As Adrien made his way back home, a huge smile appeared on his face, because he was feeling absolutely ecstatic.

He unconsciously rubbed a finger along his bottom lip, in order to savor the sweet taste of raspberries.

Everything about Marinette was just so perfect, it was almost too good to be true. It felt like a dream. And maybe, just maybe it was...

Blue faded into bright shades of red and orange, as afternoon transcended into dusk. Adrien knew that he should have been back hours ago, but he had completely lost track of time. His father was probably furious, but the teenager just didn't care anymore.

As the blond opened the front door, his eyes continued to beam with happiness. He took in a deep breath, and closed his emerald green eyes for a while before turning around.

At that exact moment, his face immediately fell, and his joy was snatched away and replaced with fear and distress that seemed unwavering.

Without moving or even saying anything, the middle-aged man continued to stare at his son, with nothing but disapproval in his condescending eyes.

The atmosphere was so dense, it was becoming increasingly harder to breathe. The anxious teenager swallowed as he tried to approach his cold-hearted parent.

"Father..?"

For a moment, nothing but silence seemed to consume his entire body. He wiped the sweat away from his forehead as his heart rate began to accelerate.

"Adrien."

Gabriel Agreste took a few steps towards the boy, but stopped when his body was half illuminated in the artificial light. His jaw was sharp and his cold blue eyes seemed dark and they were empty.

The second he locked eye contact with his son, Adrien slightly backed away. Cold shivers ran down the boy's spine as he cautiously waited for a response.

"Pack your bags. You're going to Spain."

Adrien could feel his stomach twist and turn with uncertainty. He gave his parent an unsure look as he attempted to comprehend the unexpected news.

"Wh... What, Father?"

The older man gave his son an unimpressed glare, "You're going to Spain for a photo shoot. Do I make myself clear?"

Adrien hugged himself as the negative emotions continued to intensify. He didn't have another modeling shoot for at least a month, so this was definitely a surprise.

"May I ask why?" He tried to sound confident, but the nervousness was still evident in his voice.

Gabriel's face was emotionless. He merely glanced at the boy, "You brought this upon yourself, Adrien! Because of your... relationship with Mlle Dupain Cheng, the Agreste Brand is in jeopardy."

The model clenched his jaw in anger. He should have known...

Adrien had constantly tried to be there for his disheartened father. His efforts were relentless. Time and time again, without even a second thought, he would do everything that was expected of him. He was forced do so many different extracurricular activities, and not once did he complain.

Gabriel gave his son everything he could ever want. Everything except for the things that really mattered. He told his son that he loved him, but Adrien knew better.

His father was so focused on his own pain and suffering, that he was completely oblivious to the fact that Adrien needed him now more than ever before.

He longed for a meaningful relationship with his father, yet his father didn't even want him...

The reality was just too much to bare. He had to take in a deep breath in order to repress those memories for just a moment.

The teen frowned as he tried to get the man's attention, "But, Father... Marinette didn't do anything! If it wasn't for Lila-"

"Don't talk back to me, young man! You're going to Spain whether you like it or not!" The fashion designer folded his arms, "Your flight leaves first thing tomorrow morning, so make sure you're ready!"

Adrien couldn't control his emotions any longer. Right there he snapped.

"No!"

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me!?"

"I'm sorry, Father but I'm not going, because I'm in love with Marinette. And if I go to Spain, I won't be able to prove to everyone that those awful rumors are fake!"

Gabriel was not impressed by his son's sudden rebellious nature. He glared at the teenager through his spectacles as he began pacing towards him.

"You will never be able to stop those rumors, Adrien! There is photographic evidence to support everyone's beliefs that Mlle DuPain Cheng is in fact a whore. There is nothing you can do to change their opinions! You are going to Spain. The decision is final!"

"This is so unfair! You don't even care about what I want... You're only doing this for yourself! You've never cared about me, and this just proves it!"

The disappointment was evident on the boy's face, but his father didn't care. Gabriel scoffed and shook his head in frustration.

"Everything I do is for you! If I didn't care about you, you wouldn't have a house, the best food and clothes money could ever buy, a promising modeling career. You would have absolutely nothing if it wasn't for me!"

Adrien immediately raised his voice in anger, "I hate modeling! You've forced me to do all these extracurricular activities that I don't even like..." His head hung low and his voice was bearly even a whisper, "You've planned out my entire life, but not once did you stop to think about what I want!"

Gabriel was silent for a moment as he tried to process everything that was said to him. He slightly flinched, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I'm your father. I know what's best for you. You'll understand one day," He sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose, "This conversation is over."

The man's icy blue eyes stared his son down as he impatiently waited for a response.

The teenager's heart shattered into a million pieces, because those words were just so painful. He wanted to protest, but he knew that that would only make everything a billion times worse.

Without looking at him, Adrien sadly sighed, "Yes, Father."

The older man didn't say anything, but slightly nodded his head to signify his 'approval'.

As Gabriel disappeared into his office, Adrien was once again left alone.

With his body still tense, and his mind still racing with all sorts of negativity, he glanced up at the roof with pain and regret in his eyes.

How was he going to explain this to Marinette? He had made her a promise that he couldn't even keep...

'I'm so sorry, Marinette...'

He clutched onto his hair in frustration. She was a very forgiving person, so hopefully she would understand... But he still had many doubts.

The blond sighed as he began walking towards the staircase. As he continued to make his way to his bedroom, he hesitantly reached for his phone.

He quickly unlocked the mobile device, and began searching for Marinette's number.

Once found, he paused and took in a deep breath. His fingers were trembling and his heart was aggressively thumping in his chest.

"Here goes nothing..." He thought out loud before typing a message into the device.

His discouraged eyes read the message one last time before pressing the 'send' button.

He wanted nothing more than to run up to her, embrace her with dozens of kisses and tell her that he loved her. But he knew that he just couldn't do that...

Adrien was conflicted, and he didn't know what to do anymore. He wiped his eyes with his hand as the tears began to fall. He wanted Marinette so badly, yet he couldn't even have her...

After what felt like hours, he came up with an idea.

If he couldn't convince his father to let him stay behind, Adrien would just have to be disobedient for the sake of Marinette.

His priorities had changed. He would be there for his father one last time, but after that, it was over!

***

The loneliness was unbearable. Every time Marinette passed someone in the hallway, they would laugh and stare. Her confidence was non-existent, and her faith was completely shattered.

But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part of all was that fact that Adrien wasn't there...

He was gone, and she didn't even know when or if he would ever come back. She subconsciously questioned why he would be so cruel as to leave her during the worst time of her life, but realistically she knew that it wasn't his fault...

Just the thought alone was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She missed him so much, and wished that he could be here with her.

She took in a deep breath as she began walking towards her bakery. As she continued to make her way back home, she quickly reached for her phone.

The blue-eyed girl didn't know if the call would be successful or not, but it was worth a try...

Just as she was about to dial his number, she glanced up only to see Chloé, who appeared to be waving at her.

Marinette had to do a double take, because she could hardly even recognize her famous acquaintance.

"Marinette..." Chloé seemed unsure, but nevertheless continued to slowly pace towards the bluenette.

"Ch... Chloé?" Marinette paused as she vacantly stared at the unrecognizable blonde.

Chloé's face was pale and she had dark circles under her eyes. Her golden hair wasn't in its usual ponytail, but rather hung over her shoulders.

The young baker was feeling a little unsteady. She wanted to back away, but the pain that was concealed behind those dejected baby blue orbs was impossible to ignore.

Marinette suddenly felt sympathetic towards her classmate. She knew what Chloé had done was unforgivable, but a small part of her knew that the mayor's daughter definitely regretted her actions.

A single second of unrelenting silence filled the atmosphere as neither of them knew what to say. Chloé appeared to be suffering with such immense guilt, that she avoided eye contact at all costs.

"Marinette... I am so sorry! I-"

Bluebell eyes glanced at the blonde in confusion, "... It's okay-"

"No, its not okay!" Chloé instantly snapped back, "Because of my mistake, you and Adrien are both paying the price!"

Marinette was speechless for a moment, "... I... Uh..."

The mayor's daughter stood still as she waited for her acquaintance to say something, but after she received no reaction from her, she hesitantly began pacing closer towards her.

Marinette felt a little awkward, but she quickly regained some confidence. She merely glanced at the discouraged girl before attempting to smile.

"I really did try to stop Lila from sending that post... If it wasn't for Nathanaël..." Her face was so emaciated, it was almost too painful to look at.

Marinette gulped when she heard that name. She began to subconsciously question what Chloé ment by that. Adrien hadn't mentioned anything about Nathanaël, so she was starting to feel extremely nervous.

"Nathanaël..?" Marinette's voice was weak, and her throat was dry. She was almost too afraid to ask, but her curiosity had unfortunately gotten the best of her.

"I... Yeah, it's difficult-"

The lump in her throat had grown so large, that she was almost on the verge of tears. Chloé took in a deep breath and looked away.

Marinette's brows formed a single crease in the center of her forehead as she attempted to comprehend the girl's strange behavior.

"Are... Are you say... Saying that he did something to you?"

Chloé was silent for a moment. The bright shades of blue in her eyes faded into dull shades of gray. She slightly glanced at Marinette but quickly reverted her gaze to the ground.

"He uhm- It doesn't matter..." She mumbled under her breath.

Marinette knew right away that Chloé was far from okay. She could tell by the hurt in her despondent eyes, that the blonde's innocence was unwillingly stripped away from her.

Because of her history with the malicious red head, Marinette knew exactly what he was capable of.

She didn't really know what to do, but despite everything, she felt compelled to reach out and comfort the distressed teenager.

"I forgive you, Chloé... And it's going to be alright!"

Chloé immediately froze when she felt a pair of arms squeeze her tiny body. But after about three seconds had passed by, she accepted the unexpected gesture, and hugged Marinette back.

She couldn't contain her emotions any longer. Timeless moments had passed by before the water works began. The ashamed blonde tried to speak, but every time she opened her mouth, no words would come.

Right there, in the mitst of all the chaos, she became valuable and let go of every single bottled up emotion that had consumed her for years.

As her class mate continued to cry, the violinist hesitantly began to rub her back. Marinette's blazer was now drenched in tears, but she didn't care.

After her tears eventually subsided a little, Chloé rubbed her eyes and let go of the baker girl. She gave her a very small smile as she tried to apologize for everything.

"I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make a scene..." A slight giggle escaped from her voice box as she tried to diffuse the awkwardness that lingered between them.

Marinette gave the girl a genuine smile, "You don't have to apologize, Chloé. You are human after all..."

The blonde's face fell and she instantly looked away, "Yeah, I know... But anyway... I didn't have much of a choice-"

The bluenette felt a little faint. It was so unlike Chloé to say something like that. She was always so confident, but perhaps it was all just an act, which she used to mask her unknown pain and suffering...

"-If I didn't give Lila those pictures that Jeanne sent me, he would have exposed all of my deepest, darkest secrets. And he was the reason I had to break up with Luka! I was reluctant to give her those photos, because I didn't want to lose Adrien as well..." Her voice was weak but her anger was fierce.

She could feel her body begin to tremble, but she paid no attention to it. She clenched her jaw before merely shaking those depressing thoughts away.

"What!?"

Marinette could hardly even believe what she was hearing. Her heart sunk and she felt a little light-headed. Was Luka aware of all of this, and why did Jeanne send those images to Chloé?

She remembered seeing a picture of her and Adrien together in the Instagram post, but she hadn't realized that this specific photograph was one that was taken in the cabin...

Chloé glanced at her acquaintance for a moment before continuing, "Yeah... Nathanaël and I secretly dated before Luka came to Françis Dupont, but we broke up a few months after that."

Bluebell eyes grew wide with shock. Did that mean that Nathanaël had cheated on her when they were still dating??

Marinette's thoughts were suddenly interpreted when Chloé spoke up.

"When you rejected him, he devised his plan of revenge..."

"Re... Revenge?"

"Yeah... He tried to get your attention, but you wouldn't give him the time of day. And he knew that Lila had a vendetta towards Adrien... So Nathanaël and Lila teamed up, cause either way they would both get what they wanted."

Marinette was silent. She was having a hard time processing all of this information.

Nathanaël was such a despicable individual, it was sickening! Just because the baker girl rejected him, that gave him the right to make her life a living hell!?

Marinette could feel the anger begin to take an unnatural hold on her. And because of what he did, Adrien was also suffering!

His father forced him to leave the country, because the rumors had gotten so bad. He really didn't deserve this!

The bluenette missed him so much! All she wanted was to run up to him, smother him with kisses and tell him that everything was going to be okay...

But sadly that wasn't going to happen. He was trapped in another country, away from her, with no way of getting back...

Marinette's train of thought was interpreted when Luka suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Hi, Marinette... Chloé..." The blue-haired guitarist rubbed his neck as he began walking towards them.

Marinette glanced at Chloé and shrugged her shoulders.

Chloé was instantly struck by a wave of unrelenting distress. When her baby blue eyes caught a glimpse of his deep ocean blue orbs, she couldn't help but think back to the first time she had heard him play the guitar.

His music seemed to come alive at the single stroke of a finger. She knew that there was a lot of talented musicians out there, but Luka was by far best in her eyes.

And it wasn't just his musical talent that was able to capture her attention. It was everything about him. She had never believed in love. But after meeting Luka, all of that changed...

Chloé couldn't look at him for too long, because she felt unworthy. She didn't deserve his sympathy, and she certainly didn't deserve his forgiveness.

Seeing that the blonde was having a very hard time trying to hold it all together, Luka decided that he needed to do something.

The minute Chloé's sad eyes met his concerned ones, he gave her a small, sincere smile. He felt compelled to reach out and touch her, but he stopped himself when she suddenly looked away.

The guitarist rubbed a hand through his blue hair before turning his attention back to Marinette.

"I'm sorry about all the rumors..." Luka gave the bluenette a small smile, "Adrien told me everything..."

Marinette gave her friend a sad smile before slightly nodding her head. She was about to reply, when a thought came to mind. Her frown quickly turned into a slight grin when she looked at Chloé.

"It's fine... Well, anyway... I'll chat to you later. I need to get home..." Marinette slightly nudged Chloé in the side before giving her a wink.

As soon as Marinette said those words, Chloé's head shot up and gave the girl a small smile before shyly glancing up at Luka.

Right there she knew. Luka forgave her, and that's all that mattered. She could feel the tears beginning to fall, but she didn't care if he saw them or not.

"Okay, Marinette... You seem anxious to get home-" He raised an eyebrow at her strange, unexpected behavior, "So, I'll text you then?"

The violinest nodded her head in agreement. She gave them both a slight wave before turning her back to leave.

Just before she turned the corner, she stole one last glance at them. Marinette instantly smiled when she saw them hugging. She was happy to know that Luka had forgiven Chloé, even after everything she had done...

And now that she was all alone, those feelings of disappointment, pain and loneliness only seemed to intensify with every timeless second.

Marinette couldn't take it any more...

She shook her head in frustration, shut her eyes and reached for her mobile device. Her fingers were trembling and her heart was racing.

She needed to hear Adrien's voice, because she needed to know if he was okay.

The young baker tucked a single strand of hair behind her ear as she waited for him to pick up.

***