How to win a girl in 10 dates

The Other Woman

Was it possible to lose the feeling in your body? Not like you've been out in the cold for too long and your fingers and toes have gone numb, but like your actual insides have turned to ice. The heating in her room was most certainly on so she wasn't sure why her body was shaking and her teeth chattering. She'd wrapped herself in her thick fluffy dressing gown, socks, slipper boots and a blanket but she still couldn't stop the shaking.

Marinette hadn't felt this way since she was a young teen and Clark Kent chose Lana Lang instead of Lois Lane in Smallville. It took her years to get over Clark's betrayal, but that was only fictional, this was real life.

She hadn't slept at all. She had come up to her room with the aim of going to bed only to never make it. She never even got close, and if she was being honest her butt was hurting slightly from sitting here for so long, but she couldn't take her eyes off the screen. She just clicked between websites reading the same article over and over again. Every magazine and newspaper, every social media account and online resource had the exactsame story, and no matter how much she looked, how many different websites she visited each and everyone said the same.

Adrien Agreste is marrying Kagami Tsurugi.

Marinette knew Kagami, she'd seen her fence many times when she'd snuck into her collège to watch Adrien train when he was younger. Kagami was a fierce fighter, though a little cold in personality. She'd given her the dragon Miraculous, and she was a valuable ally, but that still didn't help. Kagami was marrying Adrien, her Adrien.

Her Adrien? She scoffed, she had no right calling him hers, she didn't want a relationship with him. She told herself over and over again to quit with these dramatics, she didn't want to be with him. She couldn't be with him. So why did it hurt so much?

Her stomach churned and she made her way over to the sink at the side of her room, bending over and emptying the only thing left inside her ... water. This had been the sixth time since she'd first read the article her stomach had whirled and threatened to empty itself of its contents. Pulling her fleece blanket tighter around her shoulders, she made her way back to her computer chair, sat down and pulled up Twitter.

She may have told herself dozens of times that she couldn't be with Adrien but that didn't matter. She wanted him. She wanted him all to herself, to be selfish and take him in her arms, placing her lips against his. She let out a whimper again and tears built up in her lower eyelids. She had no right to feel this way, but her body betrayed her.

She was reacting like a teen girl finding her crush's Facebook status had been changed to 'in a relationship'. The only difference being she was an adult woman finding out the guy she loves has changed his relationship status to 'engaged to ...'. It was so final, so unbreakable.

"Marinette, do you want to talk now?" Tikki had sat alongside her holder most of the night, comforting her without words and wiping away the rogue tears as they fell.

Marinette had entered her room the previous evening frowning at her phone. She'd said goodnight to her parents, Alya and Nino before marching up to her room muttering something about the signal on her phone or it needing to be charged. Tikki knew the reason was the lack of message from Adrien, and she also knew no message would be arriving. As Marinette walked past her computer towards her charger, Sass had knocked the mouse bringing the screen to life. Marinette had plugged her phone in before walking back and noticing the screen was on.

She froze, and every kwami in that room felt the pain in her heart as her face dropped and a barrage of 'no's' escaped her mouth.

She pulled the computer chair away from her desk and sat on it, her eyes never leaving the screen and Tikki was sure she didn't blink either. She scooted in and began to read the news article, each line being an additional stab to her heart.