"Treat others with kindness. Not because they're nice, but because you are."

— Forbidden Love

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

His grand ball was slowly coming to an unfortunate close. The men were bowing to their dancers, taking their maidens' hand into theirs as they gently kissed the top of it and bid them goodbye. Some even wished to see the woman again, and Nathaniel smiled at the sight when almost every woman who was asked nodded eagerly to the proposal.

But his smile vanished just a second after as his previous thought returned to mind. His whole point for throwing such a lovely ball and inviting Marinette's family was so that he could get to know know them all better... and hopefully win over Marinette's affections.

But Marinette had suddenly disappeared. And no one on earth knew where she was.

Nathaniel was not a brave enough man to go tell the young woman's aunt that her niece had gone missing in his home. What a disaster it would have turned out if he was to be blamed for a young woman's disappearance.

But, Nathaniel was responsible. She was a guest in his home, and if Marinette Dupain-Cheng had been harmed in any way, he would be held accountable, regardless of the situation.

So when Nathaniel stepped outside onto his wide balcony with his champagne glass in hand, in hopes for some fresh air, he hadn't expected to find a woman curled into one of his lawn chairs in such cold weather.

And it wasn't just any woman lying so still.

It was Marinette.

Nathaniel's champagne glass slipped from his palm, shattering to the ground in a heartbeat. He didn't care if the glass had shattered into a million pieces all across his floor. Without any hesitation, he went running towards Marinette's numb body.

"Oh my... Marinette... what on earth..." Nathaniel ran his palm over her frosted arm, feeling no warmth underneath. Oh dear god this was not good. The cold weather was beginning to grow worse, and he had no idea how long Marinette had been out here in the cold with no protection. Even snow was just beginning to fall.

Nathaniel didn't hesitate to lift her limp body into his arms. He needed to get Marinette out of this harsh weather and get her near a fire as soon as he could. He brushed past quickly to the glass sliding doors, slamming them open with his foot as he rushed upstairs with her in his arms, away from his guests view.

Nathaniel rushed into one of his many guest bedrooms, immediately placing Marinette's body onto the bed. Quickly he got to work, throwing firewood into the fireplace. Once Nathaniel was sure he had enough wood to light, he quickly scrambled for his matches which lay deep in his tailcoat pocket.

Finding the matches, he lit one and threw it into the fireplace, glad that the wood immediately caught the flame. He grinned at his accomplishment before he rushed to Marinette's side to pick her up once again bridal style and bring her closer to the fire for warmth.

Nathaniel sat criss-crossed on the floor (and although he found this position a bit inappropriate), laid Marinette in his lap. He held her in his arms as the fire slowly began to warm her body, and he feared he might've been too late for her sake.

After what he had assumed to be ten minutes of simply siting in front of the fire, Nathaniel felt Marinette stir. His eyes went wide and quickly shifted her body to got a better view of her face.

"Miss?" He lightly shook Marinette's shoulders to see if she would awake. But to no avail, Marinette's eyes stayed glued shut, and he sighed in disappointment.

He was sure he had felt her move.

And the red-head had been correct. Suddenly, Marinette's eyes shot open in shock, and she had only stared up at him for one second before she was lifting her fist and slamming it into his jaw. Nathaniel immediately released her and reached up to cradle his jaw, and Marinette took that opportunity to scramble away from his lap.

"What in god's name... ah." Nathaniel rubbed at his jaw, trying to get rid of the intense pain he was feeling. His eyes traveled to the young woman still sitting on the floor a few feet away from him. "What have I done to receive such violence?"

Marinette scrunched up her nose in disgust. "What was I doing laying in your lap?!"

Nathaniel held his jaw with one hand as he tried to reach a hand out to her. "Let me explain—"

"What have you to explain? That you were only going to use me for your own pleasure!" Marinette accused.

Nathaniel frowned at her accusation. "Nonsense," he defended, "I found you outside on my balcony. You almost froze to death."

Marinette didn't want to believe that had been the case, it seemed. "Froze? The weather is not that horrid yet."

Nathaniel sighed and straightened his legs. He had by now removed his hand from his jaw, using them both now to prop himself up. "You were outside when we received our first snow. I would say being outside in such weather without a coat is awfully dangerous." He then paused as he looked over towards the flames crackling in their pit. "I brought you inside as quickly as I could to warm you up. You could have lost your life tonight."

Marinette seemed to be at loss for words as she stared at him with wide eyes. He had meant what he'd said when he had admitted to saving her life.

"I should escort you back to your aunt." Nathaniel heavily stood to his feet, and then extended his hand down to her. Marinette gaped up at him, her eyes traveling between his eyes and to his hand. When she finally offered him a timid smile, he smiled in relief.

Marinette allowed Nathaniel to pull her up to her feet.

"Every time we encounter each other, something very irregular happens, would you not agree?" Nathaniel chuckled. He extended his arm out for Marinette, and she hesitantly looped her hands around his arm.

And somehow, the moment she held onto him, he realized he never wanted her to let go.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

Marinette had never allowed anything like this to happen before; she had never allowed a man to get this close.

And yet, here she was, hanging onto Nathaniel's arm like a pathetic damsel in distress.

"I suppose," mumbled Marinette.

He didn't verbally answer her. Instead, Sir Nathaniel slowly began to cross the room towards the door, and Marinette found herself clutching onto him awfully tight. She suddenly felt vulnerable, like she needed his touch to feel protected, and she hated that feeling. She was independent, brave, courageous, strong... yet right now, she was incredibly scared.

He led her down the stairs carefully, and Marinette didn't bother to utter a single word as they walked. He too stayed quiet, his mouth remaining shut the entire time as they entered the ballroom once again.

People still continued to dance, even though she was positive the majority of his company had already left. He led Marinette onward anyway, and deep down, Marinette hoped her family had not left without her.

"Oh Marinette, darling!" It was fake; Marinette knew it. She watched as her aunt paced desperately towards her, wrapping her niece in a bone crushing hug. But it was all fake, and Marinette could tell. Since when did her aunt ever care about her well being?

"I thought something terrible had happened to you!" Aunt continued her little charade, pulling back from the hug and instead clutching onto her niece's shoulders. Marinette cringed at the feeling, her hold beginning to grow tighter and tighter. "Where on earth were you? You had me worried sick!"

So for only one night, you cared for your niece? How pathetic.

"She was with me," Nathaniel cut in before Marinette could even come up with a lie. "We had been dancing and needed a drink. So we went to the table for some punch." Then, Sir Nathaniel made eye contact with the ravenette. "Is that not right, miss Marinette?"

Marinette glared at him. Although he had pulled off a worthy lie, that was her specialty.

Amateur.

"Yes. It is true." Marinette played along, her eyes slowly leaving Nathaniel's figure to stare directly at her aunt. Flashing a smile that was truly fake, she fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "He is telling the truth, Aunt. I was perfectly fine."

Marinette turned back to look at him, smiling victoriously as he sent her a wink.

"Indeed?" Aunt asked, as if she'd been surprised that the two of them had been together alone.

"Indeed." Marinette confirmed with a nod.

Aunt seemed to buy the story. With a bright, fake smile, she turned back to Nathaniel. "It was a splendid evening here in your home. Thank you for the invitation."

Sir Nathaniel smiled and nodded.

"I pray we will see you again." Aunt added, dashingly flashing her eyelashes his way.

Nathaniel smiled brightly, his eyes drifting away from Aunt and landing on Marinette instead. "Indeed you will ma'am. Indeed you will."

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