Marinette never heard the warning sound.  It was too quiet for her to notice it. Her ears were badly damaged when she was a child. She had never told anyone this. She felt a sharp pain as the blast went off burying her underneath the remains of the building. She gasped for air. She muttered, "At least he's safe, my Adrien," before she lost consciousness.

         The medics arrived along with the fire squad. They searched the area. They found her burned unconscious body poking out underneath some debris. They rescued her and she was taken to the hospital. The crooks who did it were long gone. 

         The haze from the smoke residue was still fresh in the air. It was the final sign of what the bomb had taken away.

         Adrien received news of the incident. He shook his head in disbelief. It could not be true, he refused to believe she was dead. Marinette could not be dead. He knew it. "No, she is alive!" He protested the words the messenger brought him. 

Time skip!

    Two months later, Adrien kept busy between work and caring for his adopted daughters. The adoption was finalized.  Bailey and Alana were officially his. He wept at the good news. He was relieved while grief set in over his loss of the one girl he would never forget, Marinette. He still had the ring. He always hoped by some miracle she had made it.

       The police caught up to the assassins since they had set off a similar bomb elsewhere recently. They arrested them all for illegal use of warfare, for destruction of many properties, for murder, attempted murder, and more.

          Marinette who had recovered was in hiding because the police put her in a safe house alone to ensure her safety as well as the safety of those she loved.  

          Adrien had resolved to be a single father. He could not marry someone else. Many girls had tried to get his attention, but he refused them. His heart would not stop longing for her. He sighed. He loved her. He wished she had trusted him to help her, maybe the loss would not have been so bad. Who was he kidding?  It was what she wanted.

         Time skip once more!

     Four years later, Marinette reemerged from the ashes. What she once was no longer existed. She was not the same tough woman she used to be. She was vulnerable once more. Her weapons had been lost in the tragic circumstance that almost took her life. She longed for him. For Adrien, but he must have moved on by now. There was no way she could hope, he still loved her. Not after all this time.

        Bailey and Alana were both now four years old. The two spent some time in prekindergarten for a few hours each day. Neither girl could understand what troubled their father. They were too little to know it was due to love. The girls made sure to tell their father all about the things, they had learned while away and about the nice teacher they had there.

         "Kagami is that her name?" Adrien asked. "Yes," Alana said. Bailey smiled. She did not talk as much as her twin sister, Alana.  "Daddy, no," Bailey shook her head. He looked at Alana in confusion. "I do not understand, Bailey, Kagami is your teacher. I thought you liked your teacher," He said. "She is not right," Bailey blurt out. "Not right?" Adrien was troubled now. What was it about the teacher that his daughter did not like?

       "Kagami, not yours," Bailey said. She walked off to color. Adrien stood stunned. He had not the foggiest idea what that was all about anyway. What could his daughter have meant by that? Could it be she did not want him to meet her teacher?

    While he was pondering, the doorbell rang. Adrien looked up to see a lady who reminded him of his first love but this lady was taller, with shorter hair than Marinette's, and she had brown eyes not blue. Who was this stranger and why was she here?

         "Hi, I am sorry to drop by on such short notice," She said.

           "And you are?" Adrien asked. "I am Kagami Tsurgui, the teacher at your girl's school.  I want to say they are both great learners and get along great with the other students. I am concerned about Bailey."  She said. "Bailey, what is it?" He asked. "She shakes her head a lot, and she rarely speaks. Is there something about her mother I should know?"   "I know nothing about her mother, I adopted them," Adrien explained.  "Oh, my apologies Adrien Agreste. I meant no harm.  I am just concerned about Bailey's lack of speech." She said.  "Bailey is shy, while Alana is outgoing," Adrien remarked.

            Kagami handed him report cards. He smiled when he saw the Satisfactory grade was so high for them both. He was glad to see the other grades too. Bailey tugged at his sleeve. "She is not yours," She repeated pointing at the teacher. The teacher blushed and left.

             Adrien did not understand what made Bailey say such a thing. "Bailey, I know it, may be hard to believe, but someday, you girls might have a mother. I may find a wife, and when I do you shall have a mom."  "A mom?" Alana asked. "Yes, if I marry, that is," He explained. "Marry who, teacher?" Alana asked. "No, I assure you I have interest in her," He said.

         Alana and Bailey returned to their coloring.

 Find out more in Chapter 7 

coming soon.

Until then,

bye-bye,

little owlets!

Summer out!