ADRIEN

Sad.

Depressed.

Dejected.

Woeful.

Wretched.

For 2 months, I have carried these heavy sacks full of my emotions. It has been two months since our son decided to leave Marinette and I.

But the worst emotion I am feeling right now is rejection.

My wife is rejecting me right now.

No matter how hard I reach out to her, she always pushes me away. I allowed her to sleep in the guest room for a week since she wanted it. And I thought that she would come back to sleeping in our room after that, but she never did.

I never even see her anymore. And she wouldn't come out to eat any meal with me. Every time I prepare our meals for the day, I have to leave a plate of food outside the door.

Most of the time, I would wait for her to come out the room to get the plate and I would wait for hours until I fall asleep. And when I wake up, the plate is gone...

I knock softly on the door. My knuckles ache as I knock making me realize that I have been doing this for a long time. I heave a sigh and press my ear against the door.

"My lady?" I whisper, trying to make her open the door. "I'm leaving for work in a few minutes...can you at least open the door to bid me good-bye?"

This is my daily routine. Everyday before leaving for work, I knock on her door to see if I can persuade her to come out. But sadly, I have never been successful.

"I have been doing this for weeks already...is this fair on my part?" I continue, but after awhile nothing happens. I sigh and start to leave until I hear the door open.

I turn around and right in front of me is my wife, staring at me through the small opening.

"M-Marinette..." I stutter, "You opened the door..."

She softly fiddles with the door knob and slowly nods at me. I stand in shock, I can't seem to move.

Honestly, I never expected this...

She then starts to cry, tears fall from her eyes. "I'm sorry..." she whispers and she started to close the door.

"No!" I shout and insert my foot in the doorway to stop the door from closing.

"Adrien!" she says, surprised by my actions, "Move your foo-"

"2 months." I firmly say. "You have stayed in that damn room for 2 months. I feel like I'm slowly losing my wife!" I hold her arm through the door.

"I don't deserve to be your wife, Adrien..."

"Do you know how much I love you? Just with that statement alone, you are putting to waste all the times I had to court you. I have always wanted you to be mine. And now we're married, but then you say that...are you rejecting my love for you?" I can't stop a few tears from falling. Just looking at her makes me emotional and I feel like my heart is being shattered into pieces.

She shakes her head, "I don't mean it in that way-"

"Do you love me, Marinette?" I ask her and she gasps in shock. "I know, I know. This is a silly question for a married couple. But in times like this, I have to make sure...I have to know if all my efforts are not being brought to waste. I just have to know that you are helplessly in love with me too."

She opens her mouth to speak then closes it again.

"I-I..." she stutters and I push the door to have a wider opening. She moves back a little and I can finally see the interior of the room. I glance at her walls and the furniture in the room. The chair and the bed looks like as if it has never been used.

She has her hands at her back and it's like as if she is struggling with her answer.

"Marinette?"

"Of course, I do..." she finally answers. "My Adrien, of course I love you. I j-just-"

"You just can't think straight because of our son's..." I trail off, not daring to even say the word, 'death'. "That's why you need me. I need you too, Marinette. It's hard to see the person you love so much torturing herself...stop torturing yourself, please."

"I'm not torturing myself."

"Yes you are! You isolate yourself in this room and you don't even use the bed! Are you sleeping on the floor?"

"How d-do you know..." she sighs, incredulously.

"That is how much I know my wife so well..." I take a deep breath and try to collect myself before continuing. "Please, Marinette...try for me. Try for our son, and try for yourself. Try to stop the guilt from swallowing you whole." I wrap my arms around her and she rests her head on my chest. She trembles a little as she cries and I can't stop myself from crying too.

"I-I will try..." she whimpers and looks at me. "I'll try for you."

I lean closer to her and give her a chaste kiss full of my love for her. This would be our most passionate kiss that we have shared in the past 2 months.

"Will you be sleeping in our room tonight?" I ask her and she slowly nods her head. Her hands go to my necktie and she starts to fix it properly.

"And will you be coming home early tonight?" she quietly asks. I sigh disappointingly and look at another direction.

"I think I might arrive home at a later time..." I confess and she stops fixing my tie to look at me. "I have a lot of things I need to tackle regarding the school..."

"Oh." she utters, clearly disappointed. She lets go of her hold on me then pushes me out of the room. "Then you should go to work now."

"W-what?" I ask, clearly taken back by her actions. She pushes me hard and being in a distracted state, I allow myself to be pushed by her. "Marinette, why are you doing this-"

"Leave." she says before slamming the door at my face.

I stand in shock and I can't comprehend what just happened.

"Marinette?" I knock fast on the door. "Marinette?!" I knock again.

"Damn it!" I curse under my breath, trying to control the feeling of wanting to push the door down. I rest my fists and head on the door.

"Damn it..."

---------

"You've finally arrived, Mister Agreste."

"What did I tell you about formality, Ivan? It's just Adrien..." Unfortunately, I arrive late for work and the cherry on top of my 'good morning' would be Ivan's presence in my office. "This is your third time to visit me in two weeks...what is it now?"

This exhausts me. I'm giving up my time for Marinette just because of my conflict with the IRS.

"I'm here to present a list of more evaded taxes..." he takes out a piece of paper from his bag and hands it to me.

"Wow. Thank you for making this the best morning I have ever had." I sarcastically sneer, "Seriously! This is like the best morning!"

"Mister Agreste, I would like to be serious right now." he talks back, "I'm tired of how sarcastic you are right now. At least show what you really feel about this topic!"

I aprubtly stand and slam my hand on my table, "Fine! You want to know what I am feeling right now?! I'm tired of all of this already! I'm losing the chance of opening my art school and I'm losing my wife right in front of my very own eyes!" I inhale and exhale deeply and I fall back on my chair. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose out of stress. "I can't do this anymore...I'm slowly crumbling down."

Ivan just stares at me with his face full of pity for me.

I roll my eyes, "Don't look at me like that..."

"I'm sorry. I can't help it...I have never expected this to happen. This is too sudden..."

"How about this." he proposes, walking closer to my table. "I will find a way to extend your due date and if I can't do that, then I will find a place where you can borrow money from."

"You would do that?" I ask, surprised, "This is beyond your task at hand, Ivan."

"Mylene is going to be my wife in 2 months, and I have seen her breakdown in front of me...I know what you're going through with Marinette right now. And she needs you more than ever." he collects his things and stands straight. "I will do everything I can to help you. But please do something about this by yourself, too. I'll be leaving now, Mister Agreste. And I hope that you would go home early today...I'm sure that your wife would appreciate that verh much."

I stand and lead him to the door, "I'll try..." I open it and he exits the room.

"Don't just 'try', Adrien." he utters, "You have to do it."

-----------------

I arrived home late. Like, I am literally 5 hours late.

I enter the house and I see a single plate on the dining table. I walk towards it and spot a short note on it.

'Your food is in the fridge. But I think that you had dinner already so I ate half of your share...'

I sigh and start to feel disappointed at myself. Marinette prepared dinner for us and I didn't get to eat with her...

I slowly enter our room and the sight right in front of me just breaks my heart some more.

Marinette is sleeping on her side of the bed. I take off my blazer and tie and I lay down beside her, still wearing my white polo and black slacks. I face her but unfortunately, she is facing the opposite direction. I notice another short note on the middle of the bed and I grab it then bring it closer to the lamp.

'You're late. I waited for you but you never came. I thought that we agreed on a deal this morning.

But I guess that it was meant to be broken...

Don't expect me to be sleeping in this room ever again.'

I throw the note away and I immediately move closer to her. I lie down and slowly wrap my arm around her. I press my face on her back and I let the tears flow freely on my face.

"I'm sorry..." I quietly sob and I hug her tighter, "I'm sorry, my lady. Please forgive me. I tried to come home early...I'm so sorry that I broke our deal."

I bring the blanket closer to us and I start to softly kiss her hair, "I have evaded taxes and now the IRS is taking note of everything I purchase or deal...We're losing money and I don't know how to solve it." I confess everything to her as she sleeps.

And I cry some more realizing that I can never tell her truth when she is awake.

------------------------

I see every staff member of mine taking down my paintings and sculptures and placing them in boxes specially designed for them. I notice that most of them are having a hard time fitting the frames in their boxes.

It's time to say good-bye to this art exhibition...

I see Karla supervising them and I walk to where she is standing. "Why are a lot them taking a lot of time just to put a single frame inside a box?" I ask and she sighs in distress.

"We are low on labor force right now, sir."

"Then call the others!" I declare,  "Like...Marinette! Where is she? She's supposed to be helping them-"

"Sir." Karla interrupts and looks at me, "I think that you have forgotten that she doesn't work here anymore...she has been gone for a month already."

"Oh." I whisper, remembering the night she told me that she was leaving, "I see..."

I forgot...why did I forget?

"Are you okay, sir?" Karla asks carefully, holding my arm.

I swat her arm away, "Yeah, I am." I mutter. "Take all your time. Just be sure that the boxes are ready for shipment by tomorrow. I'll be in my office if you need me."

I briskly walk to my office and I slam the door behind me as I enter my office.

Why did I let Marinette go?

"Damn it, Adrien! You're so stupid!" I shout at myself then sit down on my chair. I bury my head in my arms on the desk and try to control myself.

"But she wanted it, Adrien..." I continue. I raise my head and lean back on my chair. "And I can't resist her. I can't say no to her!" I slap myself in the face and I whimper because of the pain.

"I'm such a wimp..." I complain and I hear a knock on the door.

"Come in." I utter and the door opens but no one enters. I crane my neck to see if anyone was behind the door.

"BOO!"

"Ah crap!" I shout in surprise as the two sisters jump out from hiding behind the door. I place a hand on my chest and try to calm my heartbeat. "Jesus! Ramona, Beezus, you scared me!"

The both of them enter the room, softly giggling as they walk to my desk. I chuckle softly and close the door.

"What brings the two of you here?" I ask them. Ramona elbows Beezus and she winks twice at her. "Um, is something going on?" I continue and Beezus hands over a brown envelope to me. I receive it and look at it skeptically.

"Don't open it yet." Beezus instructs and I walk to my desk and sit on my chair, still holding the brown envelope.

"We would like to thank you, Mister Agreste." Ramona starts, the two of them stand beside each other and Ramona clasps her hands together as she continues, "You have gave us an opportunity to work and we got to earn money out of it."

"Well," I say, "it was also fun to work with you, ladies. You just make my days crazier than ever before! And for that, I appreciate your presence..."

"And we appreciate you, sir." Beezus continues for Ramona, "And the both of us respect you and all your endeavors so much. Out of our respect for you, we decided to prepare a gift for you."

"A gift?"

"Basically, it's a 'Thank you' gift." Ramona explains, "You have done a lot for us and my sister and I think that it's our turn to give something to you...you may open the envelope, sir."

I lift the flap of the envelope and I bring out two pictures from it. I examine the first picture which is a photo of Marinette's bakery and the other picture is a photo of a house nearby the bakery.

"What are these pictures for?" I ask them and Ramona bites her lip before speaking.

"We noticed that you have been feeling down ever since Marinette left..."

"And we thought that maybe if you knew where she works now, you would feel more at ease; you wouldn't worry too much." Beezus continues for Ramona and I am in a state of shock.

"You took these?" I ask, referring to the pictures, "For me?"

The both of them nod and I smile in appreciation. "Thank you...your efforts in finding out where she works and taking pictures of these places, these are overwhelming. Thank you, again."

"You're welcome, sir." Beezus acknowledges, "And if you're wondering, Marinette works as a babysitter in that building." she points at the second picture and I cluck my tongue.

"I'll keep that in mind..."

"We hope that you would see each other again..." Ramona sighs dreamily and I feel my face starting to flush. "It would be amazing, sir!"

"Stop that, sister!" Beezus slaps Ramona's arm and Ramona recoils her arm away from Beezus. "You can't just pair the two of them together!"

"Ladies." I sternly say in order to get their attention, "Even if I enjoy watching the two of you bicker, I have to tell you that the both of you should go back to work. There are a lot of frames to pack."

"Sorry, sir." Beezus apologizes and pushes Ramona to the door, "We'll be going ahead. See you later!" She opens the door and pushes Ramona out of the room first before exiting the room herself. Ramona waves at me for one last time before Beezus closes the door.

I slump in my chair and look at the photos again.

What's the use of going to her workplace when I know that she would find ways to hide from me?

I would just be wasting my time if I go there...

I look at my watch and sigh.

"It's time to prepare for Nino's party."

-----------------

"And so Nino, enjoy your last night as a single man! And may you and your future wife stay together forever! Say no to homewreckers!!" One of Nino's fellow DJs ends his speech with his bottle of beer raised up into the air.

All of us cheer and we clink our bottles of beer together. I am sitting beside Nino and he chuckles softly as he refills his bottle.

"What's with you right now?" I ask after chugging down my beer.

"I can't wait for this bachelor party to end..." he answers and I almost choke on my beer.

"A-are you really excited for tomorrow?"

He rolls his eyes like as if I asked him a petty question.

"Of course, I am! I'm getting married tomorrow! I am really excited to see my future wife walk down the aisle and say 'I do' to me!" he answers.

I gasp in awe, "You are the first person I have ever met that wasn't nervous before their wedding. Heck, I was more nervous than excited the day before my wedding!"

He chuckles at me and I lightly punch him in the shoulder. "Hey!" I utter, "Don't laugh at me!"

"Honestly, I don't see the point in worrying and being nervous on your wedding day! You know your feelings for the woman and she knows her feelings for you too!"

I scoff, "And what happens if she decides to change her mind at the last minute?"

"My Alya isn't like that..." he quietly answers and he starts to play with his bottle of beer. "I know her feelings for me and that is the only thing that keeps me calm and sane for my wedding."

I look down and try to reminisce the feelings I had the day before my wedding.

I was excited, too.

But mostly, I was nervous.

I was nervous not because of the possibility that Marinette might say no to me, I was nervous because there might be someone who would want to break our marriage. And I never wanted that to happen.

But notice the irony. The people who broke off our marriage were just ourselves.

I shake my head and try to clear my thoughts of the past. Nino places his hand on my shoulders and peers at me.

"You okay?" he asks and I nod.

"Yeah, of course..." I clear my throat and rub my hands together, "So who else did you invite?" I ask, trying to change the topic.

"Alya and I only invited a few people. Our families, some of my close friends who are DJs and our high school classmates. We prefer a smaller and simpler crowd, it wouldn't be too much of a burden for the both of us." he answers before finishing his bottle of beer. He notices that his bottle was empty and he stands from his chair. "I'm going to refill this first." he announces before leaving me all alone at the table.

I sip from my bottle little-by-little and suddenly somebody sits on the chair Nino was sitting on a while ago.

I turn my body to look at the guy and I accidentally let go of my bottle once I see the person.

I hate this.

The sound of glass breaking is heard but I don't mind it. I don't also mind the shattered pieces of glass around me. The only thing I mind is the person beside me.

I hate him. I despise him.

Nathanael is sitting beside me  right now.

"Woah!" he says, moving his chair away from the broken glass. "Careful there, Adrien!"

"Nice to see you, Nath." I murmur and right now, I am clearly not interested in cleaning the broken glass. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to celebrate with Nino! I got invited in his wedding and-"

"And who is your plus one?" I interrupt him. He starts to slowly sink in his seat and he looks scared right now.

"You don't need to know right now." he squeaks, "You will see her tomorrow...anyway! What about you?"

"Me?" I scoff and grab a full bottle of beer at my left, "I don't plan on bringing one with me."

"Oh! You're that type of guy-"

"Yes." I cut him off, I clench the beer bottle between my hands, "I'm not the type of guy who hits on the ex-wife of one of his good friends." I bluntly say and his eyes widen in shock.

"You're not that type of guy too, right? Nathanael?" I inquire and he slowly shakes his head in denial.

"Why would I do that?" he whispers and I give him a smug smile.

"Yeah." I confirm. "I remember. You would never do that, Nathanael. I'm sorry for even asking the question." I continue, talking sarcastically.

I stand up from my chair and leave my bottle on the table, "I'll be leaving now. Tell Nino that I'll see him tomorrow."

He doesn't look at me as I speak and I leave him in that position.

Yeah, feel that way. Take note, I am going to fight for her and I'll make sure that I am the winner.

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

Hi :) Sorry for taking a long time to write this chapter :(

But I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)

I am busy right now since it's already the 2nd sem for me :( but I am doing my best to balance my time for you guys :3

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