Adrien and Marinette stepped out of the car, hands intertwined. Marinette stared up at the castle she hadn't seen in months, new tears welled up in her eyes. She had been crying a lot these days, it was annoying her.

"Let's go," Adrien tugged on her hand, pulling her forward slightly. "No one knows that I got you back yet. Not even my father," Adrien smiled as they walked inside. As they neared the throne room, they heard slight chatter.

"Adrien hasn't gotten back to me yet," Gabriel said worriedly and Adrien pulled Marinette to a stop before they entered the room. "He didn't tell me what he was going to do before he hung up the phone, but he said he was going to be back soon."

"Maybe he hasn't found Marinette and is afraid to show his face. He's such a cocky little shit. I bet he realised his plan was stupid," King Tom spoke. Marinette furrowed her brows and glanced up at Adrien who had a frown on his face.

"You couldn't say that if he was here, Tom," Adrien could hear the smirk in his father's voice. "You're scared shitless of him because he held a gun to your head."

When the words that passed Gabriel's lips and met Marinette's ears, she turned to Adrien in shock. He shrugged, scratching the back of his head.

"You littl-"

"Stop it!" Queen Sabine shouted. Marinette's heart swelled at the sound of her voice. "Why are you always like this, Tom?"

Marinette felt Adrien pull her arm and he slowly led her into the room.

"I'm back," Adrien announced, startling the other three who were in the throne room. The room went silent. No one could believe their eyes.

Sabine's eyes widened then watered when she spotted her little girl. She slowly rose from her seat and made her way over to the princess. She took her daughter's face into her hands and look at her as if she couldn't believe she was actually here.

"M-Marinette," Sabine muttered, her tears falling.

"Yes, Mom?"

Sabine let out a small cry and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Marinette immediately broke down in her mother's embrace. Both women hung onto each other for dear life as they cried.

Tom stayed glued in his seat, eyes wide. He refused to believe that his daughter was right there. Gabriel glanced at his son who gave him a toothy grin.

Sabine looked up from Marinette's shoulder at Adrien and gave him a smile. She then mouthed, 'thank you.'

Adrien smiled and nodded.

* * *

"Where is Nathaniel?" Gabriel asked his son. Adrien had earlier explained everything that took place in Barbados and Gabriel was impressed with his son.

"He's at the Kurtzberg Kingdom, along with the remaining guards and maids that were there. He's only there until the trial in two days," Adrien answered as he glanced at Tom who was being a brooding bastard.

"I see," Gabriel muttered. Adrien stood and Gabriel rose his eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

"I'm tired. I'll go to bed," Not listening for his father's reply, he headed out of the room and up the stairs. He stopped in front Marinette's room and knocked the door. "Mari?" He called, but got no answer.

He slowly opened the door and stepped in. Marinette was standing with her back turned to the mirror.

"Marinette."

Marinette drew her eyes away from the whip marks on her back and looked at Adrien. The tears in her eyes did not go unnoticed by the prince.

"Marinette," Adrien muttered, walking further into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm fine," She said, pulling her dress up and wiping her tears furiously.

"Don't tell me you're fine, Marinette. You're not fine," Adrien growled, coming to a stop in front of her. "Talk to me, Mari," He begged, pleading with his eyes. He stared at the broken girl before him as she had a mental battle with herself, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I said I'm fine, Adrien! I don't want to talk!" She yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. The blond pulled her to him, despite her fighting, and held her. "Let go of me! I said I'm fine!"

Marinette pounded Adrien's chest and tried to push him away, but her attempts were useless for he was not going to let go any time soon. Her hits got weaker and weaker by the second. She sighed in defeat.

"Let go..." She sobbed, finally giving in to his comforting hold. She gripped his shirt and buried her face into his chest.

"Talk to me, Marinette."

Marinette clung onto his shirt as she choked back a sob. "It hurts, Adrien," She confessed, letting out a shaky breath. "He claimed over and over again that he 'loved' me, but he just hurt endlessly. Why, Adrien? I remember the pain I felt when he whipped me. The whip tearing my skin. The blood rushing out of the cuts and down my back. The pain I felt afterwards was just as bad. I didn't understand and I still don't understand. Why me? What did I do, Adrien?"

Adrien let out a sigh as he held his wife. The woman he fell in love with in such a short amount of time. The woman that made him happier than he was before she came into his life. The woman that he couldn't protect. Though he had done nothing to her, he felt as if he was responsible for the pain she was feeling. He felt as though he could have done so much better. He should have protected her to the best of his abilities, but he failed to do that, just as he failed to do everything else in his miserable life. "There is no turning back time, Marinette. What you went through, no one should ever go through that. I can't end your pain, Mari, but I'll try to dull that pain so it's nothing but a memory locked away in the back of your mind. I wish I helped you earlier. I wish I could do more to comfort you, to make you happy again, and to see that beautiful smile spread across your face for the rest of your days on this earth. I am going to get back the Marinette I met a few months ago."

Marinette took in the words of Adrien and calmed down a bit. She closed her eyes and her grip on Adrien's shirt went soft. "Thank you for being here, Adrien."

They stood there in silence, only the sound of their breathing filled the room.

"I'm tired," She muttered, releasing Adrien's shirt and wrapping her arms around his waist loosely. Shocking the blunette, Adrien knocked her off her feet and scooped her up into his arms. He headed over to her bed where he laid her down. He was about to turn to leave when Marinette held onto his hand, her eyes drooping. "Stay with me."

With no hesitation, Adrien climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around the princess. He inhaled her familiar scent of strawberries and vanilla and let out a sigh of content. A small smile took over Marinette's features as her eyes slowly fluttered close. A smile that definitely didn't go unnoticed by Adrien as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * * * *

You wouldn't believe how long I wrote this chapter, but didn't post it😅.

This chapter is kind of uneventful, but it's something. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next chapter,

Bye bye little butterflies🦋🦋🦋.