An.- So I know I missed my usual update time, and there's a perfect reason for that...I kinda fell asleep while uploading it. No joke. Apparently, my body was protesting how much I actually do. Anyways. Here's the next chapter. This is a continuation of chapter 1 since we are now back at the rehearsal dinner. It will be great. I can't believe we are almost done this story. You all have been amazing. Thanks to my friends and beta who have been supporting me through this. You all rock.

Chapter 29

She raised up her glass, breaking the contact with him. If she allowed him in again, she would never get past this because she couldn't hurt Amelie. Her arm was subtly shaking, but she could blame it on the nerves. She had to taste her words before they left her tongue, leaving the bitter aftertaste behind.

"To the bride and groom." This was the part where she was supposed to spill into this big speech about how they were made for each other and madly in love. How could the room not see what was ghastly wrong with this picture? Now because he chose her, she wasn't supposed to pretend that everything was ok. As much as Marinette hate to admit it, Alya was right; being here stirred up more feelings than she cared to admit. "I've known Amelie for the past four years now and I can say that we have had our ups and down. But when we met in our freshman class, we instantly clicked and that was the start of our friendship. And I've known Adrien for a very long time; we grew up at school together. We were best friends..." her voice faded out, and she couldn't ignore the knot that twisted in her stomach every time she spoke. Memories flashed inside her head of the times that she and Adrien had spent together up to and including the previous weekend. No matter how much she wanted to hate him for choosing Amelie, deep down she wanted for him to be happy, even if it wasn't with her. She still loved him, which is why it hurt more than any heartbreak she'd experienced in the past. Everything was still fresh in her mind, and Adrien was an open wound that had yet to heal.

She couldn't do this. To stand and pretend that she could be happy for them ripped her heart to shreds. She would have to tell Amelie discretely later that she had to remove herself from the wedding but first had to go somewhere without the crowds staring at her.

"I can't do this," she whispered to herself. Unfortunately, the mic picked it up and she was met with a chorus of gasps. If she couldn't recite a simple speech tonight, then how was she supposed to talk flawlessly tomorrow in front of a hundred people including more press that was here tonight. The reporters had a knack for picking up a story, and in a wedding like this, a story where the maid of honor secretly loved the groom was a bloodbath that they lived to thrive off. They would eat her up alive. "I'm sorry," she muttered mostly to Amelie, and then she ran through the series of tables and out the door. The sudden emptiness of the hallway washed over her and weaned off some of her anxiety, but she needed more; what she needed was fresh air, so she could think about what her next steps would be.

Sorry, I can't do this; Marinette's words rang in his ears. He lost his self-control and stood up to chase her before she had gotten out of the room, but then froze. It was impossible to not feel the stares of everyone in the room awaiting his next move, but his gaze was set on the doorway where she had disappeared. Adrien's first instinct was to run after her; it was clear watching her attempt the speech that this week had a spiraling effect on her as well. Even though she wanted nothing to do with him, he made a promise to Alya months ago that he loved her. How could he stand by that if he didn't do something to prove it? Marinette needed someone who loved her in her corner, even if she couldn't stand the sight of him.

It would look bad if the groom left to check on another girl, but he decided that he could care less about what anyone in this place thought of him. He loved Marinette, and no one would be able to change his mind. His heart belonged to her if she would take it back. Adrien used the table as support and jumped over the table, racing towards the door Marinette had run through. Before he could run through his arm was grabbed with a tightening grip.

"Are you sure about what you're doing boy?" She harshly whispered in his ear. He ripped off her grip and leaned towards her, a cocky smirk played his lips. "Don't forget that I own you."

The line was drawn in the sand; if he went, she could easily reveal everything to the press including his secret identity. He had to take a leap of faith that his father had a plan. If not, he would deal with the consequences no matter what they were. After all, Chloe had transitioned well despite the fact that all of Paris knew she moonlighted as Queen Bee.

"I've never been so sure in my life." It didn't matter what happened to him as long as she was okay. Adrien glanced towards his father before he ran out of the room and the sight almost made him stop dead in his tracks. Gabriel Agreste was smiling. Adrien didn't know what he did to gain approval from his father, but he took it as a sign that he was doing the right thing.

He tumbled out into the hallway and then paused. There must have been 100 of rooms for her to hide in not to mention the grounds outside. His first instinct was to head to her room, but his gut twisted in on itself. She probably suspected that he the first place he'd check.

Where are you Marinette? He growled in frustration. Suddenly his ears perked up. He could hear running footsteps and crying. It had to be her. He didn't have twice to think about this new ability, he could always ask Plagg about it later. Finding her was his first and only priority.

"Marinette," Adrien yelled his breath ragged as he met the night air. He tried to keep up with her, but she had a remarkable speed for someone wearing high heels. He would like to attribute that to their time moonlighting as superheroes. "I know you're out here." If she would have chosen to hide in one of the numerous rooms instead he would never have found her. She was somewhere in this garden, and they could talk; a luxury denied to them over the past 7 days.

"You shouldn't be out here, Adrien," Marinette's voice shouted from his right side. "Everyone is probably waiting for you inside."

"I think this is exactly where I need to be." He was getting closer; he could feel her presence. "We really need to talk." Silence deafened his ears as a response. But he was going to use the fact that she couldn't leave without slipping past him.

"Amelie is probably waiting for you," she replied giving away her position. He rounded the bush only to stop in his tracks, captivated by tear-filled bluebell eyes.

"Mar," he lifted his hand to wipe the remembrance of a fallen droplet only for her to stumble back a few steps.

"Don't come any closer," the wobble in her tone wasn't threatening, but Adrien respected her wishes.

"Why?" All the words he didn't say clung stiffly in his throat. Maybe time wasn't on his side, he started fighting for them again little too late.

"Because I don't trust myself with you this close to me."

"Why is that Princess?" He only inched another step. He didn't need her more defensive than she already was. He watched her lip start to quiver, she was fighting an internal battle.

"That doesn't matter. Don't think you can talk me back into your arms Chaton. I've seen how girls fawn after you whether you're in spandex or a suit. Your silver tongue won't do you any good here." She had to remain strong, no matter how much she wanted to cave. When he picked Amelie, that was the last straw. "I was foolish enough to believe that you were mine."

"Mar," Adrien lifted his hand to cup her face but pulled back when he saw the hurt in her eyes. "I've been nothing but honest with you since you found out who I was. You are the only one who holds my heart." It was true, no other girl came close to how he felt for her, especially now that he knew her secret.

"And Amelie?" she asked, although the confidence in her voice was lacking.

"No," he replied, this time he cupped her face and for a split second her defense fell, and she leaned into his touch. But like all good moments come to an end, the image of him leaving the train station with Amelie flashed in her mind. She backed away as her temper started to stir inside her.

"Then why did you leave with her? Why did you abandon me there looking like a fool? Why are we here inside instead of out in the countryside happily together? Why-" she couldn't hold back the tears any longer and they choked out her questions. She was supposed to keep her defenses up and within 10 minutes he had her walls starting to crumble.

"I didn't," His response pulled the breath from her lungs. The person she asked had been so sure- a wave of nausea overcame her. She was so cold to him- if he didn't choose her. "I was at the train station, early in fact. I talked with Master Fu and then something- precious to me was stolen so I chased down the culprit. I knew you would be a few minutes late, but what I didn't expect was the police taking so long once I caught him. By the time I got back, and you weren't there- I figured something was wrong. Sabrina then ran into me on her way to visit Chloe and I helped grab a cab for her. I booked it back to your apartment where Amelie answered the door and said you were running errands for the wedding."

"You could have called," her low voice barely made it above a whisper. If he would have called her while she was at the train station, then things would have been different.

"When I tackled the thief, my phone shattered and broke...and by the time I got a new one, you weren't returning my calls."

"Oh," was all Marinette could reply. As a fresh wave of understanding washed over her, it was followed swiftly by one of guilt. "This is all my fault." If she had done things differently- if she had listened to his explanation on her voicemail. The only one she could blame right now for how she miserable she was over the last couple days, was herself.

"No, it's not," he cooed as his hand drifted to push back some hair that had fallen out of place. "I hold as much of the blame as you do." How could he act this way when she treated him the way she had? "Don't beat yourself over it. We have each other and that all that matters, Bugaboo." Her eyes jumped to his. Defenses in shambles, her arms wrapped around him as she crashed her lips to his in neediness. He knew about her secret, nothing was held between them anymore.

Adrien quickly matched her eagerness, the butterflies in his could match the amount in Hawkmoth's layer. The past week had been devastating without her. When he pulled away panting, he rested his forehead on hers, afraid to break contact.

"What happens now?" A small giggle escaped Marinette's lips.

"I'm going to march inside and call the wedding off." Adrien leaned back in and captured her lips to seal his promise. His fingers tangled through her dark locks as his tongue slid across her lower lip as he begged for entrance, and Marinette didn't hesitate to oblige. The kiss deepened, and Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist until no space remained.

The bliss broke at the sound of glass shattering on the ground. The two broke apart and turned to the source of the noise. Amelie stood there gawking, wide-eyed, and in shock.

"Amelie," Marinette's voice faded out victimized by her own fear. She hadn't expected that the bride of all people would catch them in such a position. This was an opportunity to get all the secrets out in the open, but she feared that in doing so she would lose what friendship she had.

"All this time…" Amelie's voice faded into itself as she processed the image of the two in full lip lock.

"Amelie, I can explain." Adrien stepped in front of Marinette. She shouldn't receive the brunt of Amelie's anger when he was the main recipient of the blame.

"No. I'll talk with you later," she hissed in his direction. "But first, I need to have a little chat with my best friend." Adrien's first instinct was to protect Marinette by not letting her go. Amelie was livid and who knows what kind of lies she would spread about him. His body relaxed when her hand gently gripped his arm.

"It's okay, I promise." He opened his mouth to object when she pressed a small kiss to his cheek despite the glares she received. She still believed in them, and what they could be. That belief was the only thing inside him that allowed her to walk away. Marinette was stronger than she appeared, he reminded himself. For that, he was glad, because she was going to need every ounce she could get.

"Amelie, where are we going?" It worried her that not even a word was uttered since Amelie decided they needed to talk. After a few turns, the pair ended back where everything started- at the rehearsal dinner.

"May I have your attention?" The room hushed at Amelie's voice. "The wedding is off." She announced promptly before she pulled Marinette into a side room out in the hallway and locked the door despite the new way of shouting and gasps behind her.

"Amelie?" Marinette called out after her. A million thoughts ran through her head, all of which couldn't excuse the fact that Amelie had walked in on their kiss. "Please, say something." Amelie's silence was worse than anything she could have screamed at her, anything could have been running through her head. The whole situation had drastically spiraled out of control, which is why she had wanted to run away in the first place; no matter how cowardly that made her.

"You're in love with Adrien," Amelie stated as more of a fact that question and Marinette didn't have it in her to deny it.

"Yes," she replied the answer strained against her throat. It may be the first time that she was completely honest about her feelings about Adrien.

"So, when we met him in the club and I was trying to set you two up, why did you say repeatedly that he was just a friend?" Her arms crossed over chest, a frown played her lips while keeping her eyes glued to her supposed best friend. Millions of thoughts raced through her head as she watched her groom and supposed best friend making out only moments before. Hurt was the first emotion that raged through her system. She had thought that Adrien's loyalty lied with her, the thought that it didn't, made it impossible to go through with the wedding. Adrien may not have been her first choice to get married to, but that was different than knowing that he would choose Marinette first. Amelie tried not to let the jealousy seep in, but with how successful her roommate had become, the battle was all but lost. After all, Marinette had snagged the guy who could be considered the most eligible bachelor in Paris (and from that kiss, Adrien had been hers for a while). If that wasn't enough she had procured a coveted position at the Agreste company and unlimited contacts to jump-start her career.

"I never thought that-that he would like- someone like him would ever"-

"If you're going to lie to anyone, don't lie to yourself. There's no other explanation for why he carried around that bracelet after who knows how many years." Amelie spat out. "How long have you been screwing my fiancé?"

"That's the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?" Marinette crossed her hands across her chest defensively. Although what she did could be considered wrong by society, they didn't know all the facts. "Or does Bellamy not ring a bell?" Maybe that was a step too far, but nothing felt better than to get that off her chest.

"How dare you! The difference was I was willing to give him up to marry Adrien. My mother kept telling me not to trust you, I only wish that I listened to her sooner." Amelie hissed.

"Like your mother wasn't after her own agenda." There was no way that Marinette could let the accusation go. Not when Amelie's mom contributed to the problems that they faced.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tempers flared in the room as the truth came to light.

"Adrien was going to break up with you until your mom got her claws into him. She's blackmailing him." This was not how Marinette pictured Amelie finding out the truth this way.

"You're lying," Amelie shot back.

"Just because you can't deal with the fact that he loves me and not you"-

"I want you out of the apartment when I get back," The coldness in her voice could freeze every inch in the room if she wanted it to. Marinette's eyes widened in shock, sure she knew it would be a possibility if Amelie ever found out, but she never thought that she would overlook their "friendship" to demand it.

"What?" Marinette breathed out as all the oxygen was sucked out of her lungs.

"I'm going on my honeymoon and when I come back everything that's yours plaguing the apartment had better be moved out otherwise consider it burned." It wasn't that she didn't have the salary now that she worked for Gabriel to live on her own, but the thought churned her stomach. This was really happening.

"Can't we talk about this?"

"Our friendship is done, Marinette, I never want to see you ever again." Amelie brushed past her knocking her shoulder as she went. Tears started to spill on because she never thought it would get to this point. She waited a couple minutes to give Amelie the space that she needed before she followed out the door. The second she did her mouth fell agape at the sight of Alya waiting for her.

"What are you doing here?" Not that she wasn't grateful that her best friend arrived a day early, in fact, Alya was exactly the person she needed to see. Marinette ran and threw her arms around her real best friend and allowed the tears to flow.

"It's going to be okay, Marinette," Alya repeated over and over as she kept stroking her hair.

A.N.TWO MORE CHAPTERS! Then you all get to vote on my next story. Let me know what you think. Chapter 30 is written already and I can't wait for you all to read it.