Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

Flashback

...

Tea opened her eyes to the sound of running water. She stretched and sat up, glancing around the room, searching for Seto.

'Was he in the bathroom?' She wondered. She got her answer when the tap stopped and he came out, wearing a towel. She blushed crimson and turned her head away. 'Why am I embrassed?' She thought. 'He is my husband. I am allowed to look at him. Besides, how can I not. He is so hot.' Her eyes widened at the last thought.

"You're awake I see." He said, smiling at her.

"Yeah. Are you going somewhere?" She asked him, judging by the way he grabbed his trench coat and work clothes, and began dressing.

"Yeah. I better start working, or the company will crumble with the morons in charge." He replied.

"Hmm." She managed to say. He was going to work the day after his marriage. People usually took a few days off after their marriage to be with their loved one.' She thought. And then it hit her. 'Loved one. Now I know why he is going.' She thought bitterly.

"Some guests will be here today. You can meet them, but try not to get too friendly." He told her with a hint of caution in his voice.

"I don't know any of them. I can't meet them alone. Why aren't you staying?" She sounded desperate but she was. For some reason, she wanted him to stay with her. He was the only one in the whole family she knew, and she trusted him.

"Mokuba will be with you." He said, ending the discussion. Tea sighed and got out of the bed, ready to get dressed up and meet the guests.

"Hey Tea, Seto. Good morning." Mokuba said cheerfully as the couple descended down the stairs.

"Good morning Mokuba." Seto replied and sat at the dining table.

"So what are you guys planning?" Mokuba asked with a sly smirk.

"Planning? What do you mean?" Tea asked him.

"You know what I mean." He winked at them. Tea only blinked, clearly confused. "I mean your honeymoon." He clarified with a roll of his eyes. "Where are you planning to take her Seto?" Tea stared at Seto from the corner of her eyes to see his reaction, but was disappointed to find none. He just drank his coffee with an expressionless face.

"We will think of that later."

"What? So where are you going now?" Mokuba demanded in a strict tone.

"I am going to Kaiba Corp. Work needs to be done there." Seto replied.

"Seto. You can't go today. Everyone is coming to meet you guys." Mokuba chided, a displeased frown on his face.

"And you'll be able to handle them just fine." He got up, ready to leave, when Mokuba spoke again.

"Use some common sense Seto. Tea probably thinks you don't love her." Tea quickly turned to catch Seto's reaction. His body tensed, stiff as a board.

"It's fine Mokuba." She spoke. "I know your brother has a lot of work to do. I understand."

"But what about—." Mokuba tried to speak but was cut off by Seto.

"She said she is fine with it Mokuba so don't press it any further. Just keep an eye open for those friends of yours." He swiftly turned around and walked out. Tea watched him leave and then turned to Mokuba.

"What did he mean by 'keep an eye open'?"

"He just told me to take care of you in his absence." Mokuba said with a smirk and Tea blushed, flattered, and surprised.

"What can happen to me? They are not cannibals. Besides, they're your friends. They can't be bad."

"They can. Some of them are really nice, but the rest are a different story. I'll explain it later when they come." Tea nodded.

Tea walked down the stairs, wearing a blue tank top and black pants. She wasn't wearing any jewelry, only light makeup. Mokuba was waiting downstairs, with some people. When he spotted her, he smiled at her and motioned her to come join them.

"Hey Tea. You look gorgeous." Mokuba said with a smile.

"Thanks." She smiled back.

"These are my friends. This is Yugi Motou." He pointed to a guy with weird purple, red and black hair with blonde bangs. "He is the Game King, Duel Monsters Champion and owns a gaming store." Mokuba introduced them. Tea raised her eyebrows at his list of accomplishments.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you." Yugi shyly said. Tea smiled and nodded.

"And this is Joey Wheeler. He is also one of the top duelists and owns a showroom with his best friend Tristen Taylor." Mokuba pointed to two guys, one with blonde hair and the other with brown hair.

"It's a pleasure." Tristen said.

"Hi." Joey said.

"Hi. It's really nice to meet you guys." Tea said smiling.

"We didn't get a chance to speak with you at the wedding." Yugi said. "To be honest, we were still in shock. We hadn't expected Kaiba to get married so suddenly, just out of the blue like that."

"Yeah." Tristan said with a laugh. "Part of me showed up just to make sure it was real."

"I still can't believe he is married to a girl like you." Joey said. "I mean, you seem like a smart and sensible girl. Why would you agree to marry Kaiba?" A frown appeared on her features as she answered.

"Only a smart and sensible girl would see that Seto is a very intelligent, caring, and loving person, and would marry him in a heartbeat. But the stupid and ignorant would see fault in him." She replied hotly, highly offended at his comments.

"Joey didn't mean to offend you." Yugi quickly tried to make ammends. "What he meant was that we have known Kaiba for many years. We know he can be cold and impersonal, so we are just surprised and curious as to how he managed to win a girl over so quietly and quickly."

"There is more to a book than it's cover." She replied, not completely satisfied with their attempts at peace. "Seto doesn't treat everyone the same way. How he is portrayed by the media is very different than what he is actually like."

"I guess we'll take your word for it." Tristan said. "God knows Kaiba will never treat us decently."

"Stop exagerrating." Mokuba spoke in his brother's defence. "He treats you just fine. If anyone has the right to complain, it's Joey." The guys chuckled as Joey frowned.

"Yeah. I have the right to complain about moneybags being a jerk to me. Why can't be treat me nicely too?" Joey said, crossing his arms.

"When you look like Tea, Seto will treat you nicely too." Mokuba replied with a wink, and they all shared a laugh. Maybe these guys weren't so bad afterall.

"So, Tea, do you have any interest in business, since you are form a business family?" Yugi asked her, changing the topic.

"Well actually-" They continued talking for a while, occassionally laughing at Joey's and Tristan's jokes.

"Hey Mokuba, where is the food?" Joey asked after an hour of conversation.

"It's in the kitchen." Mokuba rolled his eyes at the predictable question and replied.

"Then what are we doing here? Let's go." Joey said excitedly and marched towards the kitchen.

"We better follow him, before he tries to swallow the whole chicken leg in one bite… again." Yugi sand Tristen followed Joey, leaving Tea and Mokuba behind.

"Well, they are very nice and interesting people." Tea said to Mokuba.

"Yeah. They are the best and the ones I can actually trust. You'll feel that way too once you spend more time with them." Mokuba said with a fond smile.

"Then who are the ones I should watch out for?" She asked, recalling Seto's veiled warnings.

"Here they come." Tea turned around to see two girls walk in, with big smiles on their faces. One had blonde hair and the other had reddish brown hair.

"These girls? Are you serious? The look nice." She said studying them. The blonde haired girl was taller and more curvacious than the other one.

"Look can be deceiving." Mokuba said. The girls approached them.

"Hi Mokuba. It's been a while hasn't it?" The blonde girl said to Mokuba. Tea saw that she had striking purple eyes and model-like features. Her voice, her body, and her posture oozed sexuality.

"Yeah Mai. Hey Serenity. It's good to see you too." He said to the other girl. She was shorter and less curvy than Mai. She had hazel eyes and very petite frame and features.

"Where is Seto?" A frown appeared on Tea's face at her question.

"He is at the office." Mokuba replied casually.

"Really? Is his new wife that bad that he wants to get away from her on the second day of his marriage?" Mai joked and let out a small laugh. Serenity joined her.

"Maybe he went away because he knew you were coming." Tea replied with a coy smile. The girls' laughter stopped immediately. Mokuba smiled.

"Why would you say that?" He asked slyly.

"I have only been in their company for a minute and already I want to get away from them. I can just imagine how he would feel." She replied in a logical tone, and shared a devious smile with Mokuba. The girls sneered at them and walked away.

"You sure handled them. Now I know you are perfect for this family." Mokuba said with a big smile.

"So they're the only ones?" She asked him.

"No. There is one more. Duke devlin. He is the creator and owner of Dungeon Dice Monsters. He is rich, popular, good looking, and a playboy. He is under the impression that he is irressistable, and he tries to charm his way into every skirt he sees, so you should watch yourself around him." Mokuba warned.

"Is that him?" She pointed to a man with black hair tied in a ponytail. He looked familiar. She might have seen him on a magazine cover or poster. She remembered his arrogant smile.

"Yeah. He is the one. Don't get too friendly with him." Mokuba said.

"Hello Mokuba. Long time no see." Duke said extending his hand for Mokuba to shake.

"Hello Duke." Mokuba replied shaking his hand. Duke smiled and turned his attention to Tea.

"And you must be the beautiful Tea Gardner, Kaiba's lovely wife." He shot her a charming smile.

"Hi." Tea said smiling politely.

"You're more beautiful then I imagined. Kaiba is so lucky. I feel jealous." Duke said with an exagerrated sigh. "By the way, where is the lucky bastard?"

"He is at work." Mokuba replied.

"I can't believe he would leave such a beauty behind for work." Duke said, kneeling before Tea and holding her hand. "I want to sincerely apologize for my absence at your wedding. If I had even the slightest idea of what awaited me there, I wouldn't have missed it. Please accept my apology." He said slyly as he kissed Tea's hand. But as soon as the lips had touched there, she quickly withdrew it. He smirked deviously at her and licked his lips. When he had kissed her hand, his tongue had come out and licked the skin. She frowned at his bold and inappropriate action.

"I don't think an apology is going to get you out of this. This is a big mistake which will not go unpunished." She said with a smirk. "I think I'll pull your ears to teach you a lesson." She said and twisted his ear painfully. He yelped in pain.

"I am sure you won't make a mistake like this again." She said with a stern look into his eyes. Duke glared dangerously at her before walking over to Serenity and Mai. His mood changed immediately and he started flirting with them.

"Good job Tea." Mokuba patted her on the back.

"Thanks. He is such a jerk. Why did you invite him?" She was still angry at him. She should have cut his ears off instead of just twisting them.

"He is Seto's business partner. He is friends with the others so I know him as well. He also dated Serenity, Joey's sister."

"Serenity is Joey's sister?" Tea was surprised. Serenity was an ass and Joey was a very nice guy.

"Yeah. And Mai is his girlfriend." Mokuba continued, surprising her even more. "Mai and Serenity are best friends. They are supermodels and like the spotlight. Mai is also a duelist. That's how she met Joey. Serenity and Mai get along fine. Mai has dated many other hot shots including Valon, who is the CEO of Paradias Inc, Kaiba Corp's rival in Europe. Now she is with Joey, but there are rumors that she is secretly dating Valon again."

"Does Joey know it?" Tea asked.

"I think he does. He has heard it but I'm sure Mai made him believe it was a lie. Serenity probably helped her cover it."

"Why would Serenity do that to her brother?" Tea was amazed.

"So Mai would help her when she needs it. Serenity is no angel, even though she acts like it. She has dated many famous people like Mai, including Rex Raptor, Mako Tsunami, and Weevil Underwood. She also dated Tristen, but the relationship didn't last long. Tristen really loved her but she wasn't ready to get into a serious relationship."

"So they broke up? What did Joey say?" Tea was becoming very interested in her new friends. Their lives were like soap operas.

"He was kind of disappointed. He trusted Tristen and I think he wanted it to work out, but it didn't. He didn't force Serenity to give the relationship a try, and later, Tristen got over it as well. Then Serenity set her sights on Seto."

"What?" Tea was shocked and suddenly felt worried. Did they like each other? Had they dated? Did Seto still have any feelings for her?

"Yeah. She tried hard to get his attention but Seto never gave her a second glance. This made Serenity angry. Mai helped her too, but nothing worked on my brother. She then dated Duke, but they broke up recently." Tea only nodded. "Don't worry Tea. My brother loves you and you only." Mokuba said laughing and Tea blushed.

"I am going to go see what Joey is up to. You want to come?" He asked her.

"You go ahead. I'll be there soon." Mokuba nodded and left.

Tea sat there, thinking. Why had she felt threatened when she found out that Serenity had tried to date Seto? She didn't love him. How could she love him? She had only known him for a night, and even then, they hadn't talked. But what he had said and how he had behaved really got to her and she couldn't get him out of her head.

"She isn't beautiful. Not at all. I have seen maids who are better than her." Mai voice shook her out of her thoughts. Tea noticed that the girls had moved closer to her after Mokuba had left. They were still facing each other and talking to each other, but she knew they wanted her to hear what they were saying.

"Yeah. I mean, what was Seto thinking?" Serenity piped in.

"Maybe he wants something from her father's company. I heard he is one of the top businessmen." Mai wondered.

"Yeah. I bet he wants to merge the companies. Once that is done, he will probably kick her to the curb." Serenity said, shooting Tea a nasty smile.

"Of course. He doesn't care about her. If he did, he wouldn't have left today." Mai said.

"This is just a business move. He is used to getting what he want, and he isn't afraid to use any means possible, even a sham marriage and putting up with someone like her for a few weeks."

"Well, she better enjoy these days, because after he is finished, she will be left on the streets." They laughed and Tea turned to face them.

"If you think this is going to scare me, you're wrong." She informed them.

"We are not trying to do anything but warn you." Serenity said with mock convern. "Seto is known as a cold-hearted jerk. Do you actually believe he loves you?"

"He destroyed the very man who brought him up to this level. He crushed his own father for power. What makes you think you won't meet the same fate?" Mai said.

"Let's go Mai. We don't have to explain anything to her. She would rather learn it the hard way." Serenity said. They smirked one last time at her and walked away, snickering.

Tea sighed and fell back on the couch. 'Could they be telling the truth?' She asked herself. Was he really that cold-hearted that he had married her only to use her for his own selfish purposes?

'No. He can't be.' She reasoned with herself. 'He was so nice when we first met and yesterday night too. They were telling a lie.'

'You heard what they said.' Her mind argued. 'It is no different then what everyone else says about him. That's what you thought of him too. The only reason you don't want to believe it is because you fear it might be true.'

She unconsciously hugged herself. She suddenly felt so alone. Sure Mokuba was there, and her new friends were there. But could she really trust them? Maybe they were with Seto as well, all trying to trick her. But they were so nice to her. They all smiled so warmly at her. They couldn't be faking it. But as Shakespeare said, there was no art to find what lay in a man's mind. Everyone wore masks of fake love.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her life was messed and there was nothing she could do about it. Mokuba had told her that Mai and Serenity liked to mess with people's heads. They liked causing pain. But that's what she had heard about Seto as well. Mokuba said that Seto was kind, and he loved her. But Mai and Serenity said he was faking it all. Who could she believe? Who should she believe?

...

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And the line I used of Shakespeare belongs to Shakespeare.