The Other Part of Me

Which girl to love?

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters."

Marinette read the passage, with as much enthusiasm as reading a Dominos Pizza menu. She felt awful. Truly and utterly awful.

Alya had been an Angel last night. Talking everything through with her; from the fact she was Ladybug, to the awesome news that she was in love with Chat Noir, finishing with the fact that he is her soulmate. Oh, and that the idiot was going to get engaged to his girlfriend.

The night continued with 'How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days' and a pint of Cookie Dough ice cream, with the side of an abundance of tears. Marinette had no idea how she was going to get through the next few days, hell she didn't know how she was going to get through the rest of her life. Soul mates were certainties, they were meant to love you. As Ladybug, she knew Chat Noir loved her, so why was he doing this?

Even though her little red kwami never said anything, she was quite sure Tikki had disappeared at some point during the evening. She was also certain that the visit may have been to see Plagg. Tikki wouldn't tell her anything, she knew that already, but she was dying to know why Chat had given up on her. What had made him decide to stop the chase?

"Good try, Marinette," Miss Bustier announced, "maybe next time you can speak with a little more enthusiasm."

She quickly moved onto the next student to read and Marinette breathed out a sigh of relief. She sat back in her chair and placed a hand over her eyes. Why the hell couldn't she stop crying? She was going to dehydrate herself at this point.

Adrien sat beside his partner growing more worried by the second. What did he do last night to cause this swift change in moods? She said she was happy for him, but he could tell a mile off it was a lie. It was him that had caused pain in her eyes, he knew it was him, he just didn't know what he'd done.

Her left hand was resting on her thigh and he could only think of one thing to do. He reached over and took the hand into his own. Running circles on the back of her thumb, he felt her tense before dropping the hand at her face and relaxing into the comforting gesture. The corners of her lips lifted in a grateful smile, but the redness of her eyes near enough killed him.

It'd hurt him to see her scurry away from him last night, but to see her like this now, well the pain was unbearable. He needed to make it right, he needed to cheer her up, he wanted to be the reason she smiled again. The sudden need to comfort Marinette was intense. He looked at her again, his own eyes brimming, feeling every speckle of hurt radiating from her soul. The hurt seemed to be intertwined with something else though; betrayal.

She was in pain, so much pain.

"Thank you." She mouthed to him. She attempted to move her hand out of his, only for him to grasp it tighter, moving her a couple of inches towards him on the bench seat.

"So can anyone explain how Elizabeth must have felt, regarding her feelings for Mr Darcy?" Miss Bustier addressed the class.

Marinette's hand shot up, and out of Adrien's grasp.

"Yes, Marinette."

"She was destroyed. She'd just begun to like him, maybe even love him, and she believed he'd lied to her. Elizabeth is so honest, she can not stand the fact Darcy would do that," she began to ramble, realising she was projecting her own thoughts and feelings into the story. At the moment though, she just needed to vent. "But on the other hand, Elizabeth believed every word of Mr Wickem, thinking he was being honest and that her Darcy could be such a horrible man. So she was screeed over by two men she trusted.