--Chapter 10--

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

Serenity Wheeler walked along the streets she had known since she had last been in it. She felt the warm breeze of Paris, France. The Eiffel Tower was up overhead, overlooking the capital of France.

The sight was indeed beautiful, especially while the sun was setting. Serenity admired the view and was thankful that she was in Paris.

A while ago she had received a message from Joey, her brother, asking her why she had suddenly made up her mind to go. But she hadn't replied to him all day. Joey was probably worried about her, but it wasn't his fault, she knew that. But she needed a sanctuary—something that her homeland, Japan, couldn't give. And it was here in Paris.

In Paris, she felt as free as a bird. No one was there to torment her or order her around. The scent of freedom was upon her. But she couldn't help thinking about the people she actually cared about, all of whom were presently in Japan.

One of them was Joey. It was self-explainable; her brother was one of the people dearest to her, since he took care of her and was always concerned about her. She appreciated that a lot.

The second was Tea, who had helped her with her date. She was especially grateful, since she was also Joey's friend and one of her own friends.

The third was Yugi and his friends, since they were also good friends to Joey.

Fourth came Mokuba, who was a caring friend at heart. She had also appreciated what he had done for her.

And the fifth one…

She couldn't bear to even think of his name, after he had actually betrayed her. No, she refused to accept the fact that she had cared about him.

Serenity sighed. It just wasn't in her attitude to forget how people treated her. She thought about that a lot, which was why she believed in the quote: "Don't do unto others what you don't want to be done to you."

She had indeed forgiven Kaiba, but was too proud to admit it to him. But how could she help but not forgive him? He was in her heart. Those days meant a lot to her, even if it wasn't a long time. It still meant a big part of her life. She wandered aimlessly to the hotel she was staying in.

"Ms. Wheeler? A Mr. Don Pierre here to see you." announced one of the hotel employees.

A tall, stocky man of about 21 entered the room and caught sight of the pretty girl who stood up to greet him. "Ah, Serenity! What brings you here to Paris once more? I thought you had gone to Japan for good?" the man said, holding out his arms to Serenity, who ran towards him and put her arms around him.

"Don! I'm so happy you're here." She told him. Then she pulled away from the friendly embrace. "I'm not going to live in Japan anymore. My heart belongs to Paris, Don." She told her friend.

"Ah, a likely excuse, Serenity," Don said mischievously. "I think there is a very different reason."

Serenity laughed. "You're right, Don… but sit down first and I'll tell you everything."

In a few minutes, she explained all that had happened in Japan, not exempting the parts about Seto Kaiba. She trusted Don Pierre. He was her best friend when they came to know each other in Paris. Until now they were pretty much inseparable. Though she knew she would never become more than friends with Don.

"So, Serenity, you're saying that you have feelings for this Seto Kaiba," Don said slowly. He thought deeply.

"Yes. Though I don't know why he doesn't want me in his life. That's the true reason why I came back to Paris."

"But, Serenity, you shouldn't use Paris as your escape hatch. It may be home for you, but you are using it to hide." Don told her. And Serenity thought that this was indeed true. She was afraid of facing Kaiba and telling her that she loved him.

"But… girls just don't do that. They just don't tell a guy that they love him, because the person may not like you back." Serenity argued.

"I know that. But haven't you ever thought about this? How does a boy know if a girl is indeed in love with him? We don't know that too, for sure. All we see is through your actions." Don waited for the words' meaning to sink in his friend. "When I met Sherri, I was not sure if she liked me or not. But we ended up in marriage, until now." He explained to her.

Serenity sighed. "Thanks for the advice, Don, but I really don't know what to do. If I go back to Japan, the thought of him would just torment me. And I don't want that. What's more, he doesn't know my feelings for him. All I told him was that I was hurt when he asked me to leave him." A tear escaped from her eye. "You don't know how that feels like, Don. It was like my heart cracked into two large pieces. I'm not sure if time could heal this wound." She confided in him.

Don put his arm around his best friend. "Now, now, Serenity," he started, "I do know how that feels like. I am in love myself. All you need to do is to be brave. You can go back to Japan and tell this Seto Kaiba that he is special to you. But not directly, of course. But let him see it in your eyes." Don wiped the tear away from her face.

But Serenity didn't have time to reply, because in the doorway stood the person she dreaded most.

"Can I please have some time alone with Serenity, monsieur?" the tall CEO asked of Don Pierre in his calmest voice. Once Don had exited, Serenity stared at the person she loved.

"Serenity." He breathed, coming closer to her.

"Seto… what are you doing here?"

"I—this is not a business trip… I came here to see you. I just want to say… I'm sorry for hurting you. I know I shouldn't have… but…" Seto explained everything to Serenity, most especially about Operation TBAG (Operation-take-brother-away-from-girl).

When he finished, Serenity was speechless. "Serenity, I give you the right to slap me right now. I've been such a jerk." Kaiba told her, lifting his gaze from the beautiful girl and looking at the floor.

Serenity stood up and came towards him, and to his surprise she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "It's okay, Seto. I forgive you for everything." She pulled back and tears were streaming freely down her cheeks.

"Don't cry, Serenity… I—I love you…" Seto was surprised that he got the words out. He wiped her tears away gently. Without warning he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her towards him, giving her a long kiss.

The sparks were there—the electricity and love was present too. And Seto Kaiba felt truly content when he heard the words that Serenity Wheeler had murmured. And those words were "I love you too."

And here ends a story of a rich, powerful man who had a sudden change of heart into a man who knew how to love, thanks to the girl he had fallen in love with—the girl who truly changed his feelings towards everything, and who taught him how to love.

The End…

A/N: Here ends the story, "Change of heart". I finished it at last! Although the ending sounds really… short. I'm not good at love scenes. Oh well! I guess I'll learn. Please review:) All kinds of reviews accepted.