•P•R•O•L•O•G•U•E•

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CHATTER filled the hallway as the bluenette made her way out of her class. People watched her and snickered lowly before shouting out insults. It was as if she was immune to the comments being thrown her way.

Children were immature and she knew that. Even knowing her state at home, they would still tease her and bully her daily, so she just gave up. She didn't acknowledge them anymore. She just went to school, attended all her classes then she went home. That's it.

"Look, the bottom of her shoes is falling off!" A blonde girl exclaimed causing laughter to erupt in the hallway.

Marinette ducked her head and quickly pushed through the sea of children, who kept pinching her, poking her and pulling on her pig tails.

Soon, she was out in the school yard, away from the others. Only a few children littered the school yard during lunch, which she was glad for.

She made her way over to the large apple tree, away from the view of anyone, and sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Her stomach rumbled lowly causing her to place her hand on it.

Mama was low on money, She thought, resting her chin on her knees.

This was a normal thing for her, not having anything to eat for lunch. Money was scarce in her house. Sometimes she'd only be able to eat lunch once a week, twice if her parents were lucky enough.

She didn't understand why people had to tease her for being poor. Why did they have to scorn her? Why did they have to call her names and beat her up? She didn't understand what she did to deserve the harsh treatment she got.

A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Then came another. And another. And another. Soon she was full-blown bawling. Her hand covered her mouth to hold back her sobs, she couldn't risk anyone finding her around here. It was the only solitude she had here at this hell hole.

This was all she did everyday at lunch, cry.

She cried wishing that it would just be better soon, hoping that her life would turn around and praying for the life she knew she deserved.

She then felt a presence beside her. Afraid to look up, she kept her head down and her eyes shut tight. What surprised her was when the person sunk down to sit beside her.

She still didn't a move though.

She felt the person slip a comforting arm around her shoulder and pulled her to their body. It felt like a boy.

Soon she was crying again. For some reason, even though she didn't know the strange boy, she felt safe in his embrace.

"It's okay," He voiced out. "Don't cry."

His voice was soft, comforting. She had wondered if she had ever seen him around the school before.

He removed his arm from around her. "I have to go now, but have this," He said to her. Marinette then felt something touch her side. She still didn't look up, only nodded. "Bye, Marinette."

When Marinette looked up, the only thing she saw was the back of a blond head as the boy walked away. She had definitely never seen him before. Was he new? Was he a loner like her and was just looking for some friends?

She then looked down to see what he had left for her. Her eyes widened when she spotted a square container on the grass. She was no idiot, she knew that food usually came in those containers.

She picked up the container slowly with her shaking hands. Opening it, her mouth immediately watered at the sight of a burger and some fries. She had never eaten one in all her 16 years of life, but she had always wanted to taste one.

It was the first time ever that she had a filling lunch with a small smile on her face.

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"Mama! Papa! I'm home!" Marinette shouted when she entered her home. Yes, it was an abandoned house that her father had found and had built up to accommodate their small family. It was no mansion, but it had occasional water as well as on and off electricity. It wasn't much, but it was home.

After lunch, Marinette had remained happy. She wanted to see that blond boy again to thank him for the meal. She only hoped that he hadn't given her the lunch that was actually meant for him, because then she'd feel bad for eating it.

"We're in the living room, honey!" She heard her mother shout back. She slung her bag strap over her shoulder and made her way into the living room.

Her parents were there, but they weren't alone. There were two additional people who sat in the beat-up couches. One of them she recognized. It was a boy in her class, Nathaniel, she thought his name was.

He always stared at her for long periods of time when they were in class, so Marinette found him creepy. She had never had a conversation with him though. Beside him sat a man who looked exactly like him, so she assumed it was his father. They looked awfully out of place in her home, with their expensive looking clothes and their expensive looking jewelry.

Marinette wondered what they wanted...

She greeted them before taking a seat near her parents.

"Marinette, these are the Kurtzbergs," Her father spoke. "We heard that Nathaniel goes to your school so you know him."

She nodded slowly at that. Why were they here? She wanted to ask but chose not to because she didn't want to come off as rude.

"Mr Kurtzberg says he wants to talk to us about something important," My mother added.

"Ah yes," Mr Kurtzberg spoke. "I hadn't wanted to start before you got home. Now that you are here, I can tell you what I'm here for."

The Dupain-Chengs sat and waited for the man to begin. Marinette shifted uncomfortably in her seat when she felt Nathaniel's eyes on her. He was strange and creepy.

"I want your daughter to marry my son," He said and Marinette's eyes widened. Tom and Sabine was ready to blow up on the man but he held up his hand. "Let me finish. If your daughter married my son, I'll give you both anything your hearts desire."

Tom and Sabine were silent. "Go on," Tom said.

Mr Kurtzberg grinned. "Yes. I will be happy to provide money for the entire time your daughter will be with my son. I will provide a new, better house for you and I can give you both jobs in my companies. You can get out of this run down place and start living a better life."

"Do I not get a say in this?" Marinette spoke up.

"Marinette-"

"No," She stopped her mother. "What if I don't want to get married?"

Tom stood abruptly and gripped his daughter's forearm. "Let us talk to her."

"By all means," Mt Kurtzberg waved his hand.

Tom pulled Marinette to the kitchen, Sabine following closely behind.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked his daughter angrily.

"What do you mean what am I doing?!" Marinette asked her father. "This man just comes into our home and claims he wants me to marry his son and you guys are going along with it?"

"Marinette," Her mother started, gripping her shoulders lightly, "Think about what this could do for our family."

"We have been living in poverty for our entire lives, Mari. This is our chance to get out of this place and start living our lives happily," Her father spoke softly. "Could you just do this? For us?"

Marinette was in a tight space. She didn't know if marrying Nathaniel was the right choice, but she wanted her parents to be happy. Maybe.... maybe this was her chance to give back to them for all they had been doing for her over the years.

A sigh passed her lips. "Okay," She muttered, "I'll do it."

Seeing her parents' faces light up with smiles made her heart swell with happiness.

They headed back to the living room where Me Kurtzberg was having a whispering conversation with his son.

"She has agreed to marry your son," Tom said, a grin on his bearded face.

Mr Kurtzberg got up with a smile. "Splendid. They will get married once they both are 18. I will start supplying you with food each month until they are married. When they get married, you both get a house for yourselves as well as a job. Marinette will begin to live with my son once they are married. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

As the man and his son left, Marinette sat and wondered if she had made the right choice.

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