Chapter 28

Secrets

Seto made his way downstairs to the apartment. He had invited Anna over for diner and he wanted to change before she got there. It was nearly an hour before she normally arrived and he thought he had plenty of time. As he entered the apartment he was instantly struck by the noise echoing through the living room. He followed it to see where it was coming from. He thought that surely this was not one of his household staff making this much noise. And if so, he would have to fire them. From a distant it was noise, but as it lead him to the source, he realized it was music. As he got closer to the kitchen he recognized the tune.

"Bowie?"

He slowly opened the kitchen door, and there before him was Anna. She had her back turned to the door so she didn't see him. And he was glad she did or else he would have missed such an entertaining display. She was dancing and swaying her hips, using a spoon as a microphone, and cooking all the while David Bowie's 'Golden Years' played in the background. He leaned in the doorframe with his arms crossed. He couldn't help but smile. He wanted to laugh, but he was afraid that might give away his position. Anna spun around and catching sight of Seto gave out a scream and dropped her microphone.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to sneak up on people!" She tried to hide her embarrassment with fake anger.

"It's my house; I can sneak anywhere I want." He stepped into the kitchen and Anna turned down the music. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm cooking."

"Don't I hire someone to do that?" Seto looked around. "And considering she's not here, I don't think she's going to be employed much longer."

"That person's name is Rose. And she had a family emergency." Anna explained. "Her son broke his leg playing football and she had to go to the hospital. I told her to take off and I'd cook diner. So you can't be angry with her."

"That all depends"

"On what?"

"How good of a cook you are."

"Oh really?" Anna laughed. "Just for that I'm putting laxatives in all your food!"

"Oh good, I was feeling a bit constipated." Seto teased back as he went to the stove to inspect her creations. He stirred a pot full of something milky looking. He was a little afraid of what that might be. "What is this?"

"My laundry." She slapped his hand making him drop the spoon. "Get out of there. No free samples."

Seto stepped away from the stove; he was beginning to doubt her ability to cook. He sat on a stool on the opposite side of the island from her. "What will you be gracing us with tonight?"

"I've got a nice old lady who lives next door to me and she's been teaching me to cook traditional Japanese cuisine, so I thought I'd try that. And for desert I have a special treat. A recipe my mother taught me. It goes back in the family for generations."

"Doesn't everything in your family?"

"That's the way it should be."

Seto watched her as she moved about the kitchen gathering ingredients and mixing them with a certain flare. "You're in a good mood. You must have enjoyed your day away from me."

"As a matter of fact, I did have a good day. I had a great day actually."

"Maybe I should stay away all the time. Then you'll always have fun."

Seto's hidden meaning wasn't so hidden to Anna. She knew he missed her and in a way she missed him too. But she also knew he was getting too close to her, and she had to find a way to let him down gently.

"So what did you do?"

"My boyfriend and I went to Disneyland."

The word 'boyfriend' hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn't believe it, but he expected it also. A woman like her wouldn't stay single for long. He felt a great pit form in the bottom of his stomach, but he tried not to let Anna know about his distress.

"Disneyland? Really? All the way to America?"

"Not America, the one in Tokyo, silly."

The conversation grew stale. Anna wanted to appear busy by stirring the contents of a pot, but she was really waiting for him to say something.

"Go ahead, you know you want to." Anna decided to be the first to break the ice.

"Do what?" Seto's jolly demeanor was gone.

"Ask me about my boyfriend."

"Your private life is none of my concern."

"I've been seeing him since before you and I met." Anna knew she had to be the one to breach the subject.

"So it's serious."

"Yes."

"Then why are you going to Italy?"

"Because I want to."

"He doesn't mind that you're going with me."

"He doesn't rule my life. I make my own decisions."

Seto didn't want to hear anything more about this 'boyfriend' or hers. Instead he had another question for her to answer.

"Why are you here?"

"Because it's not easy or polite to cook in a bathroom."

Under the circumstances he didn't find her very funny. "You know what I mean."

"You want the truth?"

"Do I expect anything less?"

Anna paused. "You let me."

Her answer confused him. "I let you?"

"You tolerate me. I know I'm not easy to get along with all the time. I can drive people crazy. But when I'm around you it's different. You understand me, because we're alike. We're both eccentric millionaires who are just a little nutty. And for once in my life I feel like I belong. If I could pick my family, this is what I would want. I get two brothers, one older, one younger, who I can tease and torment and tell all my deep dark secrets to, and I don't get judged for it. Coming here is like coming home. And it reminds me that I'm not alone."

Anna turned back to the stove and tended the meal she was cooking. Seto knew that was a distraction technique so he wouldn't see the tears swelling in her eyes. She was trying very hard to fight them. Suddenly Seto's pain didn't seem so harsh anymore. This always happened to him. All of his pain would go away the minute he saw her in distress. In his mind, her happiness was more important than his well being. And although it would break his heart, he knew that if she was happy with someone else, then he had to support her.

"You're always welcome here. And whether you know it or not, you are part of our family." Seto said as he stood up and headed for the door. "I'd like to meet your boyfriend, call him and invite him to dinner tonight."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why? Doesn't he eat?"

"The two of you wouldn't get along. You have completely different personalities."

"Even still. I should meet him. I have to make sure he's taking care of you." With that, he left.

Anna didn't know how to take what just happened. She felt that she hurt him by telling him, but she knew it would hurt more if she had delayed. But at least the job was done; now he knew where his boundaries lay. And at the same time she managed to tell him that although they couldn't have an intimate relationship, she still did care for him very much.

Seto went straight to his room. He took off his tie and jacket and threw them forcefully on the bed. He was mad, but the more he thought about the situation the more he blamed himself for not seeing it sooner. There were so many signs. What Mokuba had overheard her say about being 'involved' with someone. Why she never let him get too close. And although he was trying to be subtle, she did reject his advances. And yet, there were so many things that didn't make sense. Anna had said that they had been dating since before he had met her. But from what he knew Anna had only been in Japan a couple of weeks before they met. So she must have known this guy from before she moved here? Perhaps he was an old school mate? Or they met somewhere overseas and kept in touch. And why didn't she want Seto to meet him? Was she afraid that the two men would fight over her? Or that one of them would be so upset by the other's relationship with her that he would leave her? There must be a primary reason she didn't want them to meet. All of this disturbed him greatly. He was so frustrated that he had trouble picking out what clothes to wear. But then the rational side of him took control. In a way she had done him a favor. He was getting too emotional, too distracted by her. With this new revelation he could once again put all of his concentration on the business, like he should have from the beginning. That didn't mean he was going to sever ties with Anna, of course not. He had invested too much time in building their friendship, and besides, she was a valuable business associate. And deep down, he liked her company. And even though he couldn't be her lover, he still needed her. She was right about one thing; the two of them were a matched set. He was lucky enough to find the one other person in the world that understood him, and she him. And that wasn't something he wasn't willing to lose. He wasn't willing to lose anything. He knew exactly what he wanted and he was going to get it by any means necessary.

Anna was pleasantly surprised at how Seto was acting at dinner. He had a good hour to cool off before dinner was ready, and she guessed that did the trick. He wasn't cross or ugly like she thought he would be. Instead he was the same guy he had always been, hilariously sarcastic and devilishly clever. Considering the news, he was taking it quite well. And that began to trouble Anna. She knew he was hiding his true intentions. He either has some secret plan to steal her from Yugi, or worse he rationalized things. And in rationalizing things he convinced himself that relationships were useless and he should avoid them at all costs. And if that was what happened, Anna would have managed to open his heart only to slam it shut and bolt it closed. She hoped that that wasn't the case. He deserved to be happy; it just couldn't be with her.

"Well, did I pass?" Anna inquired about her meal.

"It's really good." Mokuba muttered through a mouth crammed with food.

"Incredible," Said Seto. "You can't even taste the poison."

"That would defeat the purpose. If you could detect the poison, you wouldn't eat it." Anna joked back. "Speaking of poison, I should get the desert."

Mokuba's eyes got big at the mere mention of the word 'desert'. As Anna went into the kitchen he quickly stuffed the remaining contents of his plate into his mouth. He chewed frantically so he would be ready when she came back. Anna re-entered the dining room with a covered dish. She placed it on the table and removed the lid. Mokuba leaped forward to see what delicacy she had made, and instantly he wished he hadn't. What sat before them was a milky colored substance that had the consistency of cheesecake, but not as appealing. Thankfully it didn't have a smell, but the small blackish spots spread throughout the dish made it very unappetizing. Anna ignored the strange looks her dish received and she cut and served them each a big slice. Seto just stared at the thing that was placed in front of him.

"So," Seto was trying to be polite. As polite as he could be with such a strange thing staring back at him. "This is the desert you're mother taught you to make?"

"Uh huh." Anna said as waited for one of them to be brave enough to try it.

"So it must be a Middle Eastern dish?"

"I thought you liked foreign foods?"

"I do." Seto was searching for the right words. "I was just wondering what was in it."

"Believe me, if I told you, you wouldn't want to eat it. But I can tell you that the ingredients are extremely difficult to find in Japan."

That didn't reassure him any. He glanced over at Mokuba. Mokuba was staring at him and his expression was clear as day, 'You go first.' He then glanced at Anna who was smiling wildly. She loved this. That made Seto even more determined to conquer this mountain of goo in front of him. He picked up his fork and dug out a chunk. He didn't hesitate to put it in his mouth and chew. He didn't want to show Anna that he was weak in any way. Mokuba stared at him and waited for him to spit it across the room or pass out or something crazy like that. But he didn't.

After thirty seconds Seto swallowed and spoke, "Surprisingly it is very good. It's sweet."

Mokuba was in shock, Seto liked it! He even freely ate more. That made Mokuba re-examine the material on his plate. He poked at it a little then broke off a tiny piece to taste test. He winced as he let the tiny sample touch his tongue. The sugar hit him and he let out a 'yummy' sound. Immediately he plowed into the substance on his plate, devouring it. Anna took that as a sign he liked it.

"You put honey in this?" Seto remarked. Now that the initial trial was over he turned into a detective and felt compelled to discover her secret ingredients. "And these black things are some kind of berry."

Anna nodded between bites.

"But what gives it this whitish color?" Seto asked.

"Camel milk."

Mokuba stopped dead in his tracks.

"I wasn't aware you could milk a camel." Seto said calmly.

"You can milk a lot of things. But camel milk is the best. It's more nutricous than cow milk, and it's sweeter."

Neither of them were convinced.

"I didn't see you complain about your coffee." Anna said with a smile.

Seto looked at his coffee cup. "What did you do to my coffee?"

"That's not creamer."

He knew she had him trapped. Because earlier he had commented about how good the coffee tasted. He hated and loved when she did things like this. Yet another reason he wasn't going to give her up.

It didn't take long for diner to be cleaned up and everything put away. Seto couldn't remember the last time he cleaned or washed dishes. He thought it was a nice change.

Seto noticed that Anna was packing things and getting ready to leave. "It's late, are you sure you want to go?"

"Sorry, I have to. I've got plans."

Seto wondered what kind of plans she would have so late at night, and now the answer was obvious. She was doing something with 'him'. He held his tongue and bid her good-bye as she left.

Anna was sitting on her couch reading when she heard a light tapping on her door. She sprang up and went to the door. She opened it and Yugi quickly came in.

"What took you so long?" Anna asked.

"I couldn't help it; Yugi didn't fall asleep until a little while ago."

"I'm glad he did." Anna smiled as she took his hand and led him to the couch. "Have a seat; I'm going to get you a surprise."

"Another surprise? Are we going to Disneyland again?" Pharaoh played with her.

Anna went into the kitchen and came back quickly. What only too thirty seconds seemed like an eternity to Pharaoh. He had been anticipating this rendezvous since they made the plans the night before. Anna sat next to him on the couch and presented him with a plate and fork. Pharaoh eyed the milky looking object on the plate. He was assuming it was edible, but he was quite reluctant to try it.

"Take a bite." Anna requested.

Pharaoh shook his head.

"Okay, if you're not hungry." Anna slightly turned her back on him and proceeded to eat some of the desert.

Pharaoh wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her neck. "I'm hungry, but not for food."

Anna turned back toward him. He took the plate from her hand and placed it on the coffee table. He then attacked her lips. His kiss was intoxicating, and the longer it lasted the deeper it became. His hands started roving her body and he trailed kisses down her neck. She knew what he wanted.

"No, we can't." She said as she regretfully pushed him away. "This isn't fair to Yugi. You have to tell him first."

Pharaoh looked at her with those bright violet eyes. And although they spoke volumes to her she knew that those eyes really belonged to Yugi, and he had a right to know.

"Please," Anna begged. "Tell him."

"All right, I'll tell him." Pharaoh said remorsefully. "But not tonight."

Anna smiled at him, "Not tonight."

And they snuggled into each other's arms.