Realms Against Us, We Chose This Destiny

Part II: Chapter 7

Here is your reminder that Luka is still being very influenced by the akuma inside of him. However, a lot of his actual emotions do come into play in this chapter.

Warning. This chapter is very dialogue heavy. 

............

It was almost a month later and Luka was due to be back any second.

Marinette had thought about it a lot over the weeks, had twisted and turned in her bed and argued with herself on whether or not she should listen to the advice Adrien had given. One day she would agree, the next day she would feel less confident about the decision she would make and then the next she would once again shake her head and tell herself that she deserved to be selfish at least for something as important as her own marriage.

Soon she had been able to convince herself to gather the courage to reveal her true feelings to her parents and so she asked them to invite Luka's to join them for dinner on the day he would come back.

Somewhat ironically, Luka's parents were actually divorced but when it came to matters regarding him, they would always both be there, especially when it was matters regarding his marriage. When they were younger, it had been his parents who had asked the both of them if they liked each other and only when they had both said yes had they went to her parents and began the talks of a marriage contract. For the two parents who had only married for the sake of raising their son, and a few years later, their daughter, they wanted to secure the happiness of their son. 

It was the same for their daughter and Luka's younger sister Juleka, who had fallen in love with her best friend, a sweet and bubbly girl by the name of Rose. Although she was two years younger than her brother, she had actually already married her sweetheart almost a year ago, and so, their parents focus was more on Luka. 

But Marinette couldn't help but think that her and Luka's situation was different. They liked each other, yes, and their parents had seen that. But she felt that they had been too hasty in confirming that their children would be together forever. But that was just a fairy-tale concocted by parents who wished for their child to be happy, as did all well meaning parents. 

Back then, Marinette had been ecstatic at the thought of living her life with someone as handsome and kind as Luka. She knew that if she would be his wife, her life would be as comfortable as how she had been living with her parents. It could be enjoyable because she would be able to follow him around as he made music, and possibly even make his outfits. The smile and the thanks she would get would have been enough for her. It always had been when she was younger.

Was it enough for her now? Was she allowed to be so selfish and say that it wasn't?

Was she allowed to tell herself that she wanted more?

Wasn't the point of not only Luka's parents, but her own when they decided on this marriage, that it was for the sake of their happiness?

What would they say if she told them she wasn't happy?

............

She had met Adrien a few times (read: many) within those weeks and had asked him once those exact questions.

"No one should stop you from wanting a greater chance at happiness. You are allowed to be selfish. It's not always a bad thing to do so."

 The more she confided in him, the more she believed in herself to do what was right for her. What felt like the best decision for her. 

She picked up a daisy from the patch of grass they had been sitting on in his garden. Adrien had very quickly bought a house big enough to house ten people once he had confirmed that Marinette was in this village and he wasn't surprised when Marinette had taken a liking to the wild garden which had come with the house. He didn't mind that she would pick at the flowers either.