. Sweet . Temptation .
DivineAngel143
. II . Tempted Surprise Pt: 1
A new chapter. Surprising, isnt it?
Teehee, enjoy!
The whole mansion was extremely quiet. The only sounds that could be detected, however faintly, were Mokuba's constant cursing and yelling at the television, and the steady typing that echoed through the halls, being forgotten. Except, of course, during the days when they were scheduled to be cleaned and spot elegant.
Seto Kaiba began typing furiously, his long fingers moving rapidly over the keyboard. He was slightly irritated by the turn of events that had occurred throughout the week and, in particular, the days before. It infuriated him knowing that it had been two weeks straight since that that damn mutt's sister had shown up for work. Despite being far from aggravated and extremely distasteful, he could care less where that she was. For all he knew, she was just like his brother: A mutt who ran from street to street.
Even if the memory of the whole one night stand was a bit dimmed from all the alcohol, the thought made Kaiba want to wither up and abysmally just plain die. He wouldn't mind waking up to see a different woman beside him, but she was a Wheeler for Ra's sake. It was simply unbearable, and almost made him choke. He slapped himself mentally, knowing he shouldn't have hired her as an employee under his name—which probably was now tainted due to the whole verity. But he had been too busy visualising the look on that poor dog's face to even realise the consequences on hiring a low cast Wheeler.
Abruptly, just as he began disgracing himself, Kaiba stopped typing and frowned. Even if that girl did decide not to show up for work, the least she could've have done was come and quit. Or better yet, have him fire her. It would have certainly made him feel a lot better to boot.
He sat back on his armchair and folded his arms across his chest. I wonder if that wretched dog even knows about this little twist of events, he thought distractedly while a smirk slowly spread across his aristocrat features.
"Um, Seto?" A voice came through the intercom, and Kaiba suddenly had every reason to throw the damn thing out.
His smirk turned into a scowl as he frowned in spite of it all. He hated it when people interrupted his thoughts, especially when his thoughts dealt with Joey Wheeler's downfall. He sighed, knowing it was Mokuba. No one ever did call him by his first name besides him.
"What is it?" Kaiba demanded. He was tired and he was exasperated, and the last thing he needed was interruptions.
"There's someone here… who wants to… see you. Should I… bring the person up or uh… send them away?" His whole sentence was full of abrupt stops and it didn't take a clear genius to tell the adolescent was "busy".
"Who's the person?" Kaiba asked.
"They didn't say." Although weary and slightly strained, the poor boy on the other end sounded mournfully bored as the theme song of some activity pursued on the other line and ended with the specific note of 'Game Over'.
Kaiba frowned.
"Um, Seto?"
Kaiba turned his gaze to the intercom and sighed. "Send the person up."
"Okay," Mokuba replied and a beep followed, signifying the conversation's end.
This better be good. Damn impudent visitors. He leaned back slightly on his chair. Now where was I…?
Serenity slowly made her way up the stone cobbled steps that led a conduit to the mansion. She had just finished speaking with Mokuba through the intercom about her current existence and watched as the gates slowly opened up for her, making creaking sounds as they squeaked on their hinges. The sound always made her stomach curl for some reason. She didn't bother telling her name because she wanted to remain unknown, but what difference would that make, precisely? Shrugging and mentally rubbing her already goose bumped arms; she slowly pushed the doorbell and waited.
She didn't know exactly what she was doing here. She figured she could just quit and clear her name off the Kaiba employees' directory.
But what would she do after that? Serenity was so busy thinking she scarcely noticed the door open up for her.
One of the housemaids was revealed and they took the time to smile at seeing Serenity's face.
"Serenity, I'm so pleased you're here," she said, wiping her hands on her fine worn apron. "Are you reporting in for work?"
"It's nice to see you too Linda, but I'm here to quit." Serenity replied cautiously. She had come to love the old woman dearly and would awfully miss her once she resigned completely.
Linda nodded perceptively and made way for Serenity to come in. She was an extraordinary woman; slightly plump with a heart of all-purpose goodness. She was strong and trustworthy, Serenity's first friend since she started, and old enough to be her mother or possibly her grandmother. But besides her old age, she was still remarkably beautiful, with her raven black hair that now held a few silvery strands and her emerald eyes. From what Serenity had come to know, Linda had been working for the Kaibas' even before Seto and Mokuba came into play.
"Master Kaiba is in his office, as usual." Linda said with a wave. "Just like his stepfather… all them Kaibas, they're all the same to me," she muttered, although Serenity heard and couldn't help but smile. Linda glanced at her. "You take care now, you hear? Master Kaiba's been in an awful state lately, muttering and cursing all week. Good heavens, I feel as if I've been the one sinning with all the words he's voicing, and with that young brother of his as well!" And with that said, Linda turned on her heels with a slight smile, and went off to her required duties.
Serenity swallowed visibly as she slowly made her way up the flight of stairs. Her legs felt heavier and if it was possible the air seemed slightly thinned. She felt as nervous as sweat started building on her forehead, and she almost felt faint. Ra help her if she actually did faint. She rehearsed everything she was going to say to him in her mind. But knowing she was about to say those things for real made her feel weak and vulnerable.
She wondered if she was making the right choice in going through the doors right now to quit, just like that. But who was she to make the accurate choice? She'd already made some imprudent ones.
She finally found herself waiting on the other side of the office doors and all she needed to do was knock. Serenity sighed and readied herself, as if she were to perform in worldwide news. Thank Ra she wasn't, she nearly scoffed at the thought. After another round of standing outside the door, nearly biting her head off, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and placed her chin up high in a direct angle, and knocked.
Kaiba began typing again right after the small conversation shared between himself and his brother, and waited for his redundant visitor. Minutes went whisking by and he grew impatient with every ounce of time that was taken from him. Damn it all, he had things to do, and stuff that needed observing to be done as well.
After what seemed like an eternity, he heard a knock on the door. Kaiba merely grunted and ordered whomever it was to come in. He heard the door open and close but he didn't hear the person walking towards him. He sighed as his patience ran thin. He didn't have time for games, nor did he have time to tell the person to come towards him. He looked up, about to tell the person off. But once he saw whom it was, nothing came out. He quirked an eyebrow in minor amusement and thought silently to himself… So the Wheeler has fortitude after all.
Serenity glanced at the floor, chewing on her lower lip. The words that she was about to say disappeared into thin air just when she needed them the most.
Kaiba stopped typing and grimaced. "Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to say something?" he snapped.
Serenity didn't move, nor did she look up. She just stared at a piece of glass on the ground as if it was something particularly interesting.
Kaiba glowered as he stood. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms and said, "Listen Wheeler, I have a lot of things to do right now. If you find that piece of glass more important than the reason why you came here, than I have no choice but to ask you to leave."
Serenity looked up with an expressionless face. Or what she hoped was an expressionless face. It was as if Kaiba's words had gone through one ear and out the other.
Kaiba waited for her to say something, but she remained silent. He was about to throw another ill remark at her, but stopped when he saw her mouth open.
"I quit," she whispered, somehow managing to make the words loud enough to let him hear that she had indeed spoken. She kept fiddling with hem of her clothes, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. It was a habit she had inherited from her mother, and she silently wished she didn't need to do that when she was nervous.
He scoffed at her and turned his head slightly. "Fine, but it doesn't make any difference, does it Wheeler? After all, you haven't been showing up for work for the past two weeks anyway. You do know your pay will be deducted for your absence." He said everything in a sturdy voice. It was like they had rehearsed this conversation before, only this time she was left without a script.
"…What was so important that you couldn't come here two weeks ago to tell me that you quit? And don't give me some lame excuse saying it was because of that night."
Serenity glanced up and only just realised he'd been saying something else. Nevertheless, she didn't need him to repeat his words. "I was busy."
Kaiba unfolded his arms. "Doing what?"
Serenity frowned. "You don't need to know."
"Listen here Wheeler. I have every right to know where my workers have gone to, especially if they are working under my name. Now, I demand to know where you've been." Kaiba said as he started walking up to her.
Serenity didn't move an inch. She folded her arms across her chest in a sign of defiance. Despite her knees almost giving her away, she had the tendency to glower.
"You can't tell me what to do." She frowned slightly, finding the whole exchange of words unnecessary thus far.
"I can do whatever I want, Wheeler." Kaiba said, his tone low and threatening.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Besides, I own you. And I'm not saying that because you worked for me. I'm saying that because I hold a secret of yours that you wouldn't want that dog you call a brother to know." His voice never wavered as he spoke so bluntly. And what was worse was that he actually had the indecency to smirk at her.
Her eyes widened at the mere idea, and she let out a startled gasp. Oh, this egotistical, imprudent, self-centred man!
Kaiba smirk soon turned into a scowl. "Now tell me!"
"Y-you," For the love of Ra and beyond, how she loathed stuttering. Especially when it was from her own mouth.
"I what?"
"You wouldn't believe me." She said as she turned to leave.
Kaiba grabbed her arm. "Try me."
Serenity gulped as she tried to free herself, but his grip only tightened. She soon stopped wriggling, knowing it was no use. She had no choice but to tell him. Besides which, his grip was too strong and she was sure that there would be a bruise. She stood up and straightened herself while staring at the door, deftly ignoring his eyes.
Kaiba smiled sadistically, knowing that he had won this round. He always did.
Serenity still didn't look his way, because apparently, she didn't want to. She sighed and brushed her hair away from her eyes.
"I'm pregnant," she whispered.
Mai tapped her heels impatiently as she waited for Serenity to come out of the Kaiba mansion. It had already been half an hour, and she felt something intense going on in that manor. All she wanted to do was just barge in there and drag Serenity out. Or at least be there to witness the encounter with conspicuous interest. But she knew that this fight was Serenity's, and not hers.
"Thank God," she muttered. She took out her nail file and started filing her nails away, hoping to pass the time faster.
She uttered the words in a vague whisper, but they were definitely loud enough for Kaiba to perceive.
A million undefinable emotions passed through his eyes at the news, but they were gone just as unexpectedly as they had come. Serenity waited for one of Kaiba's typical irrational outbursts. But it never came. All he did was laugh. His manic laughter echoed through the room as his grip on her arm tightened. He suddenly pushed her away as if she had some terrible contagious disease. His laughter continued and he held his stomach through the course of action, as if it were to burst open any moment. He made it to his desk and sat down. Making himself comfortable, he leaned back on his armchair and entwined his fingers. He gazed at Serenity with a certain amount of awkwardness.
Serenity fidgeted, thinking that Japan's youngest CEO had finally cracked. She expected some vituperative outburst from him at the very least, but instead she had only received a laugh. Honestly, a laugh? You would think he would have done something slightly more productive in this kind of situation. She felt defenceless as sweat started forming across her forehead. His laughter made her feel foolish. She wanted to run out of the mansion and out of the discomfort and tension surrounding her.
Kaiba eyed her as he calmed down.
"Please tell me you're joking." He spoke as if everything she recently voiced was some deluded nightmare.
"Of course it's not a joke. You demanded to hear the reason for my absence, and I gave it." She replied before taking another deep breath. She straightened up her posture, trying hard not show any signs of weakness. Well not now anyway. Unfortunately for Serenity, she failed miserably. But it obviously didn't matter, for Kaiba wasn't even looking at her. She ventured to ask the main question in her mind. "So what are we going to do about it?"
Kaiba cast a glance in her direction. "We?" The word seemed to tarnish him and he narrowed his eyes. "You can't possibly say that I'm the father of that… thing." He spat out that last word as if it were poison.
Serenity frowned. "Well of course I'm saying that you're the father. And that 'thing' you just mentioned is our child." It felt unbelievably weird saying that sentence, so she clamped her mouth shut.
"That is not my child." Kaiba said with an undignified dignity, making himself believe those five words. He untwined his fingers and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. "I will not have a child with a Wheeler."
"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you climbed on top of me." She nearly yelled it, and matched Kaiba's pose, folded arms for folded arms.
"Well you should have kept your knees closed, woman." Kaiba said in a harsh, intimidating tone. "I won't accept that child as mine."
"You can't say that!" She was on the brink of crying, but she wouldn't forgive herself if she did so right then.
"I can say whatever I want. And not only have you missed days of work, but you have also come here with this barbaric news. And you have the impertinence to take that tone with me. None of this information can ever leave this room. And you are not to mention anything about how we ended up together, because that is sure to break news in the media. And not only that, but you may never mention anything about me fathering that thing. And in case you didn't guess, this conversation has never happened." He still spoke in his intimidating tone, and stood up from his chair. He walked towards the frigid woman until he was only a few millimetres from her. "Now get out."
Serenity stood there for a while, turning over all the information he had spoken in her head, and frowned slightly. Now she really felt like crying. Never in her whole life had she imagined a big event turning out like this one.
"Fine." She muttered. She kept her eyes downcast and she nearly broke. Glancing around her surroundings, looking for her belongings, she just noticed that she hadn't brought anything with her. She fumed and walked towards the exit. She gripped the handle, about to open the door, but stopped to say one last thing. "You know, I would have thought you would care about this. Since the child is yours I mean. Especially since you lost both of your parents." Her voice was so soft it was almost impossible to hear. With that said and done, she stalked out of the household, leaving some maids and Mokuba standing bewildered in the hall.
Mokuba stared at Serenity's retreating form and glanced back at the closed doors that led to his brother's office room. He had tried to pry on what was all the yelling was about but he couldn't make out what either one had said. Damn doors. He walked in his brother's office, not bothering to knock at all, and closed the door behind him. He met a disoriented looking Kaiba as he moved in.
Kaiba had his head in his hands, and he was looking at the floor.
Mokuba sat down in one of the armchairs opposite where Kaiba sat. "What was all the yelling about?"
Instead of receiving a response, the older Kaiba merely grunted.
"Seto," Mokuba whined. "What was all the yelling about?"
Kaiba looked up and massaged his temples. "Nothing."
"Seto…" Mokuba complained.
"Mokuba." Kaiba replied in a stern voice.
The two Kaiba brothers glared at each other, until the older Kaiba blinked.
Mokuba stood. "Hah, I won. Now tell me what all the yelling was about."
"Fine," Kaiba mumbled. He knew Mokuba wasn't about to drop the subject, and if he didn't tell him today there was surely going to be another time Mokuba would come in prying to know what happened. He cleared his throat. "Serenity's pregnant."
Mokuba just stood there and blinked. "So what? It's not like it's yours."
Kaiba winced and furrowed his eyebrows.
"You mean it is yours!" Mokuba asked with incredulity. "So does this mean I'm an uncle? This is so great I… what's wrong?"
"Mokuba, it's not mine." Kaiba spoke, letting everything sink in.
"But you said…"
"I never did say anything." Kaiba interrupted.
"But…"
"Mokuba, just drop it. The kid is not mine." He gritted his teeth to the point of them nearly cracking.
Mokuba took Kaiba's 'drop it and leave it' tone as a sign and walked out of the office. Grumbling, muttering, or cursing—whatever it was, it was directed at Seto.
Once Mokuba was out, Kaiba slammed his fist on his desk, making a loud sound that echoed through the walls. He held his head in his hands once again, only to hear the constant sound of the clock ticking beside him.
Tick tock
It's her fault, Kaiba thought.
Tick tock
She shouldn't have been in the same room as me anyway.
Tick tock
I wonder what that mutt would say about this.
Tick tock
I knew I shouldn't have hired her.
Tick tock
…Especially since she's a damn Wheeler.
Tick tock
What have I been thinking?
Tick tock
That child is not mine.
Tick tock
I shouldn't even give it a second thought.
Tick tock
Damn, that clock is infuriating.
Tick tock
Kaiba glanced at the clock that had been making his life such a burden for the past few minutes. He took it in his hand, held it for a moment, and then threw it across the room, making it shatter into little electronic pieces.
Mai filed each nail for probably the tenth time. She'd been waiting for Serenity to come out of Kaiba's mansion for almost an hour and it took every reason out of her to keep from just leaving. She leaned against the car, obviously bored. Tempted to just walk in and grab Serenity, she was stopped when she saw Serenity making her way over.
She seemed… like she was… wobbling.
"What took you so long?" Mai asked, placing her nail file away.
"I threw up on the lawn." Serenity replied in a cantankerous tone.
Mai shrugged and opened the car doors for the both of them. The two hopped into the car and Mai started to drive off. Serenity kept quiet throughout the whole journey until Mai broke off the silence.
"So what happened?" Mai asked. Serenity had been in the manor for so long, which meant something had obviously happened. And Mai Valentine wasn't a person to let it all slip.
"I told him I quit." Serenity replied, believing the sentence explained everything.
"And…" Mai prompted, a little exasperated, with a wave with her well manicured hands.
Serenity glanced at her, twirling the strands of her hair the whole time. "And what?" she asked.
"I know that wasn't all, especially since you were in there for almost an hour. Do you have any idea how bored I was? I was actually on the brink on coming in there and handling this pregnancy situation myself."
"I… I told him about the baby." She diverted her gaze and kept it directed outside of the vehicle.
Mai glanced over. "And what did he say?"
"He said it wasn't his." Serenity answered quietly.
"He didn't!" Mai gasped. If this hadn't been a joke some would've believed she gasped a little too dramatically.
Serenity nodded. "He did."
Mai swerved the car around. Serenity looked at Mai, bewildered as to why she had turned.
"What are you doing?" Serenity asked, although she knew full well what her blonde haired friend was arranging.
"You're going to march up to that bastard and demand child support, at the very least." Mai replied, fuming all the while.
"What? No! Mai turn back!" Serenity protested. She'd been there already, and enough words were said to last a lifetime. If more words were to be exchanged between her and Kaiba, it would either kill her in the inside or send her to her next lifeline.
"Serenity, you can't possibly take care of that child alone." Mai said, obviously annoyed and disbelieving.
"But even so, if Kaiba said that the child is not his, then it's not his." Serenity implored. "Mai turn the car around or else I'll throw up."
Mai looked at her and saw that she wasn't kidding. She obeyed and immediately made a U-turn, not wanting her little cherry red 'Echo' ruined.
Serenity sat back and sighed. Mai was right. How was she to support this child? She couldn't even support herself.
She definitely needed a new job and fast. If Kaiba didn't want anything to do with the child she was bearing, then so be it. It was his loss. She glanced back at the older woman and silently wished she had her motives. Despite being only a few years younger, she respected everything Mai did and hoped one day she would be able to conquer her life for once.
It has been two and a half weeks since Kaiba and Serenity's fall out. The two adults haven't heard or seen each other since. Serenity finally made the decision to work for Duke Devlin, and might I add was he 'ever so pleased'. As for Kaiba, nothing was different with him, except for his long hours of anticipation on running Kaiba Corp.
Serenity typed away on the computer. She had finally decided to give Devlin a call, and he hired her as a secretary. By all means, Serenity noted that she didn't know a thing, but Devlin insisted that his old secretary would show her how to handle things. So here she was listening to every rule Ms. Yoshiro had been explaining for the past two weeks. Serenity didn't really understand much, but she was getting the hang of it.
The alarm clock on her desktop beeped, signifying that it was time for her lunch break. She slowly stood up and stretched, earning a slight crack from ligaments and bones that had been scrunched for too long.
Serenity walked out of her office and headed down the building, meeting Mai at the bottom. She was heading to a doctor's appointment, and Mai had agreed to be her transportation. Exactly four and a half weeks had passed, making Serenity a month and a few days pregnant. She still showed no signs of her pregnancy, but she knew it was developing inside of her.
Kaiba continued typing until the grandfather clock chimed on midnight. He couldn't help but think back on the words that Serenity had said two and a half weeks ago.
"You know, I would have thought you would care about this. Since the child is yours I mean. Especially since you lost both of your parents."
He knew she was right with her last statement. But he couldn't care less, except for the fact that he felt as if his stepfather were right next to him, applauding him on his ruthless decision. Kaiba couldn't help but scowl at the man. Gozaburo Kaiba, the last and unwanted man on Kaiba's list. Kaiba knew he would never intentionally be like his stepfather, but at the moment he felt like it. Kaiba glowered at the thought of being like him. Just speaking his name brought back haunted memories of the way he was treated. He could picture it as if it were yesterday, when Gozaburo had walked into the orphanage to adopt Seto Kaiba. He even remembered the time when he had challenged the old man to a game of chess, saying if he defeated him, he would have to adopt Mokuba as well. It had been a foolish thing to do, but to Kaiba's luck, he had won.
Kaiba glanced around the darkened office, almost hearing Gozaburo's laugh echoing throughout the whole mansion. It had been like that since he claimed the child wasn't his. It was like Gozaburo was there, giving Kaiba two thumbs up for denying what he created.
But no, he had made his decision. He wouldn't let that dead old corpse have its way again.
Like it, hate it? It was horrible wasn't it T.T?
. P L E A S E . R E V I E W .
Sweet Temptation copyright © September 03, 2003 by DivineAngel143
Yu-Gi-Oh! copyright © 1996 Kazuki Takahashi
This story, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
