*** I'm back. Sorry for the wait, my loyal readers. But I dring the second to last chapter with me. I hope you like it. Comment your thoughts below. Sending Love, MMF***

Marinette went into school slowly, delighted and anxious at the same time. She was relieved that things with Luka had worked out. She honestly believed she would have reacted far differently than he had and that he would have opted to avoid her for good.

Who was she kidding? She should've realized it wasn't Luka on Saturday. Thinking more about it, Marinette realized the performance must have killed him. He knew it would cause her pain, but his intentions were different.

Marinette felt guilty for ever questioning Luka. He was a caring and gentle soul who would never choose his happiness over hers. Though the bluenette still couldn't believe the guitarist had gone to such lengths to assist her in figuring out her emotions as the last option. Once again, Luka had sacrificed himself for her. Luka was a fantastic guy, and Marinette considered herself fortunate to still have him as a friend.

There was only one thing left to do at this point. Marinette needed to confess to Adrien Agreste her genuine love.

Marinette felt completely nerve wrecked. She couldn't help but worry that Adrien wouldn't be as understanding as Luka. Though that was also insane, given how much they love each other. Did they love each other? Would he approve of her choices? What if he chooses to abandon her? What if he realized he'd made a mistake and realized he didn't love her anymore? What if it was too late for her? He didn't even respond to her message last night.

Marinette's heart began to sink as she considered the negative consequences of her declaration of love. She was on the verge of changing her mind and foregoing the confession entirely. But Marinette's cellphone beeped at that precise moment.

"Sweetheart, I wish you the best of luck. Although, you don't need it. Adrien is your soulmate. Tell him we'll be expecting him for dinner with him tonight. I love you."

Marinette smiled at her mother's text message. How was it that she knew what to say and when to say it? Also, how did she know she would have chosen Adrien? Not putting more thought into it, Marinette took a deep breath and walked into the school.

Marinette felt her heart quicken as she neared the classroom. She was only seconds away from seeing Adrien, and she was still not sure what words to use to confess her love for him. Suddenly, Marinette began to feel self-conscious. What if Adrien hated the way she looked today? What if he laughs at her and goes with Chloe? "Oh, stop it. You know that is not Adrien. Stop being negative and get in there, girl. Adrien loves you. Stop stalling and get your man." Marinette could hear Alya's voice in her head as if she was right beside her, nudging her to her confession.

The second Marinette touched the doorknob, the bell rang, making her run to her seat, right beside the blonde model and love of her life. Wondering why he had not yet greeted her, Marinette turned to face him. Her brows instantly scrunched with worry as she noticed his head on his desk, either not noticing she had taken her place or choosing not to react to it. Deciding to grab his attention, Marinette spoke, "Good morning, kitty."

Adrien stiffened upon the sweet and happy sound of her voice. He was not sure how to react at the moment. Part of him wanted to take her into his arms, hug, kiss her, and beg her not to choose Luka over him, but the other part didn't want to see her ever again. How could she use his nickname as they would still be okay after this? Even when knowing she would reject him in just a matter of minutes. Was this a cruel joke?

Adrien knew he should not be angry. Marinette had never lied to him. He knew what he was getting into when he decided to fight for her love, but he couldn't help himself. He was angry! Angry that even after giving her all his love, she would still choose Luka. Adrien was sure Luka could never make her as happy as he could.

"Hey," Adrien answered coldly, not moving an inch. Marinette felt perplexed. Why was he acting this way? That is not the Adrien she knows. Was he angry with her? Was it because she told him not to pick her up? Wait, did he think things were changing between them? Oh no, she didn't think about that. She had to fix this quickly.

"Is everything okay, Chaton? I am sorry about this morning. I had something to take care of that couldn't wait," Marinette whispered, touching his arm softly.

Adrien shivered at her touch. He was starting to believe she was playing with his emotions. "I'm sure you did," Adrien sourly mumbled as he moved his arm away from her touch.

Marinette felt her heart shatter at his actions. It was as if he was disgusted with her touch. At this point, Marinette knew if she didn't confess today, she could lose him forever. That's if she hadn't done so already.

"W-what?" Marinette asked as she held back tears. His actions hurt a lot, more than she could have explained. Adrien could hear the hurt in her voice and felt horrible for it, but he was hurting so much at the moment. "Nothing, I said it's fine," Adrien spoke up, Finally sitting up straight in his seat.

Marinette's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped as she finally saw his face. Had Adrien been crying? Worriedly, Marinette turned into her seat and placed her hand on the side of his face making him turn to face her.

Adrien took a deep breath and closed his eye upon her touch. How could one simple touch make his heart feel like jello? "Kitty, have you been crying? Adrien, talk to me, please. Tell me what happened. Are you okay?"

Adrien knew he should lie. Just as he also knew that he shouldn't treat her differently for choosing Luka. He had promised her he would accept her decision and be there for her always, but never did he imagine it would be this difficult.

"I'm fine, Mari, just allergies," he decided to lie as he moved back a little further and faced the front again. He knew he was doing wrong, but Adrien refused to let her know he had seen her with Luka mear minutes ago. He would rather wait to hear it from her.

Marinette felt chills down her spine. Had Adrien just lied to her? He had never lied to her before. What the hell was going on? Why is he acting this way?

"You're lying!" Marinette angry whispered. Adrien sighed. Of course, she would catch his lie. He had made her his priority for the past year. She would figure him out in seconds.

"So you are lying to me now? Is that what our friendship has turned to, a web of lies? If you no longer trust me, fine, but tell me that, don't lie to my face," Marinette whispered angrily, still attempting not to gain the attention of her classmates.

Marinette was calling out lies? Really? Had she not lied to him as well? She was not taking care of things! She was with Luka! With him, her boyfriend. Why did she lie to him? Why did she not tell him the truth instead of continuing to break his heart? Feeling anger rise, he refused to hold his tongue for much longer.

"That's funny coming from a lier herself," Adrien spoke up, his hands turning into fists. Marinette gasped. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Stop lying to me, Marinette. I saw you earlier. I saw you with him! When you claimed to be taking care of things. Good to know you made your choice, but when exactly were you going to tell me? Or were you going to keep playing with my feelings?" Adrien called out, not caring who heard them. He was hurt, and it was about time she saw that.

Placing her hand over her mouth, Marinette gasped again. Adrien was there? He had seen her with Luka! But what was worse was that he believed she had chosen him. How would she explain it now? Could things get any worse?

"W-what? No! Adrien is not like that, I swear. I needed to fix a situation with him, but it's not what it looked like. I promise I was going to talk to you about it. I NEED to talk to you about it. Please, don't be mad. Allow me to explain. Can we talk after school?" Marinette begged, ignoring everyone's stares.

Adrien hesitated. Looking around, he saw all eyes on them. 'Shit,' the blonde thought to himself. He didn't mean to let his problems out for the world, but he was not thinking straight.

He wanted to talk to her. Of course, he did. But was he ready to get rejected? It already hurt, knowing it would happen already hurt like hell. So, could he handle actually hearing the words?

"Please, Chaton. I need to say this. I need you to hear this," Marinette whispered as she noticed his hesitation.

"Fine."

____________________________________________

The rest of the morning went by painfully slow for both teens. It consisted of awkward silence between the two. Marinette tried many times to bring their relationship back to normal by letting out a joke or two, but Adrien would respond with a weak smile or, at most, a light chuckle.

Marinette had begun to lose hope. Had Adrien really changed his mind about them? Had his anger killed the love he felt for her? It was certainly starting to look that way.

During lunchtime, Adrien left for a last-minute photoshoot. One that he was so grateful to have come up. Seeing Marinette was killing him. Every time he looked at the bluenette, he would see Luka with his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a loving embrace. He knew that was all in his head, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't unsee it.

That was until he learned where the photo shoot would take place, the damn park. The same damn park he had witnessed Marinette and Luka's loving embrace mear hours before. Needless to say, Adrien failed to focus all throughout the shoot, making it twice as long as it should have been.

Adrien felt like using that as an excuse to postpone talking to Marinette, but he knew he had promised her a chance to explain herself. Noticing he would not return to school, he took a deep breath and reached for his cellphone, sending Marinette a text message.

"Photoshoot is taking longer than expected. Meet me at the park. We are by the fountain across from where you sat this morning."

Adrien re-read his message after sending it and sighed. He didn't mean for it to sound bitter, but he was. Especially after being in the same place, the blonde had seen her in with her boyfriend. The sight felt worse than being shot in the heart, and being here was a constant reminder of it.

The photographer was exhausted. It was evident there was something wrong with the model. Adrien was an Agreste. He was more professional than all the other models combined. So, to watch him struggle was worrying for everyone.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Agreste?" He asked worriedly. Adrien had been staring at the nearby bench with tears in his eyes. Adrien would look at it every so often and frown. The model could see the love of his life wrapped in Luka's arms, and it killed him. Blinking away his tears, Adrien gave his usual fake smile and responded.

"Yes, I am very sorry. Let's go on."

__________________________________________________

Marinette read the text message and bit her lip. Adrien had been nothing but cold and distant all day. At this point, Marinette was sure she had lost him for good, and it killed her. She had felt like crying all day long. More so after he left for his photoshoot without so much as a goodbye. How could things go so wrong in a blink of an eye?

But she refused to give up. She would confess before it was too late. She would march up to that park and confess her love to him with no more fear, and whatever happened after, whatever he chose to do, she would face it head-on. Marinette would be strong and brave.

As school came to an end, Marinette slowly walked to the park. After all that had happened today, she was afraid of what could happen next. She did not want to lose Adrien. But for some reason, she felt as if she was. Confessing was her only choice, and either that would be the start of something or the end of them.

______________________________________

Adrien sat by the fountain, waiting for Marinette's arrival. The shoot had only ended minutes ago. He could still see the photographer loading his things in the van.

One torture had only ended. But there was still another one left. The rejection!

As he waited for the bluenette, Adrien couldn't help but look at the bench again. Once again, there she was, wrapped in Luka's arms again. Except, this time, they were walking towards him with smiles on their faces. It was as if they were mocking him. Is that why she asked him to talk, to flaunt her relationship with Luka in his face.

Adrien stared at them as they waved. He wanted to get up and run away, but he couldn't. Adrien needed to hear the words. Maybe if he heard the rejection, he could move on.

"Hey," Marinette called out from behind him. Snapping back to reality, he turned to her and blinked. He was sure she was there with Luka. Surprised, he turned to the bench again, but they were gone. It had felt so real. He could have sworn it was factual at that time.

"U-mm, H-hey," he stuttered. "How was the shoot?" Marinette asked, attempting to ease him into the conversation after noticing he was stiff and uncomfortable. Adrien blinked, looking at her then the bench once again. Double-checking it was not his imagination this time, and she was beside him.

"Long and exhausting," Adrien responded with a chuckle. He was trying to play it cool, but the reality was his nerves were all over the place. "A-Adrien, you are not looking at me," Marinette whispered sadly.

"S-sorry, I was distracted," he responded, finally giving the bluenette his full attention. As his eyes landed on Marinette, Adrien couldn't help but blush. Now, she might have thought it was due to what she was wearing, but that was not it. Yes, Marinette did look different, but it was more of the embarrassment that he had not noticed it till right now. She definitely looked different.

"Y-you look good, Marinette," he said with a smile. Marinette frowned at his statement. Had he not liked it? Normally, Adrien would say things like, you look outstanding, or wow, you make me breathless, or M'Lady, you are definitely a Goddess this fine day, but all she got was good.

"Do you not like it?" Marinette asked disappointedly. Adrien scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I-I do, but you just don't look like you. I mean, I like your hair down, and the dress is gorgeous, but- never mind. It's great. You look good," he repeated, stopping his stammering.

"Adrien," Marinette called out, letting him know she wanted the truth. Adrien sighed. The blonde knew what she wanted when she used his name.

"You really do look amazing, Marinette. It's just that, I- I fell in love with you for being you. You know, with pigtails and all. I like you the way you are, and this is not you. It feels like you are trying to make yourself look beautiful, not realizing you were already a Goddess before. I dislike when there is makeup on your face. It's not you. It looks fake, and it's not the Marinette I love," he confessed shily.

Marinette felt her heart quicken. God, this boy really knew what to say. The truth was she felt uncomfortable with makeup on. She had always thought of it as unnecessary. She was a true believer in being natural. But she never believed she would be considered beautiful. This is why she had fallen in love with Adrien when they first met, and it filled her with joy to know that he loved her for her. The thought that he saw her as a Goddess without makeup on was heartwarming.

"Thanks," she whispered.

Adrien scratched the back of his neck nervously. He just wanted to get this rejection over with, so he could cry in his bedroom and force himself to move on, but she was making it really difficult for him not to beg her to stay with him. "We should talk. Father is expecting me soon."

Marinette nodded and proceeded to take a seat beside him. She was not sure where to begin but she wanted to be honest about absolutely everything.

"You were right. I was with Luka this morning. What you saw was real."