He was standing in the doorway shrugging out of his coat as Mr. Kaiba and I approached him. The look in his eyes was sickening; I could feel myself tensing up just being in the same room as him. My eyes immediately averted downwards out of habit and a slight amount of fear. Small shudders emanated from me until I could feel my entire body shaking. I hope sincerely that it was not as noticeable as it felt. I did not want my father realizing how much fear he was still able to instill in me. As I attempted to control the shaking I felt a soft squeeze on my wrist. Surprised by this sudden sense, I looked towards my hand that was clasped around Seto's arm. As I glanced towards my hand, I was taken aback when I saw the large hand of Seto Kaiba seized around my slender arm. My gaze was transfixed on his hand as I saw his hand tighten its grasp around my wrist once more. Coming out of my trance, I look up and saw Seto gazing at me out of the corner of his eye. While it was by no means a soft, caring look, it did not hold the usual animosity to which I had grown accustomed. He gave me a curt, barely noticeable nod and looked back towards my father. With his encouragement, small of not, I was able to lift my head up just a little more so that I could look Carter Nemes, if not directly, but close to the place where his face would be positioned.
"Well, well, well….if it isn't the happy couple, how are you this fine morning Mr. Kaiba?" my father drawled in a sordid voice.
"Let's cut the small talk Mr. Nemes, I have more important things to do then discuss the course of my morning with you," Seto refute cantankerously.
"Of course Mr. Kaiba, shall we go sit down so that we may talk more comfortably?" Carter Nemes responded, taken aback by Seto's irritable reply. Personally, I had a strong desire to laugh at my father's expense, only Seto Kaiba, 'a mere child' as I recall my father once calling him, could put my father in his place; although I would never admit it willingly, I was proud to have been almost wed to this courageous man.
"Mr. Nemes, I would appreciate it if you would not direct me under my own roof, you are a guest here and I can easily throw you out, this is my house and you do not call the shots here, understand? Now, with that out of the way, yes let's bring this conversation into the den," Seto stated defiantly, it was clear he did not like being told what to do, even if it was a suggestion.
I spared a quick glance at my father to see a shocked, yet angered look on his face. I knew from experience that he did not take well to being undermined, especially by someone less than half his age I could not contain a small smirk that fought its way through my barriers due to my contentedness at my "almost-husband's" manner of placing lesser people in their place, which was far beneath him. While I may not have liked him in the beginning, Seto Kaiba's cruel ways and superior attitude were beginning to grow on me; I think I may be a bit sorry to leave him and Mokuba behind once I leave.
I trailed next to Seto into the den, with my arm still engulfed in his, as my father pursued us from behind. It took less than a minute to reach our destination, yet it felt like an eternity just getting to the room, due to the glare that was burning a hole into the back of my head, courtesy of Carter Nemes. Mr. Kaiba entered the room with me nervously at his side. We both took our seats on one couch while Carter Nemes took his seat on the couch opposite where we sat.
The den was surprisingly a very traditional room. It had impressive, horizontal, dark wood floors and the walls were made of the same wood only they stretched across the walls vertically. The room provided a very woodsy feel to the inhabitants who resided within the room. On one side of the room, there was no wall, only 6 glass plates that allowed onlookers a full view of the beautiful pool that was positioned not far from this very room. The two center doors opened out onto the patio that eventually led to the pool. The furniture was all made of a dark brown leather, so dark that it was nearly black. Between the two couches sat a dark brown coffee table that had a long glass plate in the center that lowed us a clear view of the dark wooden floor. The rest of the room consisted of landscape pictures and shelves the contained many books, along with a fan that was placed directly above where we sat. The fan was currently on a very low setting as it spun around in a clockwise motion. Then, on the opposite side of the sliding doors and windows, sat a very rustic looking fireplace. It gave the room a very traditional feel to it. It was made out of tattered gray stones and had a wooden mantel over it that held a couple pictures that appeared to be family photos. In front of the fireplace sat another dark brown leather couch. The room had a very pastoral feeling to it, which was not something I expected to find in the Kaiba mansion.
As we sat, I could feel a lump in my throat beginning to rise, causing my mouth to dry out. I was scared to speak because I knew I would not be able to without sounding embarrassingly hoarse.
"Will you excuse me for a moment Mr. Nemes? I have to go retrieve something from my office," Seto said, abruptly. I looked at him with a panicked look in my eyes, but he ignored me, staring down my father.
"Of course Mr. Kaiba, no trouble at all, I will just enjoy a private moment with my daughter while you are gone," my father said with an evil grin spreading across his cheeks. I stared after Mr. Kaiba as he strode, proudly, out of the room and exited to the right, heading towards the stairs. I took a few deep breaths, calming myself, attempting to block out all possible situations my father could create.
"So, Kira, I see you are wearing that dress again, does this mean you have finally abandoned all hope of escape and have accepted my reign in your life? On the other hand, is it that you wear that in order to flaunt your shame? I am curious to know, after all, we all know what happened last time you wore that dress. So in my opinion you must be wearing that as a symbol of recognition of my dominance in your existence, of course by now you must realize I control every aspect of your existence." Carter Nemes said cockily. I remained silent, knowing that if I were to speak no good would come of it; especially since my throat had now gone so dry; I could not have spoken if I had wanted to. I would only embarrass myself if I tried to refute his claims.
A moment later Seto reentered the room holding a small manila envelope which I knew to contain the official copies of the emancipation forms and the invalid contract.
He sat down next to me and began to speak.
"Would you like something to drink Mr. Nemes?" Seto said, as if daring him to accept.
However, to my surprise, my father was in the mood to be taking risks because he then replied rather cockily, "That would be fine Mr. Kaiba, I'll take some hot tea if you don't mind."
"Of course, Malcolm!" Seto beckoned one of his many servants.
"Yes Mr. Kaiba? Can I get you anything?" Malcolm inquired hopefully. I did not know Malcolm very well but he had always been extremely eager to assist the Kaiba's in any manner. He was very tall with jet-black hair and gray eyes. He was a very lean man, probably in his early 30's. If I remembered correctly, he had a wife named Emma and young daughter around the age of 4 by the name of Corey. I remember speaking to him once about his family. He seemed to absolutely adore his wife and daughter. It was very sweet, listening to him talk about the joys of his family life. I often hoped, when talking to him, that I could find someone that makes me as happy as his wife and daughter make him.
"Yes Malcolm, please fetch Mr. Nemes a cup of hot tea and a cup of coffee, black, for myself," Seto stated simply.
"Yes, of course Mr. Kaiba!" Malcolm said abruptly and turning to leave the room. Just as he was about to exit the door Mr. Kaiba stopped him.
"Oh, and Malcolm?" He said, catching him just before he exited.
"Yes sir?" he inquired curiously.
"Also, bring a glass of ice water for Miss. Kira," he affirmed.
"Uh, um, of course sir! Right away," with that he exited the room leaving me to stare at Mr. Kaiba curiously. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, as if sensing my curious stare and nodded knowingly. It was strange. It was as if he knew that I was having a difficult time breathing and that my throat had gone so dry from nerves that I thought it would start cracking. I gave him a soft smile while his eyes were still on me, just before he turned back to face Carter Nemes.
"Well Mr. Nemes, let's get down to business," Seto stated authoritatively. Just as he uttered these words, Malcolm entered the room once more holding a tray with two mugs and a tall glass balanced carefully on top. He carefully but quickly set the cups down in front of their perspective owners and exited with a quick bow to Mr. Kaiba and a smile in my direction.
"Yes, let's" father said as he took a sip of his tea.
"What business do you have, coming to my estate Nemes?" Seto asked accusingly.
"Actually Mr. Kaiba, I just came to check on the wedding plans, nothing sinister I promise you. So how are the plans coming along?" father inquired, not seeming to actually be curious. As he asked this a devious smirk found its way onto Seto's face, I sat, on edge, ready for him to tell my father the news.
"Actually Mr. Nemes, the wedding has been cancelled," Seto said contentedly. As he said this, tea exploded from my father's mouth, as he sprayed it everywhere in surprise.
"WHAT! Are you prepared to face the consequences Mr. Kaiba? You do realize that if you breach this contract, not only will you and your brother loose all claims to Kaiba Corp. you will also be sent to prison! Are you equipped to face these sentences?" Carter Nemes inquired, flabbergasted.
"Of course not Mr. Nemes," Seto stated smugly.
"Then why on earth is this wedding cancelled?" father stated, still shocked by this revelation.
"Well, you see Mr. Nemes, your brilliant daughter over here," Seto said boldly, gesturing towards me, "found the loop hole I have been seeking for the last few months, the wedding is off, it's completely legal, your contract is void."
"WHAT! That's impossible! There is no legal way out of the contract unless the two of you were to marry or face the consequences of not marrying! Explain yourselves this instant!" my father commanded.
Seto looked at me expectantly and said, "Well you see Mr. Nemes, that contract only applies if you actually have a daughter named Kira Nemes, which, as of last night, you don't."
"What are you talking about? My daughter is sitting right there," he pointed " and it is already specified in that contract that changes of a given name do not affect the circumstances of the marriage!" he stated sardonically, glaring at me all the while.
"We are both well aware of that fact Mr. Nemes, however, the contract does not address any issues that involve emancipation," with that statement Carter Nemes jaw dropped so low that it was almost touching the ground, and in that I could sense that Seto was completely smug about the entire situation as he slid the envelope across the table towards my former father. "Yes Mr. Nemes, that is correct, the contract is void because you no longer have a daughter. Kira emancipated herself from your family last night; the contract is now legally annulled."
It took a few moments for my father to recompose himself but once he did he abruptly stood up and pointed at me furiously, "YOU! You conniving little bitch! I swear I will get you back for this!" his whole body shaking in rage. He lowered his hand slowly and began to approach me, hate and anger emanating from his eyes and body. I began to shake with fear as I sunk lower and lower into the couch, trying to avoid his wrath. As he got closer, his intentions unclear, yet at the same time completely evident, Seto stood up, occupying the space between my father and I.
"Mr. Nemes, I suggest you leave immediately, you lost this battle, and there is no chance of you being able to salvage this contract. Leave before the remnants of your pride has been snatched away and destroyed by the same girl whose life you have been destroying since she was born," Seto advised him, in a very audacious manner.
"Ironic, is it not?" I said gesturing towards my dress with a small smirk on my face. These were the first words I had spoken and they were all I could say before shrinking back into my shell of nervousness. However, those words were something that I felt I needed to say, because he needed to know that he no longer controlled my life.
With that being said Cater Nemes exited, the mansion with a low growl sounding from his breathe, slamming the door behind him in a huff. I smiled broadly at Seto and stood up slowly. I was surprised that he had defended me so arduously. Grateful I wrapped my arms around him in a friendly hug for a short moment before releasing him, embarrassed. He looked at me peculiarly but then shrugged off my strange action as to not become annoyed. I kept the smile on my face as I followed him into the kitchen where we found Mokuba sitting, grinning broadly at the both of up.
"So, how'd it go?" Mokuba asked curiously.
"He gone Mokuba, it's over," Seto stated seriously. Mokuba grinned and wrapped his arms around my waist, thanking me repeatedly for helping his brother out of the contract. I patted Mokuba on the head awkwardly, allowing him to engulf me into a hug. After he released me and took a few steps backward, I found something gray shoved under my face. I allowed my hand to grab it and pull it out of Seto's hand. As I pulled it away from the closer proximity of my face, I saw that it was a newspaper, turned open to the "Classified" section. I looked up at Mr. Kaiba inquisitively.
"You better get looking, remember you only have one month to get a job and raise enough for an apartment, after that, you're on your own," Seto said firmly. I nodded my head vigorously, excited at the prospect of determining my own future.