A/N: hey guys! finally, i managed to sneak some time in to complete this chapter and upload it. sighs. orientation week(s) at my new school takes up a lot of time. basically this chapter simply occurs at one location. and yes, caroline is being annoying. AGAIN.
anw, hope you guys will like this one! thanks for waiting! review yeah!
Tea peered at him nervously. "Are you sure about this?" she whispered.
Seto squeezed her hand quickly and muttered as he led them towards the doorstep of the Lobo mansion, "Trust me, Tea. Don't be scared."
"What if Seth really hates me?" Tea was still nervous as hell despite her fiancé's reassurance.
"We'll see," Seto murmured as he pressed the doorbell. They waited for a while for the butler to answer the door. Seto gave a curt nod as he strode into the threshold, with Tea clinging on his arm. He stopped at the hallway and looked up at the top of the stairway. He called out in a loud and steady voice, "Seth! It's Daddy!"
"Daddy?" his son's shrill, excited voice floated somewhere from the second floor. Seto heard the thumping of feet on the floor and soon Seth loomed into view. His grin faded when he saw who was with his father and he acknowledged half-heartedly, "Mama Tea?"
Tea flashed him a weak smile as she greeted him, "Hey kiddo."
Seth turned to his father and asked, "How come she's here?"
Seto stared at him warningly. "Seth, don't talk to her like that. She's going to be your new Mummy."
"But I only have one Mummy, and it's not her!" Seth pouted as he retreated up the stairs.
"Seth! Get back here!"
"What's all this commotion about?" Caroline stepped into the picture, placing an arm around her son. When she saw who her son was staring at, her expression turned sour. "Oh, it's you two." She turned to face Tea calmly, "How are you, Tea? I hope Seto hasn't been forcing you to come along with him. He can be very insistent."
Tea opened her mouth to retort, but Seto quickly cut in to answer for her, "Don't worry, Caroline. She came here on her own accord. Plus, she has the rights to come here with me."
"Rights?" Caroline narrowed her eyed at him. "What exactly is this 'rights'? Because she's your girlfriend?" She scoffed. "Seto, I have more rights than her. I'm the mother of your son."
Seto smirked back as he held up Tea's hand with the diamond ring on it. "How about my future wife and Seth's new Mummy?"
Caroline stared at him, shell-shocked. Tea slipped her hand out from Seto's grip as she dropped her gaze to the perfectly polished marble floor. She could feel the blonde drilling holes into her head with her eyes. She felt Seto touch her arm slightly before he moved forward.
"Seth, listen to me," Seto said gently, leaning down to talk to his son gently. "I know you want me and Mummy together. I wish I could fulfill this dream of yours, I really wish I could. But …" He looked away as he swallowed hard. "I know you probably won't understand any of this, but I love Mama Tea, not Mummy Caroline."
Seth cried as he insisted, "But I don't want Mama Tea as my mummy! I want Mummy!"
Seto shook his head as he sought to explain to his son, "Seth, Mummy will still be your Mummy. No one can change that fact. It's just that you're going to have one more. You'll have two Mummy. Don't you like it?"
Seth shook his head more furiously. "No! I don't want Mama Tea! I only want Mummy!"
"Seth, listen to me…"
Caroline pulled her son away from her ex-fiancé and regarded him sharply, "Seto, leave him alone."
Seto glared at her as he shot out a hand to place firmly on his son's shoulder. "What do you mean, leave him alone? He is my son."
"Our son," she reminded, shooting Tea a furtive death glare. "He's my son as much as yours, Seto. And if he doesn't want to listen to you, then so be it." She looked down to her terrified son and said reassuringly, "Seth, go back upstairs. This is between me and Daddy."
Seth said nothing as he scuttled back to his playroom. Once he was out of earshot, Caroline faced to turn Seto and Tea. The latter shuffled her feet uncomfortably. Seto seemed to be resisting the urge to hurl abuses at Caroline.
Tea raised her hand slightly as she mumbled audibly, "I… I'll wait outside, alright, Seto?"
Seto nodded understandingly, but Caroline pranced down the stairs and held a hand up. "No, Tea, don't go," she halted the brunette in a sickly sweet tone. "Why don't the both of you come here and stand together in front of me?"
Exchanging confused looks, Seto and Tea did as told. Tea approached Caroline warily at first, but an assuring nod from her fiancé erased her apprehensiveness. However, no sooner had Seto found his place beside Tea, Caroline delivered a sharp slap to Tea's cheek.
"Carol!" Seto yelled practically at the top of his lungs. He made a move as if to grab the blonde, but Tea's hand on his arm stopped him. He stared at her in shock, as if he could not believe that she was actually preventing him from grabbing her head and smashing it into the wall.
"See, Seto?" Caroline sneered triumphantly. "Your girlfriend doesn't even care. Why are you getting so worked up about it?"
Incensed, Seto gently shoved Tea away and glared at the blonde. "You…" He seethed. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I'll tell you what's wrong with me!" the blonde screamed, shaking her finger wildly at Tea, who was near-tears. "She took you away from me! From Seth!"
"You're crazy, Caroline! You're crazy!" Seto roared, grabbing Tea as he stormed towards the front door. "Things between you and I are over since a long time back! Get that in your head!"
"It's not!" Caroline shrieked. A sob escaped from her lips as she jabbed a finger in the direction of the second floor of the Lobo mansion. "It never will!"
"It is, Caroline! Everything between you and me was over!"
"Then what about Seth, huh?" Caroline shot back. "He's over for you too?"
The two brunettes paused at the doorway. Seto gripped Tea's elbow and pushed her out, "Wait for me in the car."
"What are you up to, Seto?" Tea whispered back fiercely.
Seto gave her a comforting smile as he brushed a tear off her cheek. "Don't worry, I won't be doing a crime." His face grew serious again. "Now go."
XO XO XO XO
Seth hid himself behind one of the huge pots of plants at the top of the stairway. Stealthily, he peeked through the leaves to witness the scene breaking out below. He flinched in fear when he saw his mother hurl a slap to Mama Tea's face. Seth crawled towards the top of the stairway and peered through the balustrades. He just watched with wide eyes as his father came back to where his mother was and grabbed her harshly by the wrist, dragging her towards the living room. Seth hurriedly scuttled down the steps towards where his parents were.
Seth had pushed Caroline towards the couch, where she landed hard. They were deeply engrossed in a heated shouting row to even notice their son staring at them in bewilderment.
The KaibaCorp CEO was beyond furious. "I don't care what the hell is wrong with you, Carol! But don't ever drag my son and my future wife into this! If you're unhappy with me, then just be unhappy with me!"
Caroline pushed herself off the couch and stood to square off with him. Using her slender fingers, she raked her blonde rebonded hair out of her face. The Lobo Industries CEO fumed, "What do you mean, your son? He's my son, Seto! Mine! I have more rights to call him my son as compared to you! Where were you in the first three years of his life, Seto? Where were you? You were nowhere! You even completely refuse to take my calls and hear me out! I gave birth to him alone! I raised him alone! You're lucky I told him all about you. You're not fit to be his father!"
Silence suddenly ensued. At that time, both Seto and Caroline were suddenly aware of Seth's presence in the living room. Despite their fury at each other, the two of them showcased the same reaction when they saw Seth crying silently; Seto and Caroline rushed to either side of the blond boy in a bid to comfort him.
"Seth, honey, what's wrong?" Caroline looked worriedly at her son. Her face indicated that any trace of anger was gone from her.
"Did we scare you?" Seto asked gently.
Seth shook his head as he spoke quietly, "Daddy, why do you hate Mummy so much?"
His father blanched. "I… I … I don't hate her, Seth."
"Then how come you pushed Mummy?" Seth insisted again, peering questioningly at him. "If you love Mummy, then why did you push her?"
Seto heaved a heavy sigh. "Seth, listen to me. Mummy and I can't be together, alright? I want you to understand that."
"But I want Mummy and Daddy together," Seth whined.
"I'm trying to get Daddy to see that, too," Caroline muttered darkly.
Seto shot her a look before turning back to his son. "Listen, Seth. You can't always have everything you want in this world. I know it's tough to accept. But you'll have to accept that." He lowered his voice as he added on, "I learnt it the hard way, Seth. I'm telling you this because I don't want you to end up like me. Do you understand?"
Seth did not make any move to indicate he understood, and Seto sounded out more seriously, "I'm asking you again, Seth. Do you understand?"
Slowly, Seth nodded. But he moved away from his father and went to cling onto Caroline, who wrapped her hands around him protectively. There was no mistaking the blatant disappointment in Seth's features, but he no longer made it known. Seto felt a stab of guilt as he noticed his son's reaction, but he knew he had to do that. Seth was too young to be told the truth right now; this was the only way he could get Seth to lay off trying to pitch him and Caroline back together.
"I think you've upset him enough," Caroline interjected coldly. "And I hope you realize you've hurt me again. Now get out of my property."
Seto patted Seth's head lightly before turning on his heels for the door. Once the door closed behind him, Seth looked up at Caroline sadly, "Why doesn't Daddy say goodbye to me?"
Caroline hugged him tightly as she murmured, "I don't know, honey. I really don't know."
