It All Comes Out
Kaiba tapped his foot impatiently and glared at Yugi's equally frustrated expression. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "You have the floor, Mutou," he said with a flourish of his hands.
"Kaiba-kun, I'd prefer not to talk about this at work after you've already scolded me for my "unprofessional behavior" when I asked for reduced hours." Yugi explained, crossing his arms defensively.
Kaiba clicked his tongue in anger. "You've been blowing Atem off, all of you have. Ever since the housewarming party you've wanted nothing to do with him. He's tried to reach out to each of you so, the least you could do is answer him," he retorted, feeling a headache forming in the back of his head.
He knew this had something to do with how everyone feels about Salem and he was sick of it. Salem had saved everyone and never got a "thank you". Yet, she's still the villain in their eyes.
It was getting old.
"I love being around Atem, even if we can't communicate like we used to, he's still the only person who's ever understood me. It has nothing to do with him." Yugi said, calming down slightly.
"Okay then, what's the problem? Te'a and Salem see each other more than you and Atem, now that they're friends. Does the rest of your friend group need a life lesson with Salem to want to be around her?" Kaiba barked, losing his patience.
Yugi scoffed and shook his head. "You really don't understand, do you Kaiba-kun? It's not Salem or Atem that we don't want to be around," he started, tucking a blonde strand of hair behind his ear, "It's you."
Kaiba blinked in confusion and gazed at Yugi seriously. "So, you all suddenly have an issue with the person who writes your checks?" He said, not wanting to show that his feelings were slightly hurt.
He had been going to therapy for the last few months and for the first time, he felt like he was making progress. He didn't feel like it was fair for Yugi's group of friends to hold grudges for things that they claimed to forgive him for years ago.
Yugi let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kaiba-kun. It's not sudden. You know what today is, right?" He asked slowly, not sure how to phrase his next thoughts.
Kaiba rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's Halloween. And, you and your friends were invited to our home for a small get together. You told me via email, that none of you would be attending."
"Because, it would be incredibly insensitive! Kaiba-kun, does Salem not talk to you at all? Or, is it just that you don't listen or even ask her what she thinks?" Yugi retorted, sick of Kaiba's obtuse attitude.
"What are you talking about?" Kaiba asked, legitimately confused.
Yugi's mouth was agape. "Wow. Just, wow," he shook his head and stood, "If Salem sends a message in the group chat saying we're welcome, then we'd love to come celebrate with you, but I think you should talk to her and see how she really feels before you manipulate her into doing what you and Atem want," he spat, storming out of the office and slamming the door behind him.
Kaiba raised his hands in defeat and let them fall against his desk. "What the actual fuck?"
Atem hummed as he placed tiny ceramic pumpkins in random places throughout the lower level of the estate. This was going to be his first real halloween. The two years that he and Kaiba had spent without Salem, were not celebration years. No Halloween, no Christmas, and not even New Years. Kaiba was always working.
This year was different. He was excited that he would finally get to celebrate the holiday season like a normal person now that the three of them were engaged.
After he finished placing the mini pumpkins, he skipped to Salem's office, wanting to put some Fall scented candles in her work space. He knocked on the door three times, his heart fluttering when he heard her melodious voice. "Come in, Pharaoh," she murmured.
He stepped into the office, shutting the door behind him lightly as Salem was still working. He kept humming, enjoying the pleasant sound of her typing away at her computer. Atem sighed happily as he lit the pumpkin spice scented candle, loving the smell of Autumn.
"Atem, habibi, what's you got so giddy?" Salem asked with a laugh, standing up and stretching.
Atem trapsed over to his fiancee' and wrapped his arms around her hips, planting a passionate kiss on her soft lips. "I'm excited for our cosplay and to have a good time with our friends tonight!" He exclaimed, pulling Salem close and nipping at her lower lip.
He blinked in confusion when Salem pushed him away and silently returned to her desk. He walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders and massaged them gently. "What's wrong, Shibo?"
Salem sighed and shook her head. "You said you wouldn't call me that," she said glumly, not taking her eyes off of the screen.
Atem kneeled next to Salem and turned her chair so that she was facing him. "Come on, Salem. What's wrong?" He asked, running his hands up Salem's smooth thighs, licking his lips seductively.
Salem moved Atem's hands and turned her chair around. "It's amazing how easy you and Seto forget," she said in a low voice, plugging in a pair of headphones, slipping them over her ears.
Atem rolled his eyes and stood up. "We were having a good day. Why are you being like this?"
Salem pulled the headphones off and looked at Atem. "No, Atem. You were having a good day. And, you're going to continue to have a good day, regardless of how I feel so why don't you go do that so I can get some work done," she spat, shooing Atem away and putting her headphones back on.
"Fine!" Atem yelled, storming out of the room and leaving the door open behind him. He took out his phone and tapped on Kaiba's contact info, waiting patiently for his fiance' to pick up.
"I was just about to call you." Kaiba said with a small laugh on the other end of the line.
"Salem was super rude to me just now. She was fine one minute, and then she wasn't the next." Atem explained, getting right to the point as he walked back into the kitchen.
"Isn't she in the middle of her work day right now? I'm shocked she even let you in her office." Kaiba responded, wondering how he was going to break the news of the cancelled party to Atem.
"I went in to put some candles around the room and she asked me what I was so excited about. She got mad when I mentioned the party tonight." Atem explained, sitting at the kitchen island, "Speaking of, I haven't gotten any RSVP's, did you talk to Yugi?" He asked, none the wiser to the situation.
"About that…" Kaiba trailed off, going on to explain his conversation with Yugi earlier that day.
Atem shook his head in disappointment. "I don't really understand why it's up to Salem when you're apparently the problem," he tried his best to understand why his friends did what they did, but it made no sense.
"I hate to ask this of you, Atem. But, will you talk to Te'a? Maybe Salem mentioned something to her?" Kaiba asked, knowing it would be a hard no on Atem's part.
"Absolutely not. If Salem has something to say, she should communicate that with you and me. That's only fair." Atem grumbled, becoming more frustrated with his curly haired fiancee'.
Kaiba sighed and blinked the exhaustion from his eyes. "You do what you need to, Atem. I have to get back to work. I'll see you tonight."
"Fine. Bye." Atem hung up and pocketed his phone with renewed determination. He was about to head back to Salem's office when Isono walked into the kitchen.
Isono reluctantly bowed and then straightened himself up. "Sorry to bother you, Master Atem, but I was wondering why you wanted me to restock the wine fridge and put out trays of finger foods?" He asked, trying to mask his complete hatred for the crimson-eyed man in front of him.
Atem crossed his arms and smirked at Isono. "Really? I know you're getting old but there's no way you forgot about the party tonight," he teased, nodding to Anansi when the young wavy haired bodyguard appeared next to Isono.
Isono narrowed his eyes and set his lips in a tight smile. "A party on Halloween? Did Her Excellency approve of this? It seems a bit insensitive," he questioned, trying not to outright say what was on his mind.
Atem furrowed his brow, frustrated. "You too?! Why is everyone saying that?"
Anansi gazed at Isono and then at Atem. "To speak frankly, I don't understand why it would be insensitive. Did something happen?" He asked, hoping there was a reason why Salem had been locked away all day. She hadn't even left her office to eat.
Isono sighed and cleared his throat. "That's right. I had forgotten that Jackson was Salem's right hand at that time. You don't know what happened," he reminisced sadly.
Atem thought back to when he still lived in Salem's house. If something happened while Jackson was in charge, Atem would have been the first person to know. He raked his memory, barely recalling Salem having any particular feelings about Halloween.
Isono cocked his head to one side. "Master Atem, you can't be serious. Jackson told me you were very protective of Wolf-san after her… altercation with Kaiba-sama," he danced around the word he really wanted to say. He couldn't be too careful with Anansi listening.
"Altercation? Did Mr. Kaiba hurt Lady Sala?" Anansi asked, his body tensing and his fists clenching.
Atem gasped, kicking himself over and over again in his mind. How could he forget that?! "Yes," he started, staring at Anansi seriously, "Seto did hurt Salem on Halloween very, very badly… I need to, um— excuse me," he ran out of the kitchen and to Salem's office, realizing the door was still open.
Salem jumped when Atem bulldozed his way into the room. In fact, she jumped directly out of her chair, causing her monitor to topple over due to her headphones still being plugged in and on her head.
"Atem, what the shit?! You can't run up on me like that!" She shouted, yanking the headphones off.
Atem raised his hands in defense. "I know, I know, I"m sorry. Salem, oh, Gods, I'm so sorry," he sobbed, falling to his knees.
Salem kneeled next to Atem, concerned. "Oh, um, I didn't know that would hurt your feelings, habibi. You just really scared me," she explained, rubbing a soothing hand over Atem's back.
Atem shook his head from side to side. "That's not what I'm upset about. Oh, Gods, Salem I didn't even ask you how you felt. I just planned a party and invited everyone and expected you to be fine," he hiccuped, feeling Salem pull away slightly.
"Ah. So, you remembered," was all she said before bringing Atem to his feet, "don't cry on your knees like that, Anansi will think I'm torturing you." Salem finished, going to fix her monitor.
Atem gazed at Salem in confusion. "That's all you have to say?" He asked, completely appalled by Salem's reaction.
Salem shrugged and returned Atem's expression. "I've said all I needed about the situation. I shouldn't have to remind my fiance's about my rape," she stated plainly.
Atem flinched at the use of the word. He couldn't be mad. That's what Kaiba did to her after all. Atem knew that just because Salem forgave Kaiba, it didn't mean that the trauma would go away.
"You're right and I'm sorry. I want to make this right. We should cancel the party." Atem said, wanting to find a solution.
Salem raised an eyebrow. "How does cancelling a party fix this? The point is that you and Seto should have known to ask me how I feel first, mish kida?" She said, unplugging the headphones and taking her seat at her desk.
Atem twirled a dreadlock in his finger and sighed. "So you're saying that the damage is done."
"More or less. Have your party, if you want, habibi. It doesn't matter what I think." Salem said, her normally vibrant voice was emotionless.
"It does though! Our friends won't come unless they know that you're okay with the party." Atem explained, kneeling in front of her chair once more.
Salem sighed and gazed at Atem. "I know how much you want to celebrate with everyone, Atem. But, you're a budding therapist so you know that I would most likely get triggered being at a party in a costume with both Kaiba brothers present," she explained, caressing Atem's cheek with her thumb, "the memory is still too painful," she murmured sadly.
Atem nodded and kissed the palm of Salem's hand. "I understand, Salem," he responded confidently. "That settles it then. The party is off."
Kaiba slipped off his shoes as he called out to Atem and Salem. He had expected both of them to be in costume, greeting him as he walked through the door. But, both Salem and Atem were absent.
He walked into the kitchen to see Atem enjoying a hard cider by himself. "Um, Hi. Where is everyone?" Kaiba asked, walking up to Atem and greeting him with a kiss.
Atem smiled up at Kaiba and took another sip of his cider. "I called the party off. Salem wasn't really into it so it'll be a quiet night in, if that's okay with you," he explained softly.
Kaiba blinked in disbelief. "I'm always fine with keeping to ourselves, Atem. But you, you were so excited," he answered lowly, playing with one of Atem's dreads.
Atem shrugged and gazed down at the glass mug in his hand. "It was more important for me to do what Salem was comfortable with," he said with a small smile.
Kaiba tilted his head, trying to get a read on Atem's actual feelings. After not being able to decipher Atem's attitude, he gave up. "Well, fine. But, could you work your charm on Anansi, he's been glaring daggers at me since he picked me up from work," he mentioned, ignoring Atem's chuckle as he left the kitchen.
He didn't normally like parities, but Kaiba was appalled that Salem would make Atem cancel something he was so excited for. He had fully intended to give Salem a piece of his mind as he trudged up the stairs, stopping in front of the master suite when he noticed Isono standing outside the closed door.
Isono bowed formally. "Welcome home, Kaiba-sama. I must speak with you before you talk to Her Excellency—"
"Isono, I've had a long day and I came home to find Atem moping in the kitchen. Whatever you have to talk to me about can wait." Kaiba said, trying to brush past Isono to get into his bedroom.
Isono blocked the door with his body. "I'm not moving, Kaiba-sama. I can't let you be alone with her right now. Not while you're upset and not while she's vulnerable."
"Holy fucking shit. Did everyone take the same crazy pill today? Isono, this is my house and you are my employee. Move. Aside." Kaiba demanded, beginning to lose his temper.
Isono sighed and gazed at Kaiba, determined. "Sir, what do you remember about the party you threw at the previous mansion? The one you attended with Wolf-san," he asked carefully, knowing he was playing with fire.
Kaiba shook his head and waved his hand lightly. "I don't know that was years ago," he said, barely trying to recall.
"Sir. What was Wolf-sama dressed as, do you remember? That was the last party she attended at the Kaiba Mansion before Atem moved in." Isono pried. The information had to be in Kaiba's brain somewhere.
Kaiba growled and tried to remember. "Um, oh," it was coming back to him, "that's right. She was Blue Eyes. And, she was being forced to attend the party even though I had already broken up with her…"
Isono put a hand on Kaiba's shoulder and led him away from the door. "And, what else did you force her into?" He asked in a hushed voice.
Kaiba's heart sank as the memory came back in full force. He remembered her face, her cries, her voice. Everything. He understood what Yugi meant.
In that moment, he fully accepted that he was indeed the problem. He had hurt everyone around him thinking that if he gave them a career, a home, or even companionship, it would undo all of the horrible things he's done.
But, he knew all too well that trauma doesn't work that way. He knew that there could have been a day when Gozaburo became an amazing father and never hurt him again but that wouldn't mean that the pain wouldn't still be there.
Isono let go of Kaiba's shoulder. "It seems to me, you remember," he said, backing away.
Kaiba nodded slowly, turning to face Isono. "Please contact Yugi and the rest of Atem's friends. It's time we said what needs to be said."
Atem looked around nervously at Yugi, Te'a, Joey, Mokuba, and Rebecca. Kaiba told him what he planned to do and he didn't know how to react. Atem would support Kaiba in any way he could, but this was going to be a tough conversation.
He cleared his throat and smiled at Rebecca. "I'm happy you both were in town for the party. I'm sorry we're not having it," he said politely, knowing that Rebecca didn't know what her husband aided in three years ago.
Rebecca smiled back and shrugged. "We still get to see you, so it's fine," she chirped, interlacing her hand in Mokuba's.
Joey yawned and gazed at Atem. "We ain't partying so what's with the message moneybags sent us?" He asked, reading the room.
"I can answer that." Kaiba said, walking into the lounge and sitting next to Atem.
"Kaiba-kun, what's this about?" Yugi asked, wondering why Salem hadn't joined them yet.
Kaiba cleared his throat nervously. He was going to tell the truth. "Well, as you all know we were going to have a Halloween party tonight," he started, feeling Atem's hand on his thigh.
Thank the Gods for Atem. The ex-king knew just how to calm Kaiba's nerves.
"Yeah, I was looking forward to it." Mokuba stated casually, wrapping his arm around his wife.
Kaiba took a deep breath and continued. "I spoke to Salem before coming down here. The situation is delicate, I wasn't really sure how to proceed," he grabbed Atem's hand and squeezed it tightly, "I'm not the best at asking people what they need but I like to think I have at least a shred of common sense…"
"Keep thinkin' that, bud." Joey interrupted with a laugh.
Normally that would set Kaiba off, but right now, he appreciated Atem's friend's being the people that they were. He hoped they'd continue to be so kind after he confessed. He knew that Mokuba, Te'a and Yugi were aware of what happened, but Joey and Rebecca are still in the dark.
"I've been with Salem for longer than I've been with anyone and I—" he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding, "I'm going to say something that I've never said out loud and I deserve whatever comments, insults, or fists you want to throw my way," he cleared his throat again.
"Jeez, Kaiba what'd you kill someone?" Joey asked, half joking.
Kaiba held his head up and spoke clearly. "Three years ago at the Halloween party I threw at the Kaiba mansion, Mokuba and I extorted Salem. I specifically used the power imbalance to force her to sleep with me, even though I ended the relationship a few weeks prior. I was not gentle. In fact, she was rushed to the hospital where the doctors found that her cervix was ruptured and she needed emergency surgery. It took her a month to recover," he explained, his own words tearing his heart apart.
Mokuba gave his wife a panicked expression when she stood up in disbelief. "What?!" Rebecca and Joey said in unison.
Yugi and Te'a hung their heads in shame. It wasn't their story to tell, so they stayed silent. But, they ended up being complicit in that silence. It helped no one but Kaiba.
Joey lunged at Kaiba and held him roughly by the collar of his shirt. "What exactly are you saying, Kaiba?" He couldn't believe it, he wouldn't believe it. There's no way Salem would forgive Kaiba for something like that.
Kaiba looked Joey in his hate-filled brown eyes and said, "I raped Salem three years ago on this day."
Joey was frozen. He wanted to hurt Kaiba, he wanted to kill Kaiba. But, instead, released the grip on Kaiba's shirt and backed away. "A punch in the face is too good for you," he said, plopping back down on the plush couch.
"How did you extort Salem?" Rebecca asked harshly, "that's got you written all over it, Mokuba," she growled angrily.
Mokuba sighed and looked at everyone. "I bought up enough shares of her company to destroy it if I felt like it and told her if she wasn't a model "girlfriend" during the interviews or the party, I would ruin her livelihood," he explained clearly.
Rebecca had tears running down her face. "How could you? I've turned a blind eye to racketeering, to insider trading, but this? You've outdone yourself, Mokuba Kaiba," she said, sniffling and hiccuping.
Kaiba's attention turned to Mokuba in an instant. "Mokuba, I knew about the extortion but what Rebecca just said is news to me."
"Um, let's not forget you sexually assaulted someone just because you refuse to admit you're an alcoholic and not the genius you claim to be." Mokuba spat, immediately shifting blame and attention back to his brother.
Yugi piped up. "Te'a and I aren't innocent in this either. I found out during our wedding what Kaiba did and kept it from all of you. I, however, didn't know that Mokuba was extorting her," he explained.
"Also, during our wedding, Salem wrote me a check for a very large sum of money. I called her to ask her what it was about and she informed me that Kaiba had raped her and that he had officially pushed her out of his life." Tea stated, "She thought it was a good idea for me to have my own savings. I thanked her by basically saying "who cares" and ripping up the check and flushing it down the toilet," she confessed, wiping her own tears away.
"Little did I know how much we'd be hurting for a little extra savings right now," she stated, rubbing her now swollen belly.
Joey sighed and stood up. "I'm leaving. I don't know why I'm shocked, Kaiba," he said, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket, "you've done some pretty fucked up things. Why wouldn't rape be something you're capable of?"
Mokuba glared at Joey. "Okay. I"m gonna say it since I'm pretty sure Rebecca is going to file for divorce anyway. Joey and have been sleeping together for the past year. And, he's the one who came onto me," he outed, crossing his arms triumphantly.
Rebecca cocked her hand back and slapped Mokuba across his face. The sound was deafening, almost as loud as a gunshot.
Mokuba held his face in his hand and gazed at this brother through tear filled eyes. "Why the fuck are you smiling, Seto?" He asked, his voice slightly muffled by his hand.
"This is going to sound incredibly toxic but it makes me feel better to know that none of you are the best people either. I know what I did was much worse but I've always thought of the rest of you as the best kind of people." Kaiba explained, sighing in relief, "turns out you're just regular people," he finished.
Yugi leaned back against the soft couch and chuckled. "We've all really lost our way, haven't we?" He said, blinking back tears, "what do we do now?"
Atem cleared his throat. "Salem, you can come in now if you like," he called out, everyone in the room turning their attention to Salem's slender figure as she gracefully entered the lounge and sat on the other side of Kaiba.
She gazed at everyone individually before speaking. "Well, that was something, mish kida?" She started, moving her long hair to her left shoulder, "now that you all know what happened, I'd like you all to know that I forgave Seto a long time ago—"
"Why?" Joey asked, his face flustered from anger and sadness, "you're so much better than all of us. Why would you marry the bastard that hurt you?"
Salem started at Joey with a blank face and sighed impatiently. "I guess it's my turn to admit something to everyone," she said, bringing her attention to Atem and Kaiba, "I need you both to know you'll try your best to understand me."
Kaiba and Atem nodded slowly, wondering what Salem could have to say that they didn't already know.
"Yugi, you asked what we should do now, mish kida?" Salem asked, opening herself up to the room.
Yugi nodded dumbly in response.
"Well, I think that if you all are going to stay friends, you're going to have to find a way to accept what's happened, learn from it, and move on." Salem started, "obviously if you don't want to forgive someone, don't. But, I was in love with Seto when he hurt me and my feelings didn't change after it happened."
She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. "When I was healing, I found new love in Atem, but my love for Seto stayed. Atem didn't know how to forgive Seto either because he was also conflicted by his feelings," she said, putting her hand on Seto's knee.
"I'm glad I chose to forgive but it doesn't mean I'm magically healed. And that's okay. Because, if I'm having a hard day, I have two amazing men who will be there for me, even if they have a minor lapse in common sense." Salem looked at Joey seriously.
"Joey, I may be some sort of wunderkind to you but I've hurt a lot of people to be this successful. Even when I invented my portals, I had no idea what kind of danger I would be putting the world in," she explained, adjusting her pajama bottoms, "I didn't care. I was smart and I felt like exploring so I created something. Something that has done nothing but cause me trouble."
Atem nodded in agreement, interlacing his fingers with Kaiba's. There was a reason the two duelists had forbidden Salem's experiments.
Salem sniffled and cleared her throat. "And when I brought Atem back, even though it was at Seto's request, I didn't think about the consequences of that either," she stood up and walked up to Joey.
"Atem was kidnapped because I was cruel to Anansi, and because I left my original reality behind. I was irresponsible and it came back to haunt me and those I care about," she slowly lifted her tank top to show the five pronged scar that she got from the pneumatic injector.
"This scar is from being drugged when Seto and I went to rescue Atem. That imposter-Kaiba did something to my genes." Salem slowly spun around so everyone could see her scar, "I ran tests on Seto, myself, and Atem when we made it back safely. Seto's results came back normal. Mine and Atem's, however, were concerning…" she trailed off, walking back to her spot next to Kaiba.
Joey looked at Salem and then at everyone else. "You aren't a bad person for that—"
"Joey, let her finish." Te'a interrupted, knowing what Salem was trying to confess.
Salem nodded gratefully at Te'a. "I ran several tests but the one that was strange was my cellular age. The imposter wanted to keep me around to repopulate society, so he somehow found a way to hinder the aging process…" she paused, praying that someone would stop her.
When no one spoke up, she continued. "My cellular age came back as seventeen years old. The imposter reversed the age of my cells and halted them. I haven't aged in the past year. I've actually started to look a little younger," she said, watching everyone's mouth drop open except for Tea's.
Salem sighed and played with a loose tendril. "Naturally, I was curious about what Atem's cellular would read so I tested him. It didn't make sense so I kept testing him—"
Kaiba's eyes widened. "Salem. No," he was less demanding and more in shock.
Salem's lip quivered and she let out a sob. "Atem, I'm so sorry. If I had done more research, I could have found a way to slow the rate at which your cells degenerated," she cried.
Atem looked at Joey and then back at Salem in confusion. "I don't understand."
"Right now, you have the cells of a man in his fifties. Of course, you feel fine now, but soon, as you age, it'll catch up to you."Salem explained through harsh sobs.
Kaiba let out a shuddering breath and blinked the tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "Basically, Atem, you're most likely going to die in your forties or fifties while Salem won't age at all."
Atem stared down at the marble tile introspectively as Salem cried softly.
"Do you see now, Joey?" Salem hiccuped, "Atem is going to leave us too soon, again. And it's quite literally all my fault. So, I'm not better. I'm the worst person here."
The lounge was filled with the sound of Salem crying and the awkward silence of the group.
"Okay, I'll say it." Joey said, sitting back down, "I don't think that miracle anti-aging drug Evil-Kaiba gave you made you invincible. You could get hit by a car tomorrow for all you know—"
"Joey!" Yugi scolded, waving his hands rapidly to shut his friend up.
"Nah, I'm serious! A lot of men die in their fifties for a lot of reasons. That's still a little over thirty years from now, yeah? Any one of us could drown in the bathtub or choke on our dinner before then." Joey explained, not making any sense.
"Wheeler, what the fuck?" Kaiba said, trying to follow Joey's thought process.
"He's saying that this information doesn't change the fact that anything can happen." Atem spoke up, smiling at Salem with tear filled eyes. "Any one of us could die unexpectedly, and that doesn't change just because your math was off, Salem."
Salem sniffled and cleared her throat. "My math wasn't off, I just didn't check my answer before practical application," she retorted with a light laugh.
"I think you're actually the biggest nerd I've ever met." Kaiba said to Salem with a light chuckle.
"When then I guess my point still stands." Salem calmed herself down, "moving through is the best option," she said, happy that her secret didn't ruin her life or the lives of those around her.
Rebecca scoffed and walked toward the entrance to the foyer. "I'm sorry but that's not going to work for me," she said to clenched teeth, glaring at Mokuba, "We're done. You might want to stay with your other "woman" for a while," she spat, sending another glare Joey's way before turning on her heel and leaving the room.
Mokuba groaned and put his head in his hands. "Divorced at twenty one…"
Joey rolled his eyes and walked over to Mokuba, sitting next to the raven haired Kaiba. "Eh, I'm sure she'll come to her senses. Plus, divorce takes years. Especially with the amount of money you got." Joey said snarkily.
"It'll only take years if she reports him and launches an investigation." Kaiba added seriously. Rebecca had information that could ruin their company. If she wanted a settlement, she would have to keep quiet about Mokuba's illegal behavior.
"Rightfully so." Te'a stated, "you should both be ashamed of yourselves," she yawned and held her stomach, "this was an exhausting but necessary conversation. And, while we can't say that we forgive you or condone your actions, I'm at least glad you're getting the help you need, Kaiba."
"Agreed." Mokuba and Joey said in unison.
Atem waved goodbye to his friends as they left for the evening. It may not have been the Halloween he thought he wanted, but it was a step in the right direction.
For everyone.