"What's stopping you from telling someone you love them? Rejection or commitment?"

— Forbidden Love

CHAPTER TWO

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

By the time Marinette was able to slip on her dress and come tumbling down the staircase, Krissy and Emily were already standing outside by the front door, their horse and carriage already parked out front in the round-a-bout of their mansion.

"There you are girls!" Aunt exclaimed with a cheery smile, though to Marinette, her smile seemed to be embracing her annoyance rather than thrill to see her nieces, or specifically her. As Aunt approached them three, she stopped to admire their attire and nod in approval, only feeling the need to fix the bow that was clipped in Marinette's hair in the process (which did not need any fixing). Marinette rolled her eyes, suppressing a groan the moment her aunt stepped back and clasped her hands together excitedly. "Quickly, get inside all of you! The carriage will be departing soon! Elizabeth is already inside."

Marinette couldn't help but roll her eyes again. Of course she was.

Elizabeth was the oldest out of them four, and she was the only niece Aunt really liked having in her home. Elizabeth had dark, long hair (not quite the same color as Marinette's), and green eyes. She was everything Aunt wanted all of her nieces to be. Exquisite. Proper. Ladylike.

The young woman made it her personal mission in life to try and make any guy swoon the moment they laid their eyes on her.

Yet, she still didn't have a husband.

And keep in mind, Elizabeth was already twenty-two.

Elizabeth tried too hard for something she would never have. The day Elizabeth found a man to truly love her is the day Marinette would pierce her ear.

And get an extreme lecture from her aunt afterwards.

Marinette pursed her lips, trying her absolute best to hold back a smile. Both Aunt and Elizabeth were determined to find her a husband tonight.

Good luck, Marinette wanted to tell them sarcastically. After all, they were going to need it.

Marinette stepped inside the carriage first, followed by her sisters. Emily was quick to race over to Krissy the moment everyone sat down, and Krissy grunted the moment the little girl fell into her lap with a hard THUMP, which caused her to wince. Marinette couldn't help the grin that pulled at her lips, and she almost snickered aloud, but decided against it. Instead, everyone remained quiet as they waited patiently for the carriage door to close, and for the wheels to begin moving.

Unfortunately, Marinette was granted with the gift of misfortune, the moment she realized just who she was sitting across from. Elizabeth, the unfortunate eldest and the snob of them all, was practically taunting Marinette with her silence, and the ravenette's eyes betrayed her the moment she looked up and accidentally caught sight of Elizabeth's ugly face. Her eldest sister was already staring at her with the most ugliest look a woman could possibly muster.

That little twit.

Elizabeth was rude, selfish (most likely extremely prude), and probably the most obnoxious person on the face of the planet. The list of how horrible a person she was could probably go on for an eternity.

"What are you wearing?" Elizabeth broke the the comfortable silence with a smug look on her face, (as if she was one to talk when what she was wearing wasn't any better.) Marinette held her breath and tried to keep herself composed, no matter how much she wanted to reach forward and slap that smile right off of her sister's face. "It looks like a bunch of tattered clothing pieces were sewed together by a homeless woman."

Although making fun of people who are homeless was not her agenda, Marinette had to agree. "Trust me, Elizabeth. I am not disagreeing with you on the quality of this dress."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Honestly Marinette, why bother dressing up? We all know you will not find a husband tonight."

Another thing Elizabeth did well was regularly try to find a way to bring her second eldest sister down into a pit of misery. Any way Elizabeth could make Marinette feel bad about herself was something Elizabeth enjoyed.

Too bad Marinette was not easily offended.

"And I do not plan on looking for a husband tonight," Marinette bit back sharply. "As a matter of fact, I never plan to look for a husband." She then arched a brow and gestured with a jerk of her head at the obvious cleavage her sister was protruding. "I have better things to do than to flaunt my breasts for every man to see."

That had Elizabeth gasping as she scrambled to cover herself. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me perfectly clear," Marinette said, "Unless you need a man to help you hear too."

Krissy snorted loudly at that. At the sound, Marinette turned to look at her sister with wide eyes, surprised that she had even made such an unladylike sound in front of Aunt. Krissy's eyes were wide, and she swallowed heavily when Aunt shot her a glare that was basically a warning for her behavior.

But, Elizabeth– as dramatic as she was– was somehow able to raise her voice and screech like a dying bird without being reprimanded. "I do not need a man to hear! I need a man to get me out of this retched house, and away from your foolish mouth!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Oh... put a cork in it, you defenseless little—"

"All right, that is enough!" Aunt snapped suddenly, cutting off Marinette's words. "I will not tolerate this... this absolute immature behavior!"

With another roll of her eyes, Marinette shrugged, turning her gaze back towards her eldest sister to shoot her a satisfied smirk. Elizabeth definitely did not like that, and offered her own disgusted glare in return.

Aunt, however, had a problem with that silent exchange.

"Marinette, quit staring at your sister as if you wish to kill her! Did you not hear what I just said?!"

Coincidentally, killing Elizabeth didn't sound like such a terrible idea. No one would really miss her. Besides Aunt, of course.

Marinette turned to look over at her aunt, remaining passive. "I only heard the part where you mentioned the undying fact that I was staring at my sister like I wanted to kill her, which I was subtly plotting before you interrupted my thoughts—"

She heard Elizabeth gasp dramatically.

"I despise this behavior!" Aunt once again interrupted her, slamming her fist into the palm of her other hand. "I better not catch you talking like this to anyone at the ball! We will be discussing your punishment when we return home."

This time, Elizabeth was the one to shoot her sister with a satisfied smirk, the one look Marinette wished she could slap clean off. Marinette's eyes narrowed at her eldest sister, and she couldn't help but glare at her annoyingly.

What she wouldn't give to be the eldest sibling. Elizabeth always got away with everything.

"Have I made myself clear, Marinette?"

Marinette turned to flash her aunt the fakest smile she'd ever mustered in her entire life. "Crystal, Aunt."

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

The carriage ride could not get any more awkward as it carried them all silently to the ball. No one spoke another word after the unnecessary drama Elizabeth had caused, and Marinette was very grateful for that. Once arriving at the grand place where the ball was being held, Marinette exited the carriage first and rushed inside to escape her family as quickly as possible.

She did not want to be anywhere near her aunt this evening.

As Marinette escorted herself through the large front doors, she didn't even bother to wait to provide an introduction for the duke so that he could announce her arrival. Instead, she walked right past him without a single word, leaving the man to gape at her ridiculously.

Apparently, it was extremely rude to do what she just did.

Funny how she didn't care.

Krissy ran as fast as her heels could carry her, and she smiled sheepishly at the dumbfounded duke, who seemed severely offended. "I am so sorry, sir." Krissy apologized and then proceeded to lie on her sister's behalf. "There has just been a death in the family, and my sister is terribly heartbroken."

Krissy didn't stick around long enough to witness the man's response.

"Marinette!" Krissy called urgently. But the building was filled with people, the crowds so immense that Marinette could have easily disappeared in it. Which she had. "You cannot be serious!" Her sister grumbled, and then her expression lifted, the moment she spotted Marinette amongst the crowd of people. However, many were swirling and dancing with one another, occupying most of the room. It was impossible to catch her sister, let alone coax her to return with them to formally be introduced.

Eventually, Krissy gave up and made her way back towards her aunt and her two other sisters. From across the room, however, Marinette was not too far away, and she could easily see her sister return to stand unamused beside their aunt.

Marinette scowled and pressed herself further into one of the corners of the large room. If she stayed there the entire night, she would most likely avoid all attention from any man, or anyone in general for that matter. Because none of them would see her.

It was the perfect hiding place!

Marinette continued to watch as other men and women swayed together in perfect harmony across the ballroom floor. Her eyes suddenly found Elizabeth in the middle of the crowd, who was desperately looking for a man to dance with. Marinette stifled a laugh as she watched a man actually reject Elizabeth, and the look on Elizabeth's face as she was being rejected had Marinette snorting into her fist.

As cruel as that may have sounded, Elizabeth deserved it.

"What is so amusing?" A voice she did not quite recognize broke her from her thoughts, and Marinette whipped her head around with wide eyes to find a man standing behind her with a champagne glass in hand.

Blast! How did he even know she was here?

"I beg your pardon?"

The man must have realized how rude his introduction had been, because he then proceeded to offer her an apologetic smile and bowed his head slightly towards her. "My apologies, miss. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sir Collins Reginald."

She frowned, "What do you want?" Marinette always got straight to the point. She remembered her aunt clearly demanding of her to talk politely to any man she encountered tonight, but right now, Mairnette was not concerned on whether a man got his feelings hurt or not.

"You are awfully feisty," the man commented as he offered her a wide, cheeky grin, and Marinette almost had an excruciating urge to throw up all over his black, clad shoes. "I like a woman who is hard to get."

Now... that was something she hadn't heard before. "Excuse me?!" Marinette eyed him with wide eyes.

He ignored her exclamation. "Will you have one dance with me?" Sir Collins asked her, and she watched skeptically as he set his champagne aside and held out his hand out for her to take. "Maybe then I get to know your name."

Truthfully, Marinette wasn't sure if she wanted this man to know her name. Ever. The way he grinned at her wasn't exactly friendly either. Well, she thought to herself, there are a couple of ways I could make sure you never find out my name. Death perhaps?

As extreme as that seemed, measures like these had to be an option in this lifetime.

"I will not have one dance or any dances with you," Marinette huffed and held her chin high as she crossed her arms. "As a matter of fact, I have decided that you will not know my name either. I do not appreciate your flattery as an attempt to get me into bed."

She watched as his smile slowly turned into a frown. All she had to do was annoy him enough until he left her alone.

Simple.

Sir Collins definitely wasn't expecting such a response from a lady. "I beg your pardon?" He was obviously shocked, and probably a bit offended.

"I'm sure you heard me clearly," Marinette smirked up at him, glad that her attempt to annoy him was beginning to work. "Do you have a problem with your ears, sir, or are you suddenly deaf?" She pouted dramatically, "You know, I cannot stand a man who only hears what he wants to hear. They call that hard of hearing, you know."

Sir Collins frowned deeply at that. "How dare you disrespect me as a gentleman!"

Marinette shrugged, unfazed. "Well... respect does go both ways. You have to earn it to get it."

He glared at her even harder. "You are a disgrace to all women!"

She smiled widely. This wasn't the first time she'd been insulted like that, after all. That's what they all say.

"And you are a disgrace to all men," Marinette bit back playfully. "A woman who deems you attractive must have some serious mental disabilities."

"Enough of your mockery!" He growled back.

"Cannot take constructive criticism, sir?" She asked him innocently, and Marinette knew that the evident smirk on her lips was irritating him further. "I was only clearly stating the truth."

By now, Marinette was certain Sir Collins had lost all interest in her romantically, and boy did that really lift her spirits. However, before Collins could reply with anything to shoot back at her, the two adults were simply interrupted by the clearing of one's throat.

"And what, may I ask, is going on here?"

And that was when Marinette suddenly became nervous. That's when she had to swallow down her pride and force herself to face the demon— because now, the woman she'd been trying to avoid all evening was standing right in front of her, tapping the front of her heel against the hardwood floor with a disapproving look on her face.

And beside her, stood her youngest sister who looked guilty as ever with her hand grasped tightly into Aunt's.

Wait...

Emily?

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