Dreams of You

Chapter 15

Adrien

One moment, Adrien was trying to save their trip from turning into a privacy-less week of overbearing care at the hands of Nino's overzealous mother; the next, Plagg was hissing in his jacket and digging his claws in Adrien's shoulder—something he hadn't done in a long while.

"Adrien?"

A cold shiver crept down his spine, the coats in his arms almost slipping from his grasp. That voice. That overly sweet, fake sound that made his skin crawl, and was no doubt accompanied by a matching pretentious grin. His eyes darted to Marinette in a feeble hope she hadn't heard, hadn't noticed anything yet. No such luck. With a bewildered look in her eyes, his love was staring at him with slightly parted lips before shifting her gaze to the last person Adrien wanted here right now, the one who was already standing before him.

"Lila," he all but seethed through his teeth. The one time he showed his face in Paris and she just had to be here! There was no way this was a coincidence, even if he was extremely careful in getting those tickets, opting to go through Noël Lahiffe instead of the palace resources he had at his disposal.

"What a pleasant surprise!" The walking menace rushed to give him customary cheek kisses.

Adrien neither responded, nor even tried to smile in return. If he hadn't already irrationally disliked this woman, then months of being cut off from the few people he loved solely to prevent her from finding him had surely done the trick. "Can't say I share the sentiment."

"I didn't know you were back in Paris," Lila cooed, ignoring his remark, that sickeningly artificial smile of hers on a full display. Reaching forward, she pretended to fix the lapels of Adrien's jacket, her voice a tad louder than just a moment before. "You should've informed me of your return. I am your fiancée after all."

His blood ran cold, eyes jerking to Marinette. Let her not hear this despicable lie! Let her not—

Marinette's eyes widened, her lips parting. She took a step back, a mask of disbelief on her beautiful face.

Adrien growled, glaring at Lila. He wouldn't allow her to give the woman he loved the wrong idea!

"As I told you already, Lila," Adrien spoke through his teeth clenched together, yet still making sure each word was as clear and as loud as possible. "There will be no engagement of any kind between us. You aren't my fiancée, and you never will be."

Turning away, he headed toward Marinette, praying she wouldn't run away until he'd reached her.

She must have been too shocked to even move, too stunned to protest when he reached for her hand. "Marinette, this isn't—"

"You're here with a friend?" Lila appeared by his side. "Do introduce us, Adrien."

"This is my girlfriend, Lila." Adrien stepped in front of Marinette, partially obstructing Lila's view of her. This woman didn't deserve to even look at his Princess, let alone speak to her.

His "fiancée" didn't think so. She quickly erased the mask of stupor from her face and offered her hand to Marinette. "Hello, I'm Lila Rossi. Adrien's fiancée."

He could've cataclysmed her on the spot if he could! She wasn't worth the effort, though. Nor was he willing to compromise his identity because of someone like Lila. Instead, Adrien turned to Marinette and said the first of many things he should've told her weeks ago, "Mlle Rossi is a woman my father wants me to marry, but I never agreed to that, and there wasn't and never will be any engagement between us."

Marinette gripped his hand, watching him with her eyes wide open, searching for the truth on his face. Whatever she saw must have satisfied her because she tried to smile and slightly nodded Lila's way. "Oh...um... hello?"