Hey, this is my first His Dark Materials fanfic so sorry if the characters are OCC a little and sorry if the plot sucks so far. This was going to be a one shot focusing on Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel but I decided to expand it into a 'mini story' of five chapters or so it depends. I don't own HDM or any characters I only own the plot and any OCs. As always, read and review and tell me what you think reviews keep me updating :)

A/N: At the beginning of the story Asriel and Marisa have been engaged in their affair maybe 4 or 5 months just clarify. I hope you're not too confused.

Ch.1-The Affair

I laid in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling of my flat. The dim lighting did nothing to ease the sting of harsh reality invading my mind. Wrapping the sheet tighter around myself, I squinted into the darkness. Unsure of the time, I almost shook my head and turned over letting sleep take me. However, I noticed Asriel standing by the side of the bed nearly completely clothed, tying his tie. His daemon's tail swished back and forth as if something was wrong.

I rubbed my eyes, reaching out to run my fingers through mine's golden fur he bristled slightly, his face mirroring my confusion as he stared into Stelmaria's eyes. "Asriel, what time is it…what's wrong?" The man sighed, pulling on his jacket and sitting beside me.

"Time for me to go, Marisa I've overstayed my welcome and I don't want to be here when your husband returns."

I grimaced, guilt rearing its ugly head. A moment later, agony and a touch of betrayal surfaced within my expression. "You know I don't care about Edward he makes it difficult to even simulate emotions. His coldness gives me nothing to work with…a trophy wife a politician's only goal," I mumbled, bitter a stark constant to the semi-lighthearted tone of last night's conversations. Rose-tinted fantasies crashed down on us, reality being the cruel wake up call neither of us desired.

My lover stroked my cheek, pausing to caress my black hair. Tears, silent but ever conspicuous streaked my face. I gazed at my daemon and attempted to smile he rested his paw on my arm, gently nuzzling me with his head. He jumped off the bed and sat by Stelmaria, trying to capture her attention. The snow leopard glared at him, reflecting Asriel's inner struggle between duty and the desire he felt. Her icy exterior melted away as she drew my daemon closer with her paw. She touched him with her nose, beginning to purr slightly.

I sighed, looking at the man still stroking my face with his thumb. When I opened my mouth to speak, Asriel kissed me. Not even thinking, I tangled my fingers into his hair after a moment our lips parted, the kiss ending painfully fast. "You seduce me too easily, Marisa," he commented smirking, "I should have left ten minutes ago."

I chuckled, my musical laugh met my lover's ears causing him to grin. "Well, I'm not forcing you to stay, remember that."

He nodded. "I know. You might want to get dressed too at least a nightdress so that Edward doesn't suspect I was here."

Rolling my eyes, I reached down for my daemon and picked him up cradling him against my chest. His arms stretched towards Stelmaria sadness in his eyes. I rose to my feet, walking behind a screen and let the sheet drop from my body as I slipped into underwear and a nightgown.

Asriel looked at me, sighing. Shaking my head, I cut him off. "Don't, Asriel. You will only make it harder for me to let you go." The man stood up, striding over and wrapped me in his embrace. Our foreheads touched briefly before I regained my sense. Pushing away from my friend, the intense look within my eyes acted as a warning not to cross the line any further. True, I was merely a pawn in my husband's political deals—eye candy that's all I was—a poker chip to raise his popularity, however that did not mean I could give in to my vices whenever I pleased.

"I love you," Asriel whispered, "it'll be alright."

I frowned, my frosty demeanor falling into place again. "Don't offer me false hope. It's pointless!"

My lover walked to my bedroom door, leaning on its frame. "I'll see you soon, Marisa, I promise." He smiled and left, his daemon trailing at his heels.

She shook her head, chuckling sadly. "Asriel, why don't you ever listen to me? This is extremely risky if her husband discovers your affair you both could be in danger. Release your selfish motivations think of how this will affect her life…"

"You have no right to lecture me, Stelmaria," my colleague replied, refusing to meet the accusatory expression.

"Perhaps not but I still suggest that you be careful."

A few hours later, I lounged on the couch my nose in a book. My daemon sat next to me, his eyes closing as I continued to read. The peaceful aura of the living room shattered seconds after I completed chapter three. Edward entered the house, slamming the door.

Glancing into my husband's furious face cautiously, I only locked eyes for a minute. "Yes, dear, tough day at work again?" The golden monkey jumped onto my lap, sensing my fear welling up inside my chest. He stared menacingly toward the snake slithering on the floor. Edward's daemon, Seline hissed contemptuously at her enemy, eyes glittering. She wound herself around the man's wrist, flicking her tongue.

"He was here, wasn't he?" my husband demanded, striking me across the cheek. My daemon uttered a noise in protest, clinging to my slightly trembling body protectively. Rage boiled inside Edward as an almost knee-jerk reaction occurred one that broke an age-old taboo he struck the golden monkey knocking him out of my arms.

Gasping, I bent and scooped him into my embrace. I turned starting to walk to my study. My emotions were board line uncontrollable but I couldn't give my husband the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart.

"You never answered my question, Marisa."

"You know the answer," I snapped, "leave me alone!"

Slamming the study door, I sank into my desk chair, wishing the world would dissolve around me.

Weeks passed before I saw Asriel again, I decided to go for a walk, hoping to clear my head. My daemon clung to my back as I strode down the sidewalk, my stare vacant, numb to everything. I bumped into someone brushing their shoulder out of instinct I quickened my pace, wanting to spare the person from my foul mood.

"Marisa? Are you okay?"

My complexion flushed, recognition my chief downfall. "Asriel," I mumbled, facing him shedding light on my bruised cheek. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" His mouth fell opened as he walked to my side. Stelmaria gazed at the golden monkey gently, measuring the pain in his eyes. My daemon climbed off me and sat next to the snow leopard. They nuzzled each other while waiting for us to say something.

My lover let his fingers glide over my skin. "I'm sorry."

I raised my eyebrow shocked. "I'm sorry. Is 'I'm sorry' really all you can say?! Do you think I deserved it?" The tone of my voice shifted from musical to cynical in a flash. I pressed my fingertips into his shoulder, my nails digging into his skin. Asriel yanked me to him, lips hovering within inches of mine.

"No, I don't think that, Marisa. You're just difficult that's all." The golden monkey dug his fingers into Stelmaria's fur leisurely, toying with her the intensity heightened when I attempted to slap my lover across the face. He caught my wrist, glaring into my fiery dark eyes. His daemon growled walking over to him.

Asriel, don't do anything stupid she thought, she's unstable

The man shrugged uncaring, the rush he experienced from teasing me never seemed to dissipate. "Have I said something to offend you, Mrs. Coulter? If I did I'm terribly sorry."

Scowling, I turned on my heel, refusing to meet his condescending expression. Anger surged through my veins as I kept my rather pissed off gaze from Asriel's view. Smirking, he laughed eyes following my attempts to maintain control, shaking his head. Cradling my head in my hands, I sighed. I'd had a migraine all day and petty augments with Asriel weren't helping matters. "You will not be able to put our affair in the past as much as you may wish to I'm pregnant. You will always have a reminder of our time together," I said, semi-mockingly.

My lover assessed my tells to check whether I was lying. He cast me a sideways look my daemon climbed onto my shoulder, his wary eyes shifting between Asriel and Stelmaria. She nodded carefully in my daemon's direction but stayed silent, echoing her companion's indecision.

"Does Edward know, Marisa?"

Are you insane, Asriel! Why would I tell him? Once he finds out he'll kill us and the baby." I rolled my eyes internally longing for him to touch me tenderly; smiling to myself at the foolish desire that proved to be too far away. I crossed my arms over my chest, meeting the cocky expression I'd come to know. "So what do you propose we do, I asked, running unsteady fingers through my hair. "It's not as though I will be able to hide it for long?"

My friend rested a hand on my shoulder. "It'll be alright, Marisa I promise." He kissed me, stroking my cheek. I sighed, struggling not to succumb to the charms of a dashing explorer again. Breaking our kiss, I stared into Asriel's calculating gaze for a moment, trying to guess his thoughts. "You can't assure that and what is it?"

"Nothing," my colleague replied. Deciding to leave the conversation at that I headed back to my flat. Needless to say, my life went to hell the next couple months because of the fact that Edward found out about the affair, sabotaged the plan to keep the child safe and attempted to kill Asriel and our daughter. We came to the decision that she would be safer if she were raised away from us. It would be eleven years before I saw her again.