two people who want to be married," she explained shyly, with a slight blush on her cheeks. "I know that if we told him about the contract, he would object to it. He doesn't want the same thing that happened to him and my mother to happen to me."

Seto nodded. Even though it was before his time as the new CEO of KaibaCorp, the Harada divorce was huge, not to mention infamous. It had caused such a huge uproar, with Natalie's mother, Helen, cheating on Tenji. The divorce was long and bitter with Tenji losing almost half of his personal fortune to his greedy and conniving wife.

Seto remembered hearing his stepfather talking about it often, muttering how women were useless and that they were just a distraction from achieving ultimate power. Ever since the outcome of Tenji Harada's divorce, Seto had become determined not to let a woman, or anyone for that matter, from coming between h is brother and goals. He was determined not to let this marriage ruin him the way it ruined Tenji, that's why he proposed to Natalie at her most desperate and lowest point. That way she would agree to anything, such as her inheriting nothing from him, should they ever divorce.

"We can go now." Natalie was about to protest when he cut her off. "There's no point in wasting time, there are things that need to get done that require my full attention," he reasoned.

Nodding, Natalie gathered her things.

"Daddy!" Natalie greeted her father cheerily when she entered the hospital room with Seto not far behind her. She instantly went over to him and kissed him on the forehead. "I brought someone with me."

Tenji looked away from his daughter and turned his attention to the figure behind her. His eyes slightly widened when he saw Seto Kaiba standing by the door. "Kaiba-san, it's a pleasure seeing you again, but what brings you here?" he asked politely.

"Natalie and I have something to announce," he answered without wasting time.

Tenji's smile dropped, he knew that that meant. They were going announce something he wasn't going to like. There was a small silence in the room. Natalie was looking at her lap, trying to ignore the burning stare from her father. She knew that what Seto was about to reveal was going to upset him, there was no denying that. Tenji quickly recovered and looked at Seto curiously.

Natalie sucked in her breath when she felt Seto's arm around her waist as she started to burn a thousands suns in embarrassment. "Um, Daddy, we're getting married," she said lowly, hoping that Tenji didn't hear it.

"What?" Tenji roared and looked between his daughter and supposed future son-in-law. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

Natalie was about to speak again when Seto spoke up. "Harada-sama if I may speak to you privately," he requested, his voice not wavering at the wrath of Tenji Harada. His demeanor was calm and collected, no emotion whatsoever was displayed, not even in his eyes.

Taking it as her cue to leave, Natalie quietly slipped out of the room and allowed for the two men to have their conversation. Once out of the room, she sighed, not even realizing that she had held her breath during that tense confrontation. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall. If there was anyone that could convince her father that their impending marriage was real, it would be Seto Kaiba.

Even though Seto didn't use charm or wit to convince someone or get what he wanted, no, he would rather use intimidation and threats, she knew that he could charm anyone. After all, Natalie learned that all good businessmen could charm even the grouchiest of persons to do almost anything.

It didn't take very long, a couple minutes of waiting; Seto stepped outside and beckoned Natalie to enter the room. It was considerably less tense in the room as all eyes were on her as she sat down on the chair in front of her father. "Daddy," she begun.

"Natalie," Tenji interrupted her. "Seto has convinced me that he does love you and truly wishes to marry you. I want to hear it from you."

Looking at Seto, Natalie gave the biggest smile she could muster. "Seto means a lot to me. I love him and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I know that it seems like I'm marrying him out of convenience, but Daddy, I'm telling you the truth when I say that I love him," she lied through her teeth. Her chest was feeling heavy as the guilt was weighing down hard. She lied so well, she almost believed herself.

Nodding, convinced that his daughter truly loved Seto Kaiba, Tenji smiled. "Welcome to the family Seto."

A/N: So I had been meaning to get this out the week after I posted the first chapter, but a lot had been going on with work and everything. Sorry, that I left you guys hanging, it wasn't my intentions. From now on, I will try and update as often as I can since I have more free time as it is my summer vacation. Please review and let me know what you guys think.