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He knew the routine.
As soon as his mother appeared at the party in the company of a girl of his age, the procedure remained unchanged.
Amelie would find him wherever Felix was hiding and introduce him to her new companion for the evening. She would begin to say good things about a girl and then praise Felix, too – not particularly worried about whether her son wanted to share information about his achievements with outsiders or not. And then she would run away under some fleeting pretext, taking from her son a promise to take care of the girl in her absence.
After that, Felix, as a polite and gallant young man who didn’t particularly value public opinion about himself, but who valued the opinion about his mother, had to entertain boring London girls at least until the middle of the evening, or even until the end – depending on how aware they were of his mother’s plan.
Of course, he tried to convince her that his personal life didn’t need fixing and that being single at nineteen when he was keen on learning business was quite normal, but Amelie Graham de Vanily was the person who taught Felix the art of arguing and negotiation, and since he hadn’t yet managed to surpass his teacher, his attempts weren’t successful, so everything was repeated at the next event, and then the next one…
Therefore, when Felix saw his mother at the other end of the hall arm in arm with a new girl whom she was clearly going to introduce to him – if the way she carefully scanned the hall filled with people in search of her son was of any indication – he immediately rushed to run. He wasn’t ready to survive another boring evening instead of entertaining himself with unspoken mockery of the obvious and oblivious audience.
Unfortunately, his mother had already noticed him and he could no longer actually run, so Felix just moved in the opposite direction of the hall, convulsively thinking about what could save him.
He could join one of the small groups of people that were already talking and pretend to be involved, but that would only slow down the process of capturing him, but won’t prevent it… Unless... Unless he would find some girl who didn’t have company yet and entertain her for a few minutes – then Amelie would hope that her son was attracted to someone and maybe won’t even impose her new victim on him...
Or even better!
The idea formed in his mind instantly and at the same time not fast enough, because turning around, Felix saw that Amelie with a young blonde on her arm was already halfway to him across the hall. This meant that he didn’t have much time to choose, but honestly, he didn’t need to – it was unlikely that there was at least one prudent girl in London who would refuse the attention of Felix Fathom himself – a handsome young man and heir to his parents’ company, but known for the fact that no one could catch his interest – if he would suddenly descended to her.
Felix was looking around for any single girl he could find quickly when he saw her – a girl in a long red dress, standing half a turn at the end of the hall and examining one of the historical designs placed on the walls of the hall for this design evening – his mother's new project. She seemed focused and attentive as her gaze swept over the huge picture.
That was good – she looked like a person who could analyze, so there was a good chance that she would be able to quickly orient herself and play along with him when Felix attacks her...
Her face seemed vaguely familiar, but not so familiar that she had been one of Amelie’s previous victims – those he remembered too well and for a long time. Most likely, Felix saw her at one of the previous events, and since he didn’t have an intuitive desire to turn away, then she wasn’t one of those who tried to get his attention on their own either.
It was also good. It suited him.
And there was no time left anyway and Felix couldn’t even turn around again to check how far his mother was by now – otherwise his next actions would be too obvious for her.
Firmly pursing his lips, Felix Fathom took quick steps towards the elegant brunette. “I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.” He spoke quickly, wrapping the unsuspecting girl in his arms. “I’ll pay.” He added in response to the bewildered blue gaze fixed on him.
The countdown timer for his mother’s approach rang in his mind, so Felix couldn’t waste any more time negotiating. “Please,” he added, not sure why – any sane girl in this room should be flattered by his offer – and closed his eyes, leaning to her face.
Her mouth was still open in surprise – he found out as his lips touched hers – so instead of pressing two pairs of closed lips together to avoid excessive contact as he had originally planned, Felix was greeted with an unexpected wave of sensual pleasure coming from multiple sources simultaneously.
The feel of her lips was beyond what he could call a gentle touch, and it instantly awakened in him an explorer, greedy to discover the unknown. The way she fit perfectly in his arms made his body intuitively snuggle closer to her, as if putting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that were still unconnected but needed an urgent reunion.
Her scent – fresh and light among the huge number of London elite aromas that bored him too much – quickly won the championship in the ranking of his favorite smells, displacing even his favorite brand of tea and the smell of freshly ground morning coffee.
And her taste…
Her taste was quickly becoming delicious torture as Felix was carried away by the slow exploration of her lips, her tongue, her breath – which drove him nearly mad, making him forget the purpose with which his lips touched hers.
It seems they both drowned in these sensations for a few moments, because the girl in his arms didn’t resist. Frozen for a moment at first, she seemed to melt in his arms, letting Felix drink his unexpected pleasure. Her lips parted more, letting him in, and her tongue engaged in a slow, drawn-out dance with his, making him want more – discover everything there is to discover about her, wish this whole room would evaporate and only the two of them were left.
Felix suddenly felt a desperate need to look into her eyes and make sure he wasn’t the only one who just went mad from one kiss from her and that she felt the same way – so he pulled back to meet her gaze.
Slightly dimmed blue eyes looked at him in confusion again, although now it seemed no longer caused by the fact that a stranger pounced on her with a kiss, but on the fact that he suddenly stopped kissing her. Something painfully pleasant stabbed in his chest from this realization, and Felix thought that the luck that his name was supposed to bring him seemed finally to work, because out of the many girls in this room, he seemed to have managed to choose the only right one – although he couldn’t even fully comprehend what this thought was supposed to mean...
But his inner triumph was short-lived, because the blue eyes cleared and recognition and awareness slipped into them, as if the girl came to her senses and was now aware of what had happened. Her eyes widened a little and a twinkle of disapproval flared in them – all her previous confusion melting before his eyes.
It was only now that Felix suddenly realized where he had seen those huge blue eyes, and perhaps his face also reflected his recognition, because the girl’s lips tightened together in a stern confirmation.
And how, for bloody mercy, among all this number of London girls who would gladly do everything that he would ask of them, Felix chose the only one from Paris, and also the one who clearly harbored a grudge against him for what he once did, and, plus to everything else, was in love with his pathetic cousin?!
Felix was still engaged in a silent staring war with the girl he had just kissed when his mother appeared behind her. “Felix Fathom!” She exclaimed indignantly, which, however, was always softened by her playful tone.
Felix forced himself to look away from the familiar stranger and found that Amelie had approached them without the blonde she was going to force on him, so the situation could be counted as a win anyway. At least for this evening, his mother won’t have time to find a new victim, and that blonde must have watched his performance and hopefully won’t want to deal with him.
Although this girl, who was his cousin’s fan and who clearly knew that he wasn’t in any way Adrien, will probably tell him everything she thinks about him and his inappropriate behavior right now, so in the future his mother won’t let him slip away that easily, and she might even ridicule his attempt, which will definitely reduce the points of his temporary victory...
“All right, dear,” Amelie spoke in a much softer voice – she could hardly ever be angry with her son. “If you didn’t want to get to know Angela that much, you could just tell me. I'll find you someone else! But throwing yourself at strangers in the hope that I would believe you’re in a relationship…”
The whole speech that Felix prepared for his mother in a hurry while running away from her around the hall no longer mattered, because not only did she instantly figure out his plan, but this girl (and he didn’t even know her name) was about to slap him in the face before his mother’s eyes...
Instead, the girl who had previously had her back to Amelie turned to face the woman – an embarrassed blush on her cheeks – and nodded politely. “Mrs Graha… I mean Amelie…” She muttered distractedly. “I didn’t have an opportunity to say hello to you tonight yet…”
Felix didn’t have much time to rejoice at the fact that he didn’t receive a slap in the face, because a joyful recognition flashed across his mother’s face, making him nervously-suspicious. And judging by the way the girl stopped herself to call his mother by her first name – this was clearly at the insistence of Amelie herself.
So he quickly realized that he was in even more trouble than he thought, because not only these two knew each other, the girl also somehow earned his mother’s respect: despite the ease of communication and friendliness, Amelie Graham de Vanily didn’t allow unnecessary familiarity with her when she didn’t want to let someone get too close.
“Marinette!” The woman exclaimed, seeming to forget even about her son’s presence, and enthusiastically, but carefully so as not to wrinkle the girl’s dress, embraced her. “They told me that you arrived! And how did I fail to recognize one of your creations from the back?!” She gave Marinette an appreciative look, making her even more embarrassed at the compliment, “It’s all Feli’s fault!” Amelie proclaimed, remembering his existence before Felix could escape the crime scene.
He looked confusedly at his mother, then at the girl he had just kissed – and it was one of those rare moments in his life when Felix didn’t know what to do – any word of his could cause an unforeseen reaction from this girl.
It was already clear that his plan with the fake girlfriend wouldn’t work, because the girl obviously knew and respected his mother, and even worse – it was mutual between the two women, and yet even worse, this Marinette-girl was one of those who loved Adrien and oppose him to his cousin – not that Felix himself didn’t make a big contribution to being perceived as separate from Agreste as possible...
But at least for now, he needed to somehow keep everything quiet so that the girl wouldn’t make a scene right here.
Judging by the fact that his mother praised her dress – she is an aspiring designer, and judging by the dress itself – maybe even a talented one. But most importantly, she may want to use the scandal to attract the attention of the London crowd, who are always bored and desperate for some drama, and would swallow it with pleasure.
Damn, if she’s smart enough, she could probably even sue him for sexual harassment to gain fame in the fashion world by association with his family name...
“Felix Fathom,” Amelie said in a stern voice she almost never used with him. “Your mother raised you better than lashing out at an unknown lady in such a barbaric way!” She continued, apparently not in the least doubting what his plan was. “Apologize to Miss Dupain-Cheng immediately!”
Felix sighed and opened his mouth to speak – he messed up, after all, miscalculated the variables, and his mother’s face in society matters to her, so if the question is settled only by his formal apology...
“It’s my fault…” Marinette spoke before he could formulate a pathos multilayered apology.
Both Felix and Amelie turned to her with genuine surprise on their faces.
“You see…” The girl continued cautiously, lowering her eyes. “When Felix and I started dating, I myself asked him to keep it a secret, because I didn’t want it to affect whether you chose my works.” She raised her honest blue eyes to Amelie, and Felix with difficulty reminded himself that she was lying, because he himself was almost ready to believe these innocent eyes... “I didn’t think that this would cause misunderstandings between you, let alone a conflict. I really am very sorry, Amelie…”
The woman looked at her in confusion for only a moment, then pounced on the girl with a hug, assuring her that this was the best news she had heard lately and that knowing how rude her Felix could seem to strangers, she would never have thought that such a gentle girl would choose him.
“Don’t misunderstand me, dear,” She continued, clutching the girl’s arm securely, as if afraid that such luck would suddenly run away from her. “He’s perfect, but maybe I spoiled him a little too much… I wasn’t even going to introduce you two for now, so that he wouldn’t scare you and you wouldn’t run away back to Paris!” She admitted, confirming Felix’s assumptions.
Marinette gave him a short, hard look – which seemed more of a glare – and Felix realized that he didn’t fully understand what he had just gotten himself into.
Maybe she wants to use him exactly the way she just denied it in front of Amelie? She did confess her love to Adrien in that video, and knowing now how those honest eyes could pretend, Felix could assume that that confession was also an act. And now Felix himself fell into her hands, and she could try to use him for the same that she probably failed to pull off with his cousin...
Maybe he should warn his mother? For today she won’t pressure him with new girls, so this Marinette served his purpose anyway…
On the other hand, it was Felix who had asked her to pretend to be his girlfriend, so the idea of calling her bluff seemed somehow wrong…
He needed to catch her alone and interrogate her about what she was after!..
*
In fact, it turned out to be not so easy to do, because at first his mother didn’t let Marinette away from herself for a moment, and they chirped about the designs for a long time while Felix trudged along the hall after them. Then Amelie was approached by her London co-investors and when she began to furiously praise the girl in front of them, Felix realized how bad the situation really was.
But to his surprise, at the moment when his mother was clearly about to announce Marinette’s status as her son’s girlfriend, which would surely have caused her even more attention because Felix Fathom was known for his coldness in a romantic sense, the girl stopped her with a barely noticeable to others but obvious to him gesture, and said something quietly in Amelie’s ear.
Maybe she thinks that he will play her boyfriend for a long time and she will have another chance to be presented to society in this capacity and wants to somehow prepare? – Felix thought contemptuously as he watched her. – Or was she afraid the news would reach Adrien? Maybe she still hoped for something with the model and decided to use Felix just temporarily, while she had such an opportunity?..
Somehow, for his usually reduced sensitivity to all sorts of love affairs that interested him little, his chest squeezed too painfully at the thought, and Felix decided to doggedly follow the women until he could catch the deceiver in private and bring her to clean water.
He finally managed to catch her alone only almost two hours later, when Marinette slipped out onto a small balcony. When Felix followed her there, he could tell that she really looked a little overwhelmed from all the interaction with London ladies which Amelie dragged her through.
“What are your intentions?!” He asked sternly, suppressing the inexplicable desire to take her away from the evening and put her to rest, which suddenly seized him at the sight of her weariness.
Marinette spun around to face him, and her eyes, which had remained soft all evening, were immediately contorted with anger. “What are MY intentions?!” She hissed – all the higher society masks are instantly discarded.
Well, – Felix thought, fearlessly meeting her angry gaze, – at least she wouldn’t try to flirt with him and lie about her liking, he simply despised those.
“My intentions are to make a career in the fashion industry based on my talent and my accomplishments!” The girl continued in a furious whisper, clearly restrained from screaming only by the fact that half of the onlookers present at the evening would instantly run here. “And I won’t let your pranks destroy the credibility that I have built over years of hard work!”
Felix squinted at her suspiciously. “Why didn’t you tell my mother that we weren’t dating then?” He asked with a slight mockery in his tone, not for a moment believing her righteous anger – she had every opportunity to do whatever she wanted in that situation and she cold-bloodedly chose to lie.
Marinette gritted her teeth and sniffed for a moment as if trying to fight the urge to punch him in the face. “Do you even realize how many people were looking at us at that moment and how many of them took out their phones to take pictures?!” She finally hissed through clenched teeth. “It was my intention to appear on the London market as a designer, and not as a girl that anyone can grab and do whatever they want with her!”
Her voice sounded hurt and annoyed, and Felix could see her huge blue eyes shine with barely restrained drops of tears. “I don’t need some sassy suitors with a fat wallet to start following your example and stalking me, wanting to buy my services – and not at all the ones I offer!”
Felix was taken aback when he realized what kind of reputation would a scene – where Marinette told Amelie that she never met her son – create, given the number of those present and the desire of every second one to inflate a scandal from scratch… To be honest, ever more preoccupied with girls trying to sneak through him to his family’s fortune, Felix didn’t even consider the potential harm that his actions could bring to the girl he jumped at.
Half of the girls her age who were in this room wouldn’t refuse to provide him with such a service – or any service really, for money or for free. The other half would pay any price themselves to be able to put their tongue in his mouth...
But most of all, for some reason, he was now startled by the idea that someone would try to pester this girl, come close to her, come up to her with wrong thoughts or dirty suggestions...
From this point of view, he really behaved very, very wrong...
“I… apologize for the… inconvenience.” Felix found himself saying. And although he knew that his apology sounded formal, there was nothing he could do. He really meant what he said, but the cold, formalized tone trained over the years turned on by itself. “The circumstances didn’t leave me much room to maneuver…”
The girl gave him an icy look. “Apology not accepted!” She hissed and placed her hands on her waist as if to indicate that he would have to do much more than a formal apology to even get close to her good side.
But frankly speaking, Felix didn’t know what else he could do at the moment to help the situation – Marinette clearly didn’t want to reveal the deception in order not to create a reputation for accessibility, but she also refused to accept his apology.
Well, he promised to pay her for pretending to be his girlfriend…
And although after what she had just said Felix suspected that he shouldn’t say what he was about to say, he gave his word and felt obliged to fulfill the deal to the end... Plus, if she is an aspiring designer, a large sum of money can help her undertakings and somehow compensate for the inconvenience...
“I promised I’d pay if you pretended to be my…” Felix started and trailed off without finishing speaking as her expression changed from angry to murderous.
Yes, it seems like he just needed to show up sick today and stay at home…
Though it didn’t feel like the right idea given that they wouldn’t meet, and for some reason that seemed like the deciding factor...
“Are you trying to humiliate me even more?!” Marinette spoke quietly – her voice strained like a hot string that could cut through metal. “As if it wasn’t bad enough that now I won’t know what part Amelie is telling me because of our previous acquaintance, and what – because I’m allegedly dating her son!”
Now, that hard-to-hold tears of resentment spilled from her eyes, but it did nothing to soften her face, which continued to look at him with the same murderous hardness.
This whole situation made Felix question every decision in his life and he was afraid to say anything so as not to make it worse – an incredibly rare feeling for him. Although it was hard to imagine how he could have done worse – given the dead end he had driven himself into. The option of getting out of here alive was starting to seem less and less likely, and he didn’t want to lower his chances...
“There you are, lovebirds!” Amelie’s cheerful voice came from the entrance to the balcony and Felix rushed to hug Marinette before he even realized that it was necessary to hide her tears from his mother.
“Give us a few minutes, mother!” He spoke as calmly as he could now — hopefully his mother would mistake any emotion in his voice – including how protective he sounded – for something romantically related. “We’re just…”
“Oh, don’t worry, Feli! I understand everything!” Amelie interrupted softly. “You must have missed each other terribly if you couldn’t resist attacking your girlfriend right in the middle of the hall! But we’ll have to talk about public display of affection, my dear!” She added reproachfully, “You should know better than anyone how Marinette values her own reputation! Although I think she’ll find a way to punish you for it herself, she seems to know how to deal with you! Don’t be away for too long though, we’re co-hosting the evening!” She added and disappeared behind the balcony door.
Felix continued to hold the girl in his arms – not sure why, but she just fit in there so well – he never had such a feeling of right when touching another person…
But Marinette didn’t seem to try to escape from his embrace either, she even went a little limp in his arms after the initial numbness – maybe she just relaxed a little from the stress after his mother left?
Her bare shoulders felt a little chilled in the coolness of the balcony, and Felix reflexively pulled her a little closer, trying to hide her in his arms from the fresh evening breeze coming through the open balcony window.
“This means nothing…” The girl spoke, sobbing, but letting him hold her and even seemed to lean a little towards him – probably just seeking his warmth. “You’re still a jerk…”
“Right.” Felix agreed – his eyes closing on their own as he realized that she wasn’t going to try breaking free and was allowing him to warm and comfort her.
Maybe she was in London all alone?
His body leaned into that comfort that the feeling of her closeness felt like – and that seemed to soothe him even more than her, promising that there was something in the world that he hadn’t known about before.
It gave him a hope.
“I’ll come up with a reason for our break up soon…” Felix heard that Marinette was trying to sound stern, but she allowed herself to relax in his embrace a bit, so he couldn’t perceive her words as a threat. “Something formal and decent, that doesn’t belittle the personality of anyone involved…”
Felix sighed carefully, trying to ignore how the words ‘break up’ rolled up in a nasty lump in his throat. “All right.” He replied obediently, thinking about how wrong it all was – when he stumbled upon the only girl in the hall who wouldn’t throw herself into his arms willingly, and yet she was the one he didn’t want to let out of them.
“I already asked your mother not to tell anyone about our… relationship…” The girl in his arms continued, confirming what he had noticed with surprise a little earlier today. And now he rather felt offended that she didn’t want to have anything to do with him... “And you’d better pray that she doesn’t think less of me because of this, otherwise I don’t know what I’ll do to you…”
Her voice would have sounded menacing if her face hadn’t been buried in Felix’s chest, and the way they stood it just sounded resentful and a little tired.
“If I break up with you, she’ll probably sooner think less of ME than you.” His mouth spoke before consulting his brain, which had dozed off, absorbed by the comfort of her warmth, and her scent, and the memory of how genuinely engrossed his mother was in talking to Marinette. Perhaps Felix was the only one who knew the difference between Amelie Graham de Vanily playing in front of the public and genuinely excited Amelie.
Marinette lifted her face sharply to him – surprise and amazement and something else in her eyes – and Felix instantly felt something that he almost never felt – not since he learned to control his emotions – embarrassed heat creeping up his cheeks...
“That’s... that’s…” Marinette was trying to formulate while she pulled herself out of his embrace, as if she had just realized Felix was holding her. “Y-you had to think about that before you jumped on me!..” She said indignantly, trying to show she didn’t care, although Felix could see that it bothered her… “The last thing I want to do is ruin someone’s relationship…” She muttered under her breath, looking away.
Honestly speaking, Felix wasn’t particularly worried about the relationship with his mother at the moment – he could imagine very few things that Amelie wouldn’t forgive him, although this girl could probably become one of them…
But the main thing that bothered him was that he could no longer hug her. And now that she reminded him of that kiss that blew his mind so much today that he managed to get lost in it despite the fact that he was the one to start it, – Felix couldn’t think of anything else…
His gaze fell to her lips on a reflex, and he couldn’t help but swallow before he forced himself to look her in the eyes.
Marinette stared at him even more dumbfounded than before – worry and resentment long gone from her face. Then she moved her brows together decisively and pressed her lips together tightly.
“Don’t even think about it!” She spoke sternly, but not before he caught her briefly looking at his lips and trying to hide it. “You... y-you’re not my type!” She added – to be more convincing, Felix guessed, but hope flickered in his chest with a warm flare. He was an attractive man, after all, and had long since learned to notice when a woman wanted him — even if he usually kept these at an especially great distance.
“I’m leaving.” Marinette stated meanwhile. “A-and don’t you dare follow me!” She added, and immediately ran away from the balcony into the main hall.
Felix was looking after her – his thoughts instantly rushing to a new plan of action, which he tentatively referred to as “How to turn a fake girlfriend into a real one.”
Now that his first plan had worked with an unexpected bonus, he urgently needed to get this girl back in his arms.
And so that she no longer tried to escape from them.
Ever.