ADRIEN

There are times when I can handle another angry person and I would be fine, both physically and mentally. Simply talk it out and things will work out the way they’re supposed to go, maybe not fast but at least there would be a bit of change.

I was always fine.

Until now.

“It’s all your fault!” Marinette shouts at me from across the living room. “You are the reason behind all the pain I am feeling right now!” She throws a vase toward me and I duck just in time for it to crash into the wall behind me.

We’ve been at it for hours now and God, I am tired and frustrated too.

“My fault?!” I shout back in exasperation. I force out a derisive laugh. “Everything would have been sailing smoothly if it weren’t for your laziness! Your DAMN LAZINESS!!” Standing near the dining table, I grab the closest thing I could reach for. A can full of cookies. Without thinking twice, I throw it straight to the television screen making a hole right in the middle of it.

Marinette gasps loudly. “ADRIEN! YOU KNOW ALL TOO WELL THAT I SAVED A LOT JUST TO BUY THAT TELEVISION SET!”

“DO I LOOK LIKE I FREAKING CARE, MARINETTE?!”

Her facial expression changes into an eerie one in a second and she stomps inside our supposedly shared room. A few seconds pass and she emerges with the baseball bat I bought a long time ago for defense in case a burglar breaks in our place. Without any hesitation, she heads straight to the speakers beside the TV.

No, no not those, please! I bought those with my savings!

“Marinette,” I hold out a hand in the air, “calm down please a-and let’s not get too i-irrational…” I couldn’t help to stutter.

She raises the bat and swings it to the speaker without showing any signs of mercy. The sound that emanated with every hit caused a piece of whatever insanity was left of me to break.

It got louder and louder and I couldn't take it anymore. "JESUS CHRIST! NOW YOU ARE REALLY PISSING ME OFF! I regret falling in love with you!" Nothing stopped me from shouting those words to her. I looked at her with eyes full of hatred and my voice filled with rage.

"I HATE YOU, ADRIEN!" She shouts back with all her might.

I grab the flower vase standing in the center of the dining table and hurl it right at our framed wedding photo hanging on the wall. Both of us watch as the vase crashes into the frame, making it fall to the floor. The glass breaks into minute pieces and suddenly…we both become silent.

The shared silence envelops us. The heat of the moment dies down slowly and it’s clear that we’re both drained from all this. Not just the fight…but us, as an entirety.

“I’ve been telling you for the past few months that getting a divorce would be the best for us,” Marinette whispers, her eyes still on the broken wedding photo frame lying in pieces on the floor.

“It takes time and effort to work things out–”

“Is this what you call ‘working things out’?!” She raises her voice and gesticulates at the mess around us. The mess we caused. “There is nothing working out for us both and you know that, Adrien!” She draws back and squeezes her eyes shut. Slowly, she shakes her head and then sets her lips into a thin line. 

I don’t know what to say. My mind’s all blank.

What I know is that she’s right.

“We basically admitted that we hated each other,” she continues in a soft voice, “Isn’t that enough for a divorce?”

“...Consider it done, then.”

“Finally,” she breathes out. Without another word uttered, she heads to the guest room – the room she’s been staying in for the past month – and slams the door behind her.

Now I’m alone in our living room. Alone with all kinds of clutter surrounding me. I don’t have it in me to clean for the night and I know that I’ll be sleeping all by myself in our room tonight.

It’s been like that for a lot of nights already. A part of me is used to it, another part refuses to believe it.

I pull out a chair from the dining table and sit on it listlessly. I fish my phone out of my pocket and dial a number I’ve memorized throughout my life.

It rings only twice before the person on the other end answers the call.

I don’t wait for the person to greet me first. “Nathalie,” I breathe out her name in a tired manner. “I know it’s late and…and I know you don’t work for me anymore, but I need your help.”

“Yes, Adrien?” I could hear some noise from her end. She must be getting up from bed. “Don’t worry about the late call. What is it that you need?”

I purse my lips for a moment, taking in the hideous sight before me. “...Help me set up my divorce.”

“What?” She practically shouts over the phone.

God, I can’t take more shouting for the night.

“Help me set up my divorce,” I repeat. “Get the forms I need. Fix them so that Marinette and I just need to sign them.”

“H-How–”

“I don’t care how much it would cost me to do it as long as it’s done as soon as possible.”

“Adrien, that’s not what I’m trying to ask–”

“Listen,” I cut her off. “Just work on that and then I’ll never bother you again.”

It becomes quiet on the other end, but I know that she’s still there.

“...Adrien? Are you okay?” She asks all of a sudden, catching me off guard.

My gaze flies to the closed door of the guest room. At the other side of the door is the woman I love.

Used to love.

Still love.

I don’t know.

I’m just…exhausted. Whatever Marinette and I have, it’s finished. There is no point to it anymore.

“Of course, I am,” I answer, “I’m finally ending something that made me so tired for the past year. I’ve got other big problems to think about. I can’t let this continue to eat me up. It’s not only bothering me, but it’s also bothering Marinette. She’s right. We might as well end it.”

“I never imagined this to happen,” she whispers.

I purposefully clear my throat. “So, are you going to do it or not?”

“I-I’ll work on it first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you, Nathalie.”

“Adrien. I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? There is nothing to be sorry about. This separation is mutual.”

—---------

Marinette makes it a point to walk ahead of me down the stairs from being in court. I allow her to do so.

For one last time, I get to see her near me and then I’ll never have that opportunity again.

That’s okay. It’s what we both want.

Some words of farewell wouldn’t hurt. 

“Goodbye, Marinette,” I say from behind.

She stops and turns to face me. No emotion betrayed her stoic countenance. “Goodbye, Adrien,” she utters back and continues her way down the stairs walking away from me and eventually, walking out of my life for good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are back to business! ♡

This version is basically the opposite perspectives between Adrien and Marinette. The original book started with Marinette's POV, now this prologue begins with Adrien. The following chapters will continue in that manner.

This means that I'm not forgetting the original version, and this new one does not replace it.

Reading the original version and this one will be different experiences. I even suggest reading the original one and this one in parallel. It will show both their feelings in similar chapters :)

I hope you enjoyed this beginning!

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