Alright here's the next chapter, I know you want romance but you'll have to wait a little longer, but it'll come very soon, maybe in two chapters I think. Bear with it, love is a complex things.

Chapter seventeen : A hidden truth.

"What's wrong?" Mokuba asked, concerned by Yugi's surprise. "Isn't Shizuka his sister?" To him there was nothing wrong in going to see a sibling, especially when things were not going right.

Yugi sighed, it wasn't in his habits to talk about other's personal problems, but he doubted that he could get away without explaining things, or at least some of it. "Joey and Shizuka didn't talk to one another in years." He finally said.

"Why is that?" The younger Kaiba asked.

Sensing Yugi's reluctance to answer the question, Meyli decided to fill in the blanks for him, anyway she probably knew the story more than him. "When she was 15, Shizuka had a boyfriend, whom Joey didn't really approve of, and she fell pregnant."

"She what?" Mokuba asked with bewilderment, he couldn't believe that Shizuka, who was too dense to notice Duke and Tristan fighting over her, could fall pregnant. But then again….she was pretty naïve.

"I guess you can call that a youth mistake. Thing is Joey's father had just died, he was not really feeling well back then, he could barely manage to make a living for both of them, having a baby was unthinkable. They had a lot of arguments over this and Shizuka ended up leaving." Of course things were a lot more complicated then that but those things were Joey's life and even she didn't know all the details, beside they didn't need to know more.

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Shizuka froze on the spot when she saw her older brother standing in front of her, of all the people who could have come she certainly didn't expect him, it had been four years since she last saw him. "Joey?"

"Hi sis." Joey replied uneasily, he hadn't done anything to contact her in those last few years, even worst he never answered her when she wrote him. He knew he was in the wrong, but he was just too prideful to admit it. "How are you?"

"Oh because now its matter to you how I am?" Shizuka answered angrily, years of pain and frustration came up to the surface. "It sure didn't seem to matter to you when I was pregnant, and I suppose you thought I wouldn't be interested to know that you were getting married or that you were going to have a baby? Do you have any idea how much you made me suffer? Letting me find out about your life in newspaper after it all happened instead of telling me." She yelled at him before slamming the door in his face, as soon as she did a wave of guilt engulfed her, what she had hoped would happen for years finally happened and she just threw him out.

Joey was expecting such a reaction, looking back at his past action he really acted like a jerk toward her. He laid his forehead against the door and sighed. "Shizuka." He said, hoping that she was still on the other side of the door and that she could hear him. "I know I've acted like a total idiot, you needed me and I turned my back on you. I'm really sorry. I- I just wanted what was best for you, I wanted you to be happy, I didn't want you to end up like mom and dad. I'm sorry."

The door finally opened slightly again and Shizuka looked up at him with a mix of guilt and sorrow. "And I wanted what was best for my son, I wanted him to have a family, unlike us, and I really hoped that you would support me." She said, thinking about those past events were painful for her, they were far from being her best memories, but it had to be done.

"How could I support you when you were throwing away all your chances of happiness?" Joey answered truthfully, all he ever wanted was for her to be happy and he couldn't bear to see her looking sad. "But now…now I understand how you felt back then."

Shizuka sighed. "Joey, I know you were worried, of course things weren't easy at first, but we pulled through, I am happy Joey, really, and I wished you would be there with me." She hesitated a few seconds before opening the door wider and stepping aside to let Joey come inside. "Come on in." She said. Joey entered and she closed the door behind him, he looked around the modest house quickly, at least she was living decently, that was one more weight off his shoulder. "I was preparing dinner, would you like to stay?" she asked uneasily, she was hoping that he would say yes but at the same time it was making her nervous to be with him after such a long time.

"…Sure." Joey answered after a moment of hesitation; he to was feeling uneasy at their sudden reunion. He sat down at the table and watched her resume her preparation for the dinner. His attention soon turned toward Jayson, who was playing with little cars on the ground of the living room. He was so sweet, he couldn't deny it, he looked like a small angel.

"He wasn't always like that." Shizuka said, as if she was reading her mind. "When he was a baby sometime he made me want to throw myself down from the roof."

Joey smiled, knowing that soon he would have to take care of a small baby who will most likely make him go crazy. "So, what happened between you and Nowe?" He asked, wondering where Jayson's father might be

Shizuka sighed. "He left, a long time ago actually, About three months after Jayson was born. He left the country and never came back, not paying any pension either." The memory still pained her, not that she actually loved him that much even if she gave birth to his child, yet she still believed her son had the right to have a father.

"Sorry to hear it." Joey said, he knew how important it was to his sister to not repeat their parents' mistake.

"I got over it a long time ago. Beside making a baby with someone when you are drunk is not really a good base for a relationship." She said with a hint of sarcasm. "It didn't work well with out parent's either." There was a silence while Shizuka continued to make dinner. "But I met someone." She said smiling. "I had a few short stories with guys but they were not really interested in going out with a mom you know. But he's different, he really likes Jayson too, we've been going out together for almost two years now, but he really helped me pull through after Nowe left. I'm happy now Joey." She said, a small tear rolling down her cheek.

"I'm glad to hear it." Joey walked up to her and hugged her, something he hadn't done in years.

They stayed like that for a while, simply enjoying each other's presence until Jayson interrupted the sweet reunion. "Mommy, I'm hungry." He whined, pulling slightly on her pants.

Shizuka pulled back from Joey, she quickly dried her tears so he wouldn't see them and smiled, kneeling down in front of him. "Sure sweety, we'll eat in about 15 minutes, go back to play." The little kid simply nodded vigorously and ran back in the living room with a wide grin. "So, how are things back inn domino, I haven't heard from anyone in years."

Joey started to tell him about all the stuff that happened lately while asking about her as well, they talked about everything that crossed their mind during dinner too, until Joey mentioned Anzu. Shizuka stopped eating, her entire attention on Joey. "Yes, I read that she came back in the newspaper, unfortunately I couldn't go see her show. How is she?"

"To be honest…I don't know anymore." Joey said. "She seemed alright when she arrived…but since the marriage I haven't seen her, now that I think of she, she had been acting weird even before that."

"Why? What happened at the wedding?" Shizuka inquired.

Joey smiled slightly at the memory. "I'm sure you heard about Seto's fight."

Shizuka's eyes grew wide. "Please tell me he didn't hit her?" Of course she had heard about it, but she didn't pay much attention to it…or to anyone that had anything to do with her previous life.

This time it was Joey who's eyes grew wide. "What? Of course not. But he gave quite a trashing to her fiancé."

Shizuka was surprised and shocked that Anzu never told her she was about to get married, she was about the only one she kept in contact with. "I didn't know she had a fiancé." She finally said.

"Me neither." Joey admitted. "It surprised us all."

"So, who is it?" She asked, her curiosity taking over, she couldn't really be mad at Anzu for not telling her if she hadn't told anyone else, she always preferred to tell things herself.

"I don't know him much." Joey explained as Shizuka drank some of her milk. "Is name is Raven."

As soon as she heard the name, Shizuka chocked. "Raven?" She asked with shock written all over her face. "Raven Daisuke?"

Joey was surprised to hear her use his last name, he himself barely remembered it, having heard it only once or twice. "Yea, do you know him?" He asked, afraid of what might cause her such a stunned expression.

Shizuka hesitated, she wasn't sure if she should tell what she knew, after all it was a long time ago and for all she knew things could be different now. She was torn between her worry for Anzu and the trust they shared. Finally making up her mind she swallowed hard and looked up at her brother. "After Nowe left, I had nothing and no one to turn to, so I asked Anzu for help, she took me in." Shizuka started.

"But she was already living in New-York at that time." Joey interrupted her.

Shizuka nodded. "She was kind enough to pay for the plane tickets, she was starting to get really popular in America at that time. She was going on with him at that time and…I noticed that he was very controlling and possessive, he really didn't seem happy at the attention she was giving me and Jayson. Then…one day…I really don't her what happened, but he got so mad at her and…"

"He hit her?" Joey filled in for her, anger rising quickly inside of him.

"That would be an understatement, if I hadn't come back at that time, I believe he could have killed her." She explained, the fear she had that night coming back to her as clearly as when it really happened. "She spent three days at the hospital after that evening."

"WHAT!!!" Joey exclaimed, he couldn't believe that such a thing could have happened, that Anzu didn't tell them and even worst, that she was still with that guy.

"When I left she had left him and I had brought her to the police station to lodge a complaint. I have no idea how the hell she ended up with him again." Shizuka said, concern evident in her voice.

Joey sighed. "You know Anzu, she'll believe just about anyone who tells her he will change. She trust everyone way too easily."

"Maybe he really did change." Shizuka tried. "After all, Kaiba did change."

However Joey didn't seem to be reassured at all. "But Seto never beat a woman, he was just an arrogant jerk." He sighed.

"How long are you planning on staying?" Shizuka asked to change the subject.

Joey shrugged. "I don't know, I actually came here half expecting you would throw me out." Shizuka smiled. "But I won't stay too long, I didn't really left on good terms with Meyli, beside after what you told me I'm worried about Anzu, I'll leave tomorrow, if you don't mind me staying the night here."

"Oh…of course I don't mind" sadness was evident in her voice event though she was smiling, she wished he would stay longer but she was worried about Anzu too and she understood his reasons."

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Meyli woke up the next morning in her old room, Joey had called her the previous evening to tell her he would come back the next morning so she decided to pass the night at the mansion. However she wasn't able to sleep for most of the night, she simply couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep, adding to her need to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes, and they say that pregnancy is the best experience of a woman's life. She turned on the other side, hoping her nausea will calm down, she found herself nose to nose with the cutest little furry puppy she had ever seen. She smiled, looking at the two green eyes of the black puppy, she knew that it was Joey who put it there, when they had their first fight as a couple he gave her that very same puppy, she brought it with her almost everywhere for a year after that.

She gently grabbed the stuffed puppy as if it was a real one and got out of bed, she quickly glanced at the clock on her nightstand, it was almost noon and she was almost as tired as she was the previous evening when she went to bed, however just as she got on her feet her nausea suddenly got worse, she quickly dashed to the bathroom.

Once she felt better she went out of her room and walked toward the living room, hopping Joey was still around. She was about halfway down the stairs when she started to hear bribes of conversation, as she got closer she recognised the voice of her brother and her husband. She silently got closer to hear what they were talking about.

"That's troubling." Seto said. "But I can't say that I'm that surprised."

"What do you mean?" Joey asked. "Did you know something? And you didn't tell us?"

"Calm down Joey, I never really saw anything, it's just a certain number of things that looked wrong to me." Seto explained. "She did have a mark on her arm yesterday when I went to see Meyli. She said it was a dance accident."

"And you believed her?" Joey asked bewildered.

Seto shrugged. "Personally I have no valuable reason to doubt her and supposing that Raven did do that to her, accusing him would only make things worst for Anzu, you should understand that." Seto replied knowingly.

"So, what do we do?" Joey asked.

Seto shrugged. "For the moment, nothing. We have no proof that he did anything to her, maybe it really happened only once."

"You don't really believe what you are saying, don't you?" Joey asked.

"Of course I don't." Seto said seriously. "But Anzu being an adult, no matter what we do, unless she admits that he is beating her and go to the police, then there is no crime."

"Raven is beating Anzu?" Meyli said astonished. She couldn't believe such a thing would be true, worry overwhelmed her as she thought back at all the times Anzu acted weirdly, all those time she just hurried to leave without any explanation or all those weird excuses she kept giving, now that she thought about it, ever since Raven arrived Anzu just suddenly stopped hanging out with them.

They both turned around to look at her, they hadn't hear her coming down. "Hi Mey." Joey said, standing up to hug her. Meyli let him pull her close to him and even laid against him. "I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear. She closed her eyes and leaned closer into him, for some strange reason she always felt better when she was near him, her nausea was always diminishing, maybe it was just the heat or because she was more relaxed.

"I'm sorry too." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. "How was your trip?" She asked, still holding him closely.

"Nice, I wished I could stay longer but I was worried about you." Joey said. "You look horrible." He noticed.

"I had a horrible night." She said. "Is Anzu alright?" She added, looking up at Joey.

Joey sighed and took her in the living room so she could rest on the couch while they explain things to her, Seto followed her, making a short stop to grab his laptop next to the door, while Joey placed his wife comfortably on the couch with some pillows and asking about how she was feeling while Seto silently took out his laptop and started to go trough things at high speed, it was obvious that he knew what he was doing. The silence of the room was interrupted by and exclamation of surprise coming from Seto.

"What is it?" Joey quickly inquired, it had to be something big to surprise the young CEO, he had seen just about anything in his life, even had guns pointed at him a certain number of times.

Seto shock his head and looked up, as if he had just remembered that there was someone else with him. He glanced quickly at the computer screen before looking back up at Joey. "Oh…nothing." He said, though he already knew that his brother-in-law would not buy it. Before he had the time to close the computer Joey was already next to him, his face became as white as a sheet when his eyes were wide with terror as he looked at the picture on the screen.

"Oh my god." He whispered, unable to turn his eyes from the pictures in front of him, no matter how much he wanted to. His eyes were drawn to the empty eyes of her best friend on the picture of the police record, he was outraged by what he saw, no emotion where shown in Anzu's usual soft blue eyes and there was a large cut on her bottom lip instead of her usual cheerful smile, a large bruise covered her right cheek as well as a black eye on the right eye. Other picture showed other large bruise on her arms and upper body, the image were just sickening, amongst the list of injury written on the report Joey said she had 3 broken ribs and a broken wrist.

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There you go, I know there is not much romance right now, but it'll come soon (seriously once the main couple of a story starts going out together it's less fun and there is less things to write about (especially for me who never had any love life whatsoever). I had a lot of great ideas for this story last week, don't worry, it'll get more interesting as it goes.

Don't forget to review.