MARINETTE

It has been one week since the 4th death anniversary of my son, and I don't know if I have moved on from what happened. Well, I can never move on. How can a mother forget the death of her child?

"Hey girl."

I turn to the direction where I heard the voice. It's Alya who was standing by the door of the bathroom.

"You still preparing for work?" She asks as she eyes what I was doing in front of the sink. I have my makeup kit on the sink and all the face cream I need to use in order for people to not know that I have been crying nonstop for the past week.

"Marinette," She calls at me. I close my eyes and I am trying to calm myself down. She is going to give me a lecture again and because of how stubborn I am, I am not going to follow any of her advice.

"I'm not going to give a lecture, right now." She says as she rolls her eyes.

"Oh...then can you exit the bathroom please? I need to prepare for work." I say and I turn my attention to the makeup kit in front of me.

I feel Alya's hand on my shoulder and she starts to fix my hair by braiding it.

"Alya...you should leave me alone right now."

"Marinette, you should do something that can distract you from what you are feeling right now. I can't see my best friend in pain all the time."

I look at her and I can see how concerned she is for me through her eyes.

"I wish that I could do that, Alya..." I sadly say. "But everything that I see and that I do reminds me of him. My Thomas..." I continue and I turn the knob of the faucet. Water is coming down from it and I wash my face.

"But," I say after drying my face with a towel, "you are right, Alya. I think that I should stay strong for him by going to work." I turn to face her and she has a smile on her face.

"That's the spirit, girl! Come on! Your mom will kill me if you are late!"

I grab the keys of our apartment and we both exit the door.

Now who wouldn't be scared of two grown women running frantically to a bakery that is 6 blocks away from where they live?

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Both of us enter my parents' bakery and thankfully, there aren't any customers inside the store right now. I wouldn't want anyone to hear my mom scolding two 28 year old women in the morning.

"Good morning, mom!"

"Good morning, Sabine!"

Alya and I greet my mom at the same time and my mom is just glaring at us with her hands on her hips.

"I don't consider this as a 'good' morning, girls. I had to make the croissants all by myself this morning! And don't get me started with the muffins! I think that my arms are going to fall off already! Oh dear! I'm old!" My mom said to us without even stopping to breathe. She goes inside the kitchen and she starts to noisily wash the pots and pans she used. Alya and I could hear the clanging of pans against each other. My mom was pissed.

"Oh! The woes of a married woman who has done nothing wrong!! Woe is me, woe is me!"

My mom started to sing in order for Alya and I to feel "guilty". Honestly, both of us didn't even feel a bit guilty.

"Seriously girl, I remember your mom being so quiet and patient when we were teenagers. But now she acts like as if she hates everything in this world. What's wrong with her?"

"Menopause." I simply answer Alya's question.

She nods in understanding and she looks around the bakery for a chair to sit on.

"Well, I gotta get to work now! I'll be sitting by the corner. You take care of your mom." Alya says as she goes to the corner table and she brings her laptop out and starts typing on it.

Alya is a well-known blogger here in Paris and she earns money by just writing about things. While her best friend, a.k.a. me, is struggling to earn money in order for her to pay her bills and rent.

I work in my parents' bakery but I live in an apartment with Alya. My mom pays me for my work in the bakery. She treats me like a normal employee, most of the time. Working in my parents' bakery is a heartbreak for me because I was so close into finishing my studies in designing clothes until I got divorced. It was my ex-husband who was paying for my studies. Woe is me.

I go inside the kitchen and I get a baking pan. I use the baking pan to cover myself as I go near my mom.

"M-mom?" I ask her through the clattering noise of the pots and pans. "Can you at least listen first to my explanation?"

Upon hearing my question, she stops washing the pans and she turns her body to face me. She nods her head to let me know that I can continue.

I move closer to my mom with the baking pan still covering my face.

"If you don't put that baking pan down, I will seriously go crazy in this kitchen right now."

"Okay, okay!" I put the baking pan on the counter and I raise my hands up like as if I was going to surrender. "Now can I talk?"

"Okay."

I heave a sigh and I walk to stand beside my mom.

"Mom...was there ever a time when you thought that I wouldn't live long? Like, you know, I get really sick and the only thing that you could do is stay with me until the day I die?"

"There was one time when you got really sick, Marinette."

I look at her with wide eyes. This is something that I have never heard of before.

"You had tubercolosis." My mom said, "I remember crying about it every night while you were sleeping. It was scary to think that you could die at any moment.

"Mom.."

"Marinette. It's okay if you won't tell me the reason why you were late this morning...I think I figured it out already."

I turn away from her and I start to exit the kitchen until my mom takes my arm and turns me around. She then embraces me.

"My dear, you are feeling all the pain that a mother and a wife could feel...I-I don't know how to help you, honestly..."

I pull away from the hug and I see my mom crying. I wipe away her tears on her cheeks and I kiss her forehead.

"Mom, even though I'm still crying until now...I have somewhat moved on already."

No, I haven't moved on. The feeling of guilt is trapping me, mom. I'm dying on the inside.

"Oh...that's good then-"

"MARINETTE!!!"

Both my mom and I turn our heads to the direction where the voice came from. Alya then appeared right in front of the door and she looked excited.

"MARINETTE! You better see this right now! Excuse us first, Sabine. THIS IS IMPORTANT SHI-"

"Woah, Alya! You may be very excited right now but no curse words in this building. Understand?" I scolded Alya. Oh gosh, I sound like a mom.

"Sorry mom." I say to my mom before exiting the kitchen. I walk towards where Alya was sitting and she looked so determined as she was searching something on the internet.

"Okay, now what is it, Alya..."

"Here Marinette! Read this!!" She shoves her laptop at my face and it hits my nose in the process. I hiss in pain as I rub my nose.

"Oops..sorry!" Alya apologizes. "Here, I will just directly tell you the news."

Alya scrolls down and she fixes her glasses.

"Adrien is having an art exhibit next week."

"WHAT??" I shout and I grab the laptop from her. I read the whole article and my mouth is hanging wide open.

She's right. He is starting an art exhibit...

But he stopped painting and making sculptures when Thomas died...

"Alya...this is so unlike him."

"Marinette...why are you saying such a thing?" Alya peers into my face.

"He stopped doing those things when Tommy died..." I sigh and I run my hands through my head.

"Maybe...don't get hurt when I say this, but what if he has moved on already?" Alya said looking sad.

"Yeah...maybe..." I say as I start to sulk.

"Hey! Don't be like that!" Alya exclaims, "Then you should show him that you are strong and that you need NO man, honey!" Alya z-snaps in front of my face. I laugh at what she was doing but I still have some doubt.

"Oh Alya, you are still as wacky as ever! But...do you think that if I do that...I would look desperate? I mean like, think about it! A 28 year old woman going to her ex-husband's art exhibit? And what would happen if he sees me there? He might think that I want him back! And I clearly don't want him back!" I exclaim and then I start to realize something.

"But Alya...if I see him, I get to see a glimpse of Thomas as I look at him. I would remember every little thing that we had done together..." After I realized what I had just said I start to blush and I see Alya's smirk.

"Girl, are you sure that you have moved on already?" She asks with a sly smile.

"I-I have moved on from him, o-okay? I just haven't moved on from my baby." I reply, nervously.

"Then if you have moved on already, you should go to the art exhibit next week!"

"How can I enter? There might be a list of people allowed to enter and I would be part of the list of people that should be murdered! Entering that exhibit would be suicide!" I frantically say.

Alya rolls her eyes at me and she places both of her hands at my shoulders.

"That is why we are going there, secretly! We will just be hiding the whole time!"

"But Alya, you need a ticket to go in! How would we get a ticket without Adrien knowing that we want to go to his exhibit??" I ask her as I start to panic. Alya, what the heck are you trying to portray here??

"Girl! Did you forget that my boyfriend is Adrien's best friend??"

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Hi! So I will be busy for the next 5 weeks and I am not so sure if I could update any of my books :(( But I will be writing the next chapters so when I am not anymore busy, I will publish them :)) Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please support this book and my jelsa story!

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