"Nathalie, Nathalie, oh my dear Nathalie. He is not worth those tears, trust me." Martin said as he held the trembling woman close in his arms who by now had already used 3 tissue boxes.
"I-I should've done b-better-"
"No, you're doing your best, he just doesn't appreciate it enough." Martin lifted up her red puffy face that looked terribly hurt. "I, however...I appreciate everything you do." he smiled as he gently pressed his lips against hers but that only made the situation worse and now the young assistant collapsed in his arms.
"I'm slowly sinking back to where I was a few months ago...madly in love. Martin, please help!" She shook him as if that would make things any better but it only made him realize that she was desperate, desperate for someone to show her affection and give her attention.
But this isn't what Martin signed up for, he didn't want to be her medicine that she would occasionally take whenever she felt down.
He wanted to be just as important as Gabriel was to her.

But now Nathalie was literally begging him, so Martin stood up and took a few steps back from her.
"I-...I would wait until you've calmed down and your emotions are not the ones controlling you."
"B-but...I really need you-"
"No Nathalie, you need someone instead of Gabriel, you need someone who will replace him, but what you don't realize is that if you really love someone you can't replace them."
"I DON'T NEED HIM!! I LOVE YOU, M-MARTIN!!!"  The assistant yelled as she took a firm hold of his wrist and pulled Martin away from the door.
He couldn't escape.
And even for a second Martin got scared of what she might do next, although he knew he could easily overpower her.

However he didn't want to pull away too rough because that might hurt her, but at the same time he had to be forceful in order to escape.
"I would rather watch you two be together than act as a distraction...I'm sorry Nathalie. I know I've let you down but you're not the person I used to love. I thought you actually wanted what I had to offer, but I guess not."
And with that he left Nathalie all alone.

"No wait-" an inaudible whisper came from her to which there was no reply.

The assistant collapsed onto the floor as she realized she had ruined everything.
Her only chance with Martin was now gone and she felt devastated.

Maybe he was right-...she was just a fucking whore only for a man who is already married and has a family.

And as all of these negative thoughts filled her head she soon cried herself into exhaustion which caused her to lie motionless on the hard wooden floor until the morning.

6am.
Her alarm rang.

As Nathalie went to look at herself in the mirror she saw that horrible mess of a person she called herself.
Dirty, disgusting, and desperate.

With an upset sight she began brushing her teeth and getting ready, so at 6:30 she stood all nice and clean at the doorstep.
But inside she still wasn't any better, just that old dirty whore-

After some time of sobbing in the car and yelling at the traffic the young assistant managed to make it to the office.
As soon as she stepped foot in the room Gabriel greeted her with an upbeat voice:
"Nathalie we're traveling!-w-what happened to you?" The designer turned around with plane tickets in his hand but as soon as he saw his depressed looking assistant he dropped everything and ran over to her.
"What's wrong? Who hurt you?"
"No one! I'm alright, it was just a rough morning...how come we're traveling?"
"We got invited to a fashion show in London...but Nathalie please don't lie. I want to know who or what did this to you!"

The assistant shook her head and refused to answer but eventually when Gabriel sat her down onto the sofa and offered her some coffee she couldn't help but remember how badly she wanted him.
It was never Martin, it was always Gabriel.
So now as he laid an arm around her shoulder and pulled his assistant closer to himself Nathalie couldn't help but spill all of her secrets.
"Yesterday-...Martin and I-...we-...we broke up-...well actually he broke up with me."
She mumbled to which Gabriel's eyes flung open and he almost gasped at her answer.
No way.
They're over, no more Nathalie and Martin.
She's alone.

"I'm sorry-...maybe I should give you a week off or-"
"No, I like being with you-I MEAN-not in a weird way or anything. I just like your presence, at least I'm not alone."

Gabriel blushed.
She liked his presence?
No one has ever said that to him since he was mostly viewed as a heartless monster who isolated himself from everything and everyone, but he did have one soft spot...for his Nathalie.
"Thank you-...that means a lot."
The designer mumbled as he turned away to hide his blush but as Nathalie laid her head onto his shoulder he immediately glanced back at her.
Sitting there calmly, whilst resting her head against him as if they were more than just work partners,...but were they?

As he got lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice how Nathalie shifted aside and got up from the sofa.
Before he knew it the pressure on his shoulder was gone and once he looked down his assistant was also gone.
"Nathalie?!"
"Yes sir?"
The voice came from behind so Gabriel quickly sprung around. He could see his assistant sitting at her desk with the same emotionless face she always had on.
"Never-mind."
The designer sighed as he made his own way to his podium and began finalizing his own sketches.
They needed to be done very soon, so there was no time to waste.

A couple of hours later when it was time for a lunch-break Nathalie made her way over to her boss's podium whilst carrying his plate of food in her hand.
"Sir, your lunch." She placed it down onto the table near him, and as she looked up she could see how he didn't even bother giving her a nod. Instead he emotionlessly replied:
"Thank you Nathalie."
"You're welcome, oh and should I tell Adrien about the trip?"
"No, Nathalie, I'll do it myself."
She nodded and exited the room.

The assistant walked back into the kitchen where she found the teenager eating her plate of food, but she didn't care.
All that mattered was that he was happy and healthy but once she sat down next to him and got a better view of his profile he didn't look happy or healthy. In fact his face appeared rather bruised up and hurt.
"ADRIEN!! What happened to you? Did you get in a fight? Did someone punch you?"
"Uhh yeah, I got in a 'fight'."
The kid replied as he remembered getting thrown off of a building by Hawk Moth.
What a fucking asshole.
That stupid villain really left a mark on him.
"Oh my-...if your father sees this he-"
"He won't, he doesn't ever look at me, let alone care about me."
Nathalie's heart immediately broke as she heard Adrien say all of these hurtful things about his father.
Did he really think so low of Gabriel?
Was he really this heartless towards his own kid?

"He does care about you, trust me. I know it seems like he is ignoring you but your mother's death had an impact on him-"
"NATHALIE I DONT CARE!! HE NEEDS TO STOP THINKING ABOUT HER!! There are plenty of other people out there who would die to date him and yet he is just so stuck on her.
CANT HE JUST FANTASIZE ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE GODDAMN IT!"
Adrien slammed his fist on the table which made Nathalie jump a little, but just like she always did with Gabriel when he was angry; the assistant laid a hand on his shoulder and pulled Adrien closer to her.
"He is a difficult person-"
"NO! He just simply doesn't deserve to be a father!"
And with that the teenager shot up from his seat and stomped out of the kitchen but before he could make it to the staircase Nathalie grabbed onto his wrist.
"Adrien wait!!...your father, he wants to tell you something."
"Really? What might that be? THAT IM NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE MY ROOM?!?!"
"No-no, I promise it's a good surprise."
"Right-" Adrien rolled his eyes as he entered the office where his father awaited him.

At first none of them spoke but once Gabriel got a glimpse of his son's beaten-up face he rushed over to him.
"Nathalie what happened to Adrien?!?!"
"I was informed he got in a fight..."
"A FIGHT?!?!? A FIGHT WITH WHO?!?"
"Some older kid-" the teenager mumbled to which Gabriel's temper only worsened:
"NATHALIE!! Find me this older kid and-"
"Father!! Don't make a big deal out of it, it's nothing."
"NOTHING?!?! Have you seen yourself?!?!"
The designer yelled as he firmly held onto both shoulders of Adrien and stared him dead in the eyes."I always knew that school wasn't good for you-...home is safer-" he whispered to which Adrien immediately began yelling back with tears dripping out of his eyes.
Public school was his only way to escape home, and if his father would force him to be homeschooled once more again-
"FATHER I LOVE SCHOOL!! Please don't-"
"-Adrien I don't like it. You could've been seriously injured...I think Nathalie could teach you everything you would need so it wouldn't be much different than school, plus I could supervise you-"
"B-BUT I-I-"
"Adrien quit that whining! I'm your father-"
"I WISH YOU WEREN'T!!"

That's it, Gabriel couldn't take it anymore.
So he snapped at Adrien and slapped him right across the face without hesitation.
"SIR!"
Nathalie exclaimed as she was witnessing all of this chaos, she stood there, frozen in terror, watching both men keep eye contact as if this was some staring contest.
"You don't talk to your father like that! Understood?...UNDERSTOOD?"
"Y-yes father...I apologize."
And with that the teenager walked out of the office leaving only the adults behind.

Once Gabriel looked over to Nathalie he could see her troubled expression still staring into space.
"Nath?" He gently touched her shoulder to which the young assistant immediately flinched.
"Woah-oh don't worry, I won't hurt you-"
"But you will hurt your own son! Pathetic!! Now allow me to fix what you couldn't."
Nathalie spat as she gave him a death glare and walked away to find Adrien.

After a few minutes of searching she did indeed find him, hiding under the cozy blanket in his room.
"Adrien...Adrien it's me Nathalie. May I come in?"
"Did father send you?"
"No, I came to comfort you myself."
"Then come in!"

She didn't need to be told twice and within seconds she had already sat on the edge of the bed and began softly stroking the teenager's hair.
"Was this the good surprise you were talking about?"
"Oh no, he wanted to tell you that we'll be traveling to London tomorrow."
"Really? You me and father?"
"Yes, you me and-...father."
Nathalie smiled as she felt Adrien tear up, but this time with happy tears.
He had never been outside of the country so this was definitely going to be something special for him and maybe Nathalie could even make it more special by allow him to sneak out whilst her and Gabriel attend the fashion show.
"I should pack my bag!!" Adrien jumped to his feet and rushed to his closet so he could begin picking out what he would take for the trip.
Nathalie of course helped him and made sure he had everything, once she was finished with organizing his stuff it was time for her to pack her own clothes and get ready for the big trip awaiting them.

To be continued-

Shitty chapter, I know.