Another Black Tie Affair

By: afallenblackrose

Author's Notes: I'm in such a good mood on this wonderful day that I thought I'd update this story for you guys. Why am I in such a wonderful mood, you ask? Simple. Grades for the summer classes were posted this morning and I am very happy to say that I passed my summer class with a 3.3 (an 84-85%). That and I calculated last night that since May I have written over 80,000 words for fanfiction. Crazy isn't it? Anyway thanks to LGCoffeeAddict (the dinner won't be a disaster I promise), mangamania, James Birdsong, SerentiyMoonGodness, DarkMoonVisions, Eager Reviewer, MoonPrincess568, nebelflecke, misshaa, and littlepumpkin42 for reviewing the last chapter. I hope everyone enjoys this one. It's the longest one so far!

Part Eight:

The Fight

Darien tried to process this information that Hotaru had just revealed to him, but he was having a rather hard time doing that. He always knew that his father was one mean old son of a bitch, but he hadn't realized just how cold-hearted he had really been. To start an affair with an already married woman, and then leaving her as soon as she became pregnant with his child…well that was just heartless. But how do you know that the child was actually his? What if she is just saying that she is your half-sister, because she wants money, which she would be entitled to if she were really your half-sister? A voice couldn't help but say in his head. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the voice was right. How did he know that Hotaru was telling the truth?

"Hotaru, I don't meant to sound rude or anything, but how do you know that I am your half-brother? That is to say, do you have any proof to support this claim that you are making?"

"I figured you'd ask me that," she replied a small smile on her lips. "So, I had them run a DNA test, just to make sure." She fetched into her bag and handed him an envelope. He took it from her and took out the piece of paper that was inside. His eyes raked over the text that showed the results and nodded his head. Hotaru was really his half-sister, but he still had a few more questions to ask her.

"Hm, so it seems we really are related," he mused. "But how did you get a sample of my DNA? I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if you plucked a hair out of my head, or swabbed my mouth with a q-tip."

"Well, that night that you were out to that dinner, I had gotten the story from my mother, and I wanted to know if it was true, so I swiped your comb and sent it off for testing." She shrugged. "I figured it would be best to come with you, if I was absolutely sure that what I was telling you was true, and not based on here say."

Darien couldn't help but smile, "You're definitely related to me, because I don't think I've ever heard someone say the word 'here say' other than me. But I do have more questions for you…"

"Darien, Sapphire Dawson is on line one," Michelle interrupted. "He says that it's urgent. It's about that one demand that you were asking about last night."

"Oh, um…" he looked at Hotaru, "I have to take this. Can we meet for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course," Hotaru said standing up from the chair. "I'll text you the details of where we'll meet."

"Sounds good," he replied. "I'm glad we finally figured this out, Hotaru. It was sort of worrying Serena that we seemed to know each other, considering my history with women in this city…"

"Darien, Mr. Dawson?"

"Oh, uh, yes," he waved at Hotaru who showed herself out of the office. "Yes, hello, Sapphire, you wanted to speak to me about the third demand of your contract?"

Serena forgot how nice it was to hang out with Seiya. They hadn't hung out together like this since before they had been engaged last year. But they both knew things were different between the two of them now, they were only friends, nothing more. She was laughing at one of Seiya's stories that he was telling her about what had happened at the meeting with the head of the record label earlier that morning, when she caught sight of the time. She had to hurry home if she wanted to have anytime to get ready before Darien arrived home to take her out!

"Hey, I hate to go, but it's getting late," she said checking her cell phone again. "And I have to go home and get ready before Darien comes home."

"Oh, yeah, of course," Seiya said catching the time. "I forgot how much fun it was to hang out with you, Serena. We really should do this again sometime. You know when you're looking to get out of that penthouse apartment?" He chuckled.

"We definitely should," Serena replied nodding her head. "You have my number, so call me when you want to get together again. I really have to go though. Got to put on this amazing outfit and make myself look presentable for my debut on the LA night scene." She winked at him and pulled out of her parking spot, waving at him as she drove off down the street. Seiya, who had returned the wave, continued to stare after as she began to disappear from view. She had no idea how nice it had been to see her again. None at all.

Serena made it home in the nick of time, it was five-thirty, and she had a half an hour to get ready before Darien came home from work. She sped into the bathroom and began to get ready for the amazing evening that Darien had planned for her. Even though, she had no idea where they were going to go, and hoped that the outfit that she had gotten today would be fancy enough/causal enough for what he had planned. She was slipping on her shirt, when she heard the door to the apartment open. She looked at the clock, 5:54; damn, he was six minutes early! She made sure her shirt was in place and that her make up hadn't been smudged, before she walked out of the bathroom to greet her husband who she hadn't seen in almost twenty-four hours.

He looked up at her approach into the living room, and gifted her with a breathtaking smile. He walked forward and gathered her into his arms before placing a kiss on her welcoming lips.

When he pulled away he whispered, "Hello, my beautiful wife."

She smiled at him in return, "Hello, my dear husband. How was work?"

"I don't think so," he replied placing a finger over her lips. "I haven't seen you since yesterday, and even then we barely talked. I refuse to talk about anything work related on your first night out on the city. Are you ready to go?"

"Of course, just let me grab my purse."

When Serena stepped out of the car, she finally understood that she was no longer in Tokyo. A man had opened the car door for her and waited for her to step out, onto a red carpet. Serena threw a quizzical look back at Darien, who was walking around the car and towards her. He draped his arm around her waist and pulled her forward, towards a crazy huge crowd. Serena followed along, until she could no longer see for two-dozen flashing lights instantly blinded her. She blinked rapidly, trying to regain her sight, and when she did she saw that the lights that had flashed belonged to members of the paparazzi. What exactly was going on here tonight?

"Darien, Darien!" She heard people screaming from beside the paparazzi. Darien waved and smiled at the girls who were screaming his name, but his grip instantly tightened around Serena's waist. She looked up at him confused by the action, but he just continued to pull her forward. She didn't resist, not really caring for the flashes going off in her face every minute. Luckily, the paparazzi weren't allowed inside the building that they had quickly entered while she was trying to ignore the flashes. Once inside, Darien let go of Serena's waist and smiled down at her apologetically.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that the paparazzi were going to be here this evening, or else I would have warned you ahead of time to wear sunglasses."

"I'm okay, but I'm not sure if I'll be seeing anything anytime soon," she blinked rapidly again. "But what's going on, Darien? Why are the paparazzi here? Is there some major actor or actress here or something?"

"Not quite," he smiled sheepishly. "I'm afraid someone must have tipped them off that I was going to be here this evening. I assure you once I find out whom, there will be a severe punishment. But come, you must be starving." He offered her a hand and led her further into the restaurant that they were going to dine in that evening. The maitre – d looked almost stunned at their arrival. He quickly came around from his stand to shake Darien's hand.

"Mr. Shields, I am so sorry about the reception that you received at your arrival. I don't know who was so daft as to alert the paparazzi that you were going to be dining here this evening, but I assure you, if the leak was someone in our restaurant they will be fired immediately. I hope you will still be patronizing this place in the future?"

"My dear friend, there has been no harm done," Darien said a smile on his face. "But is the paparazzi being here really so bad? At least you get more press for your delectable restaurant." Serena watched all of this with quiet amusement. She was definitely not in Tokyo anymore. She loved every minute of it.

"If you are sure, Mr. Shields, then I shall happily escort you and the beautiful woman here. Can I have your name, Ms.?" The maitre-d turned his attention to her, and she instantly felt another smile appear on her lips. She offered out her hand for him to shake.

"Oh, of course, Jeffery, this is my wife, Serena," Darien introduced her. Jeffery's eyes widened at the word wife.

"Mr. Shields, you have gotten married while you were away?" He asked surprised and shook Serena's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Shields. I hope that you are finding Los Angeles to your liking?"

"Los Angeles is a lovely city," she replied. "I'm enjoying my stay here very much." Darien shot his bright smile at her, and she felt hers widening. This was exactly what she needed to lift her spirits, and at the moment she felt like the friction that had arose over the last week between her and Darien had disappeared. Tonight would be a perfect time to finally tell him of her news.

"I'm glad to hear it, Mrs. Shields. So, I shall escort the two of you to your table, now, yes?" Jeffery gathered two leather bound menus from his stand and ushered them to follow him into the main dining room. As Serena entered, she couldn't help but stare at the amazingly high ceilings with at least a dozen crystal chandeliers hanging from it. Jeffery stopped at a table that was in the middle of the room. He placed their menus on top of the table and instantly pulled out Serena's chair for her. She smiled at him in thanks and sat down as gracefully as she could.

"Your server will be with you shortly," he said smiling at the two of them. "I hope you enjoy your meal, Mr. Shields, Mrs. Shields." He nodded at each of them and then turned on his heal and walked away. Darien was grinning at her from over his menu.

"So? What do you think of the place?" He asked her.

"It's breathtaking," she replied honestly and continued to look around the restaurant. There were a dozen or so more couples dining with them. They were spread out though through the spacious room. She turned back to her date, and smiled at him before picking up her menu. "So, what do you suggest that I get here?"

"Well, the steak here is pretty good," he commented. "But you're more of a pasta person, so I would suggest the chicken primavera."

"Good evening," the server said from beside them. Darien and Serena looked up at his approach and nodded at him. "My name is Edward and I will be your server this evening. Can I get something for you to drink, madam?"

"Just ice water, for me, thank you," she replied much to Darien's surprise.

"Serena, I suggest that you have their house red wine if you're going to have the chicken primavera."

"No, ice water is just fine," Serena quickly replied. Darien just shrugged and ordered the same surprised that she didn't order a glass of red wine. In fact, the last time Serena hadn't ordered an alcoholic drink when they went out together, was that first time last year… He shook it off. She probably just didn't want to get too drunk with the paparazzi hanging around.

The server came back with their drinks and set them down on the table. "Are you ready to order?" He asked the two of them. Darien glanced at Serena who nodded her head, and he ushered for her to start.

"I'll have your chicken primavera," she replied.

"An excellent choice," the server commented. "And for you, sir?"

"I'll have your house sirloin," he replied.

"And how would you like that cooked?"

"Well done."

"Very well," the server took their menus and walked away from the table. As soon as he was out of earshot, Darien took a hold of Serena's hands and just sat there staring at her. Serena felt her face heat up at the intense gaze.

"So…I know you said that you weren't going to talk about anything work related tonight, but did anything else exciting happen to you today?" She asked, delaying in telling him her news.

"Actually, yes, something exciting did happen today," he replied. "Hotaru came into see me today about an urgent matter. Apparently, the reason that we thought we knew each other, wasn't because of what you thought, but because well…Hotaru is my half-sister."

"WHAT? How is that possible?" Serena asked startled.

"Well…"

Serena woke up that morning to the sun shining in through the bedroom windows and the feeling of being rather content. She sat up and stretched, but instantly regretted the action. Something in her stomach dropped, and she felt nauseous. Quickly getting out of bed, she dashed to the bathroom, a hand covered over her mouth. Once there she spilled everything that was in her stomach into the toilet, and instantly groaned. Morning sickness, she couldn't help but think as she emptied her stomach twice more, before flushing. Standing up carefully, she made her way to the sink and gasped at the image in the mirror. She looked absolutely horrible, like she was suffering from another bout of flu…

She sighed and began to clean herself up. After twenty minutes, she exited the bathroom and made her way to the kitchen, knowing that she wouldn't be eating anything, but she would try to at least have a glass of orange juice. But she didn't get very far, for standing in the living room, his arms crossed over his chest was Darien. She looked at him openly surprised that he was still at home, she would have thought that he would have been at the office already. But that look that he was wearing on his face! He looked angry…what could he possibly be so pissed about?

"Good morning," she said her voice hesitant, Darien's eyebrows seemed to furrow deeper. He was really pissed off.

"Good morning, Serena," he said his voice cold. "Is there anything that you want to tell me about?" Serena frowned again, knowing that she should probably tell him that she was pregnant, since she didn't get the chance to do it last night, but she doubted that that was the reason he was so angry, so she went with her back up plan.

"No, there's nothing."

"Really? Are you sure about that? Nothing you want to tell me, at all, about something that happened yesterday while I was at work? You didn't happen to run into anybody?"

Now Serena was really confused, was he talking about her running into Seiya? But how did he know about that? "Actually, I ran into Seiya yesterday while I was out shopping for an outfit for last night. Why do you want to know about that though?"

"Because apparently you were followed," he threw a newspaper at her, but it wasn't a regular newspaper. This was a tabloid and there was a picture of her and Seiya on the cover with a caption that read: THREE STARLIGHTS LEAD SINGER, DARIEN SHIELDS, AND A MYSTERIOUS BLONDE WOMAN. IS THIS THE NEW LOVE TRIANGLE?

"You don't actually believe this do you?" Serena asked looking up at Darien with hurt eyes. Darien out of all people should know how untrue stories in the tabloids usually were. It was the lowest form of journalism out there.

"I don't know what to believe, Serena," he replied. "They have you quoted in there talking to him about how you 'should do this again.' And considering that the two of you used to be engaged? I really don't know what to believe."

"But Darien, I'm married to you!" She exclaimed. "Seiya and I were a long time ago, and you know very well that I was never truly in love with him, like I am with you." She felt tears brimming over her eyes, and that nauseous feeling return to her stomach.

"Yes, but you used him as a placeholder before, when I was out in LA and was sleeping around with those woman. You admitted it yourself last night that things between us have been strained at best…" he trailed off and sighed. "I just didn't think you would ever do this to me…"

"Are you honestly saying that you think I'm having an affair with Seiya?" Serena asked near hysteria. She couldn't believe the words coming out of Darien's mouth. Things had been so perfect between the two of them last night, that she thought that what had been going on between the two of them was only them getting adjusted to living in Los Angeles. It had been a fairytale. But apparently, the clock had struck midnight, and her fantasy night was over. "You know I would never cheat on you!"

"Yeah, but it's happened once before, remember? When you were engaged to Seiya, you and I slept together and were carrying on a relationship under his nose. Who am I to say that you aren't doing the same thing with Seiya right now?"

"Because you idiot I'm in love with you and not Seiya. We're only just friends, but apparently you…. you know what it doesn't matter. I can see it in your eyes that you don't believe me…" Serena trailed off and ran for the bathroom. Her nausea had finally had enough, and she slammed the door behind her. As she emptied her stomach once more, she felt hot tears flow down her cheeks and the door to the apartment close. Darien had left.

Darien was in a wretched mood for the rest of the day. He was short with his coworkers and he was even downright rude to Michelle. He had thought that things between him and Serena were finally getting back to normal, but apparently he was wrong. She was cheating on him, right under his nose. But somehow he couldn't blame her, things between the two of them had been horrible lately, and it was mostly his fault for coming home so late. He sighed, he should have made more of an effort to make Serena more comfortable in this city, to make her feel that she was still loved. He got up from his desk and walked out of his office.

"Darien, where are you going?" Michelle asked.

"I'm going home," he replied and walked past her. He was going to make more of an effort, starting now. He was going to make sure that he wiped away any memory that Serena still had of Seiya. She was his wife after all.

When Darien arrived back at the apartment though, he found it empty. Serena had obviously left to go somewhere, so he tried calling her cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Groaning in frustration, he walked into their bedroom and was surprised to find the closet doors thrown open.

Upon further inspection he found that all of Serena's clothes were gone and so was her suitcase.

Author's Notes: Oh, boy, what a drama filled chapter. What did you guys think of the fight between Serena and Darien? And where do you think Serena went? Please review and I'll update soon!