Hours passed and the group were sitting in the waiting room. It felt like years to Adrien, only because the last time Marinette suffered from a head injury, Adrien had disappeared. He was determined to be there when she woke up, making it his life mission if necessary.

Eileen had disappeared when the three  brought Marinette out of the woods. Cole became frantic as Nino and Adrien loaded the bluenette into the backseat. He even demanded that he should tag along since Marinette and him were friends. Adrien obliged but only if Cole sat in the front with Nino. Alya and Adrien would sit in the back with Marinette laying on each of their laps.

The toddlers had no space for their car seats, ultimately being held by Alya and Adrien as Nino rushed them to the hospital.

Now that they sat in silence, waiting for the doctor to come in with either bad or good news, Adrien realized how much of Hugo's life he had missed. The tot was running around on two little legs, giggling frantically. The blonde smiled at his son before it disappeared. Hugo wouldn't come near him when everyone else were getting ready to leave. It hurt him intently as he remembered Hugo had never met him. The pain in his chest quickly turned to anger as his mind flashed to Eileen and everything she had done to his family.  Before getting deep in his thoughts, the doctor made an appearance, a clipboard in hand.

"Ms. Agreste has woken up, but bare in mind that she suffered a head injury so moments before she lost consciousness will be as if they never happened. Give her time, they will come back."

Everyone nodded at his advice before following him to Marinette's room. Upon reaching it, Adrien pulled the man aside.

"For the record, it's Mrs. Agreste."

"Well yes, but her husband was killed, leaving her a widow."

"Even so, a widow is still referred to as Mrs."

The doctor nodded silently, excusing himself as Alya put her hand on the door knob. She stopped before it opened.

"Why don't we..." Alya paused. "Why don't we go one at a time? So that we don't overwhelm her."

They all nodded, knowing Alya was right.

"Ladies first." Nino said, turning to walk back to the waiting room.

"Let us know how she is." Adrien said and followed Nino. Cole was the last remaining, not intending to follow the others.

"I'll stay in the hall."

"Cole, I think the next person she sees should be Adrien. You know, her husband?"

"I'm staying." Cole said firmly.

Alya sighed and pushed open the door.

"Hi." She said softly, closing the door behind her. Marinette looked up from the magazine laying in her lap. She smiled and waved at Alya.

"Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "I just have a headache, but it's a minor one."

Alya nodded and walked over to her, standing at the foot of the hospital bed.

"Do you... remember how you fell?"

Marinette's smile disappeared and she shook her head slightly.  "I don't. Although I wish I did. I feel like it was... important in a way."

Alya pushed her curiosity down, thinking it would be best to wait and ask when Marinette was in a better place.

"Do you want to see Hugo and Adrien?"

Marinette's brows furrowed as she stared at Alya.

"A-Adrien?"

Alya nodded, suddenly becoming concerned at her best friend's behavior.

"Yeah, he's out in the waiting room."

Marinette shook her head, tears forming in her bluebell eyes.

"Alya..." she took a deep breath. "Adrien's dead... he has been for years."

~•~•~•~

Just before Adrien returned with Nino, he glanced behind his shoulder to see Alya step inside Marinette's room while Cole remained outside. The absolute nerve of this guy! If Adrien could, he'd knock the living daylights out of him but since Marinette seen Cole as a good friend, the blonde swallowed his pride and made his way over to the other.

Cole looked up and almost immediately after, a smirk was plastered on his lips, a common thing Adrien noticed he did. Why the hell did Eileen think Cole was a good substitute for him? He was nothing like Adrien! Thinking about it now, Adrien found a lot of similarities between Cole and another blonde, Chloé. The two could've been two peas in a pod if they knew each other.

"Well, looks like I've got some competition for being Marinette's second guest."

"What makes you think she'd want to see you?" Adrien narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Considering Marinette ran out because of you, I'd say you're the last person she'd want to see."

"She ran out because of Eileen, your boss."

"It appears that you have forgotten everything that was about to happen before your return."

Adrien's mind flashed back to when he was still a prisoner in a hotel room. Papers were scattered throughout the room, all giving details of what he thought was a way to return home, which turned out to be a complete lie.

"Eileen was supposed to visit you, but the sudden vacation made her plan come to a stop. So to push things along, she invited me, knowing my family would be at the same place, giving me a great excuse to use."

"Your family must be very rich then. Who are they?" Adrien's arms crossed tighter across his chest as he glared at the other blonde.

"Don't change the subject, Agreste. My family doesn't concern you, not that you would care anyway. It's been years since you've seen them." Cole mumbled the last part which Adrien heard clearly.

A seed planted in Adrien's mind of who Cole was related to. He had a feeling that the parents who raised him, were powerful people, a good way to be excused of crimes. Corruption at its finest.

"Before the trip ended. Eileen had planned to see you, make things... official." Cole leaned his back against the wall.

Adrien sighed as he remembered their conversation the day before the vacation would end.

~~~
"You're not serious, are you?!" He asked, his emerald green eyes the size of saucers.

Eileen sighed into the receiver. "I am. Marinette really likes this guy. She told me that she even considered marrying him!"

"This can't be happening..."

"Adrien, there's no other choice!" Eileen bit on her lip, looking to the side where Lucas sat, headphones blasting music into his ears.

"You have to marry me..."

~~~
"Would you have done it?"

Adrien blinked and looked up. Did he hear Cole right? How could he actually ask that? As if Adrien would marry another woman! His heart belonged to Marinette and Marinette alone.

"You know just as well as I do that I wouldn't have done it. But under the given circumstances, Eileen told me if I didn't, I would never get to see Hugo or Marinette again."

"So basically you'd be involved in a loveless marriage?"

"What else would it be? Eileen is a friend and she was doing it to help me."

Cole snickered and shook his head. "That is far from the truth."

"What are you talking about?"

"Eileen is in l—"

Their conversation was cut short when Alya frantically ran out of Marinette's room.

"Adrien!" She caught her breath and rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"T-There's a problem..."

"A problem?" His voice cracked as he stared at Alya with concern and worry lacing his features. "What? What happened?!"

"Marinette doesn't remember that you returned."

~•~•~•~

Eileen threw her suitcase onto the bed as she jammed clothes into it, not caring if they were folded or not. She had to be quick about this, only because Lucas was down stairs working on a project for work.  Elliot sat on the floor next to her, staring up at her.

"Mama!" He stretched his hands out to her, wanting to be held. Eileen sighed and kneeled in front of him.

"I'm sorry little guy, but Mama has to leave." Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she looked over her son.

"But don't be sad, I'll always love you." She pressed her lips onto his forehead and closed her eyes, pulling away after a few seconds. Footsteps in the hallway caused her to jump up and finished packing.

Lucas stepped into the room, a large smile on his lips. He had just finished the project he was working on for the past couple of weeks and was excited to tell his wife the great news. The smile fell from his face as he looked up to see her crying. His eyes moved from her figure to the hastily packed suitcase.

"E-Eileen what's going on?" He asked, furrowing his brows.

"Lucas... you weren't supposed to see this."

"See what?"

Eileen looked up and bit her lip. "I'm leaving... for good." She blinked the tears from her eyes before turning her back to him, continuing to pack her things.

"Leaving? What are you talking about? You can't leave!" He stepped closer, reaching a hand out to her.

"I can and I am!" She yelled, making Lucas jump and Elliot cry out. Lucas bent over to pick up the toddler, rubbing his back soothingly.

"I'm sorry, but this is what I have to do to protect the ones I love."

Lucas remained silent as Elliot cried louder, clinging onto his father's t-shirt.

"When he's older, tell Elliot that I didn't leave because of him. I have my own issues."

"I don't have to tell him any of that if you stay." Lucas tried to stay calm while on the inside he felt like his whole world was being torn apart.

"I can't, Lucas." Eileen turned to the suitcase and threw in a few more shirts.

"But you can, we can talk about this. We can save this relationship!"

"I said we can't!" She yelled and slammed the lid shut. Elliot buried his face into Lucas' neck as he cried more, starting to shake.

"Eileen stop it! You're scaring Elliot!"  Lucas swayed back and forth in an attempt to comfort their crying son.

"I'm scaring him? Don't you realize that I'm scared Lucas?! I can't think straight!" She rubbed her temples and sighed.

"Talk to me, Eileen. You don't have to leave. Don't run from your feelings, it'll only make things worse." He used his other hand to touch her shoulder.

Lucas could see the conflict on her face as she thought about his offer. Eileen shook her head and pushed off his hand, letting it fall back to his side.

"No, Lucas," Eileen placed the suitcase onto the floor then pulled off her wedding ring. "I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do about it." She threw the ring at his chest before pushing past him. The ring fell to the floor with a ding, spinning a few times before it settled on the wood flooring.

~•~•~•~

After Alya had found a nurse and they explained a reason behind Marinette's memory loss, the reason being she had suffered an almost identical injury years prior, the three were informed that Marinette needed rest so visiting hours were over. They all walked back to the waiting room, Cole walking in front of Alya and Adrien.

"Alya, did you guys see anyone else while on your trip?"

She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Like, anyone that we knew. I've got a hunch of who Cole's family is."

Alya stopped walking, grabbing his white shirt to make him stop as well.

"Now that you mention it, none of us know him that well. I don't think Marinette even knows his last name."  The two glanced at Cole who had just sat down.

"Who does he remind you of?" Adrien asked suddenly, looking over the other.

"Honestly, his attitude reminds me of Chloé."

Adrien nodded in agreement. "That's exactly what I thought."

"Wait," Alya gasped, a sudden connection clicking into piece. "You don't think..."

"That's exactly what I think." Adrien turned to Alya, a serious look on his face.

"Alya, I present to you, Cole Bourgeois."

~•~•~•~
{A/N:} I don't know what it is about cliffhangers, I'm doing them more often. I can guarantee the next chapter is not a cliffhanger and it will probably be a bit short but only because this chapter is very long. Longer than I intended

Chapter twelve: coming this Wednesday

~miraculousduo♥️