The Bet-MLB

Chapter 19- Close call

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"YES, BET OVER. I WON!!!" Adrien hollered, jumping excitedly.

 Adrien held a big smile, his feet off the ground, and his fist lifted in the air like a kid during Christmas, opening his dream toy. The few who saw his actions would have thought he had just won the lottery. Indeed, he had. Well, at least, his heart's lottery.

 All he has ever wanted since he was fourteen was the love of Marinette Dupain Cheng, and hearing the words from someone else meant a lot to him.

 At this point, for Adrien, the bet was not a bet, but the reason that gave his heart the courage to go after what he wanted. He wished he had done so without needing to gamble, but in reality, after everything that had happened, Adrien feared what could have been if he had.

Deep inside, this was not how Adrien wanted things to go. 

In fact, he wished he could go back in time, and erase that God-forsaken bet from existence, but that was not possible. Not even all the money in the world could get him a time machine.

 Adrien just wanted this to end. He wished to move on and live a happy life with Marinette without having to remember the bet or worry that it could come back and ruin the thing he fought so hard to have.

Adrien needed to win this bet, earn the one-of-a-kind jagged stone merchandise his princess made, marry her, and forget the bet ever existed. 

He hated the fact that he could lose the love of his life for this. Although technically, that's how he got her in the first place.

No one, not even Nino, knew why it meant so much for Adrien to have that. Nino knew about the lucky charm Adrien always carried, but didn't understand why the merchandise had always meant so much. 

Nino could still remember the look of hurt and anger Adrien held the day he showed him the gift Marinette had given him. But he couldn't understand why.

 You see Adrien, had a secret, that merch was supposed to be his. His princess promised to make him that when they were friends. In fact, people believed there were only two made. 

That was a lie.

 There were actually three. 

Jagged Stone held one, his lady held another, and the matching set that had been gifted to Nino after the incident was meant to be his. 

 The day Marinette handed the box to Nino was the first day Adrien felt real pain. 

He left school early that day lying about a photo shoot when the reality was he locked himself in his room and cried for hours. That should have been his. They had plans. She had promised him matching outfits and souvenirs to let the world know they were together, always. Adrien had plans to post it on social media as a sign that his heart had an owner, but he had ruined that. All thanks to his father.

And Marinette had made sure he knew that.

 She promised him they would dress alike on their first day of college, but she gifted it to Nino. Now Adrien wanted it back. He wanted so much, but he was willing to let it go if Nino would let the bet go, and keep quiet.

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Nino felt stupefied.

 He stood frozen in his spot as his blood ran cold.

 He was appalled by his best friend's reaction. Was this whole thing with Marinette really all about the bet? Was he playing with Marinette just to win some damn stuff? Did he even ever care for her, or had that been a lie too?