A/N- So, this part didn't turn out as good as I hoped it would be. Something happened and I'm currently in a bit of a rough patch, so the quality of this chapter may not be the best. But, I'll update as usual and hopefully, I'll be able to write my best soon. :)
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Gabriel signed the last document and stacked all of the papers neatly in two piles.

He let out a small sigh of relief and glanced at the twins who were sleeping peacefully in a small cradle next to his desk.

Adrien had brought them over here so that he can take Marinette out for lunch today, without her worrying about them all the time. Sabine and Tom were out for a huge order in the Mayor's hall today. So, Gabriel was their next best choice.

The man took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. The stress of work and old age were finally catching up to him after so many years...

He stayed like that for a while before he stood up, pushing the chair back in the process. Gabriel walked over to the cradle and carefully lifted Aimée up.

Although, he had said that he loved both of them equally, he especially had a soft spot for Ames. He had always wanted a girl child in his house...

Her sky blue eyes met his dark ones and he suddenly trembled. Those electrifying eyes searched his and he felt as if she could see everything about him. Beads of cold perspiration appeared on his forehead. He felt as if her ocean eyes saw right through him, unearthing his secrets, discovering his dark soul that is hidden behind his respectable demeanor.

Gabriel shivered feverishly, in fear or something else, he didn't know. He wasn't sure why did he suddenly feel afraid of this little girl who cannot even stand up...

Staring at the little girl in his arms, Gabriel suddenly felt ashamed. He was ashamed about how he had hurt hundreds of people over the years, ashamed of how he pushed his son away constantly, ashamed of how he didn't let go of the past and embrace the present, how he took advantage of people's trust in him, how he had consciously turned a blind eye to Nathalie's interest in him, exploiting her in every way he could, emotionally and physically.

The Peacock miraculous had taken a toll on her, he knew that. But still, he had asked her to transform and used her for his own selfish wish.

Up until now, Gabriel had never a pang of conscience as he lay down on his bed at night. He now wondered how a small girl who wasn't related to him anyway can make him change how he felt about himself for several years, in just a minute.

Aimée suddenly giggled out loud. A small smile appeared on his face as an involuntary response.

He carefully settled her back down on her cradle and himself sat down on the chair with a thump. The leather chair swiveled from the force.

Gabriel held his head in his hands.

The future he had so carefully pictured out slowly disappeared and a new one replaced it on his mind. Him, Adrien, Marinette and the twins. He wanted that in his heart, he had a sudden realization.

A knock on the door jolted him back from his reverie.

"Sir, I bought the pills. "

Gabriel looked up to see Nathalie standing with a neutral expression on her face. He could see the carefully masked worry in her eyes.

Suddenly, he did something he never thought he would.

He smiled at her gratefully.

The crest of her cheeks tinted slightly pink and she walked over to him, maintaining a good distance as she hurriedly kept the pills in the table and stepped back. Gabriel wondered, was she afraid of him anyhow?

Nathalie cleared her throat a few times before she could speak again, "Erm… Sir, is there anything else I could do for you?"

Gabriel shook his head.

She nodded curtly before she walked away in a measured pace, her high heels clicking on the marble floor.

He didn't want the twins to live in a vicious world where there were a person like him...

He decided that he would give up the moth and peacock miraculouses. He didn't want to hurt them at any cost. But how will he find who Ladybug is without revealing his own identity?

As he pondered upon this question, a childish chuckle made him look hurriedly over to his side in an impulse.

He looked at the twins who lay on the cradle beside him, giggling silently, and smiled slightly, "You are going to be the death of me, you know. "

Gabriel hadn't experienced this kind of joy since Emilie. He had long forgotten what it felt like to be happy, to feel alive like this. The twins were like a gust of fresh spring air in his dark and damp heart, sweet and lovely. He sighed deeply as he remembered his deceased wife once again.

But he didn't let his emotions cloud his course of action this time. Gabriel realized that this is what she would have wanted. As hard as it is for him to accept, Emilie is...dead. And he should try to move on and wait patiently for what the future had in store for him...

Right?

The clock ticked tirelessly, and as if agreeing with him, it struck one right then and the sound echoed in the silent office, 'Right! Right! "
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Adrien and Marinette sang along with the song loudly as he drove his black Maybach through the streets of Paris. The radio blared their favorite song 'Stitches' and both of them had loved it since high school.

(I love Shawn Mendes! Anyone from Mendes Army? 😍)

As the song finished, the car became suddenly quiet. He glanced over to her. Marinette was looking out of the window, the warm sunlight falling on her face and illuminating her delicate features.

It was already winter in Paris. It has been nearly one year since Luka...

Sensing her melancholy, he reached his hand out to comfort her. But she suddenly turned around and he hurriedly withdrew it, blushing red like a tomato, and fixed his eyes on the road intently.

On seeing his flushed state, she stopped herself and asked in a concerned tone. "What happened? Are you not well? You can turn around if you are not feeling good. "

He didn't say anything and she thought he was being really weird...

Adrien drove into a mall and headed straight for the clothes section, with her protesting all the way, saying that she had enough clothes and they were only supposed to have lunch together… not buy anything.

He pretended not to hear her as he picked out dresses for her.

Marinette stood with her mouth wide open in shock when she saw him sorting through clothes with particularity that she hadn't witnessed even women having.

Adrien would feel the material first, then examine the seams, notice the cut, talk about it's quality with the salesperson, ask her for different colors and even after all of this, he would discard it if it was out of trend.

Noticing her stare on him, Adrien turned around and smiled. "What?"

She shook her head, " Why are you going through all of this? If you insist on shopping, just pick out one randomly. I don't need trendy stuff. "

He smiled, "Nah, you do. " Adrien turned around again and focused on shopping again.

She registered what he just said and immediately burst out, " Hey, what do you mean by that?! "

Adrien ignored her entirely and continued buying dresses with new found vigor...

Adrien bought everything he liked, but Marinette, however, maintained her composure.

Otherwise, they would have been very compulsive shoppers...

It was almost noon. As Adrien browsed through the earrings, Marinette stomped her foot in boredom and pouted, "I'm hungry… let's go and eat. "

He nodded, "Sure... What do you want to have? "

"Anything's fine. As long as we fill ourselves, I'm good. I'm just really tired from trying all those dresses on." She smiled cheerfully at the prospect of lunch.

"How about... seafood? "

"Sure... however you have to promise me something first." Marinette acted mysteriously.

"What is it? " Adrien was confused.

"You have to let me pay me for it, alright? " Marinette blinked and smiled.

"Okay.... It's rare for The Marinette Dupain-Cheng to treat me to lunch. Of course, I shall let her. "

The two couldn't help but start laughing.

After wrestling for a good fifteen minutes to fit everything into the back of the car, both of them drove to a nearby high end seafood restaurant.
There would always be a long line outside this building.

The decor was rather nice and there was a huge aquarium for which the restaurant was famous, that stretched along beside the tables and housed various kinds of fish and small squids.
The seafood there was top-grade and fresh.

Many people would come and try because of the restaurant's good reputation.

The minimum for two person meal would be 1000 euros.

Even when it was so expensive, it was rather amazing to see how many people would still line up for it.

When Marinette saw the long line, she began second guessing her decision.

"There are so many people here. I'd be famished by the time we get in. Let's go. "

"It's okay. Wait here for a second. " Adrien walked over and began talking to a waiter.
"Call your manager over. "

"Okay, sir. Please wait for a moment. "

After about a minute, the restaurant's manager came out. He was a man in his 40s, wearing a pair of golden framed glasses and a keen scrutiny.

Before Adrien said anything, the manager walked over and said respectfully, " Welcome Monsieur Agreste. How come you didn't say anything so we could prepare? "

"It's fine. My friend and I were just out shopping and it was a last minute decision."

"Please, come in... "

"Are there still any openings? I would like a quiet room..." Adrien asserted.

"Oui, of course. Even if other people don't have seats, there will still be a room especially reserved for you. Mademoiselle Bourgeois had especially given us this order. "

The people in line looked at them with envy as the manager led them up the stairs…

Only then did Marinette come to a realization, "Does Chloé own this restaurant? "

"Yeah, but it's not under either Bourgeois Corporation or Styles And Co.. This restaurant belongs to George, actually. I heard it's because Chloé loves seafood. The two used to fly over to Singapore a lot on weekends, but they got annoyed by the by the hassle. So, he decided to open up this restaurant. But on paper, Chloé owns this. He hired the chefs from there and so, the food is very authentic."

"No wonder the food is so good... George is sure generous with his money."

Marinette didn't know George that well, like she did her classmates, but he was a pleasant addition to their bunch. She was sure surprised in college when she had found out that Chloé had finally had a boyfriend, or a boy she approved of, for that matter…

The two went upstairs and into one of the quietest room. Then, Marinette ordered a large fusion Asian seafood dish and pineapple rice for both of them.

Adrien asked for a bottle of wine...

"Why are you ordering wine? Who's drinking? " Marinette asked.

"I am. "

"Do you want to drive drunk under broad daylight?"

"Who told you I was going to? Why not make you drive? " Adrien smiled.

"Fine...you win. " Marinette laughed.
The food they ordered arrived very quickly. Adrien served her as they chatted fervently.

It was a rather interesting thing. How much they talked at one moment, both of them had more to say in the next.

Conversation easily flowed between them as Adrien carefully peeled crayfish for her, as it was her favourite. He even sneakily placed his own on her plate when she wasn't looking.

Adrien enjoyed this lunch with her; he felt like he was walking on the clouds. He could look at her, sit across from her, chat with her, put food on her plate or pour water for her.
He felt immensely blessed...

When the bill came, the manager was very polite, "Monsieur Agreste, please don't make this hard on us... We can't accept money from you. Mademoiselle said that everything you have here is on the house. "

"Okay then. Thank her for me. I'll treat her when she comes back from New York."

"Understood."

When they walked out of the restaurant, Adrien and Marinette suddenly came to a halt as they saw a familiar face walk towards them.

Felix Graham De Vanilly.

"No wonder my left eye kept twitching today, it all makes sense now... because something good was going to happen to me. Hello brother. Oh, you too. Mari. " He smirked.

Marinette gritted her teeth…it has been seven years since she saw him last... He hasn't changed a bit.

She hated him to bits because it was because of him, that three of her friends were akumatized. Felix also tried to sully Adrien's name when he attempted to kiss Ladybug,  impersonated as him.

Adrien didn't have a great impression of Felix either. This cousin of his had stolen his father's ring and also deleted his friends' videos from his stolen phone.

November in Paris was cold.

Everyone in the streets were wearing leather or cashmere coats.

Marinette was in a long white one piece, with flouncing pearl weaved sleeves and collar. She also wore a short black jacket outside it.

The black and white style was elegant, yet simple...

Felix recognized her from the video few years back. It was this girl who had sent his brother a cheesy confession on his aunt's death anniversary. Guess this gold digger finally got together with his brother...

He roughly gripped her hand and jerked her towards himself. He then devilishly whispered in her ear, his cold breath fanning her cheek. "I warn you. Stay away from him. I'm going to give you the cash and you're going to get lost. I won't let you hurt him, mmm?"

It all happened so quickly that Adrien didn't have the time to react.

He immediately stepped up and flung Felix's hand away, "Let go of her! "

Marinette was burning with rage. Cash? He thought that she was that kind of girl? A gold digger?

Forgetting where she was, Marinette punched him straight on his smirking face. She quickly followed it up by tugging his head down by clutching fistfuls of his hair and driving her knee straight into his face, making him groan in pain. She kicked him again; this time he fell on the ground.

Adrien stood stupefied...
Being Ladybug has it's perks after all.

A crowd had gathered around them. Marinette crouched down to his level and whispered in the same tone, "Be careful of what you say, Mr. Graham De Vanilly. You never know when a commoner can hit you back, now do you? "

Felix looked at the woman in front of him in reverence. She had packed a mean punch for a woman.

No wonder his cousin fell in love with her...

One of a kind, really.

Suddenly, a voice called out to them, "Sis? Felix? "

Marinette and the blond quickly looked up to see a shocked Bridgette standing in front of them.

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Marinette nearly had a panic attack when she heard that Felix was dating her cousin.

She repeatedly asked Bridgette if he had coerced her get into a relationship and that Marinette can help her if so. Bridgette assured her that Felix was a good person and she loved him very much. Throughout the conversation, Marinette glared at the man, leaving him stupefied.

Felix was also surprised to find out that his girlfriend was Marinette's cousin...

Bridgette flew over here to see her niece and nephew. And Felix decided to join her since he had a vacation this week. Today, she had went to Marinette's house in search of them.

But since, the latter was out with Adrien, she decided to shop around with him. She had just went to the washroom before she came out to see Felix lying on the ground and Marinette crouching near him with an angry expression.

Inviting Bridgette to visit her tonight, Marinette left with Adrien, throwing a last glare at Felix.

She drove back to the Agreste Mansion, worried about her stupid sister…
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Marinette picked up Blue as she thanked Gabriel for taking care of them today.

He nodded when something caught his eye; her black earrings. Gabriel tried to recall the previous times they had met and remembered that she always had these on...

Suspicion clouded his heart.

Just to make sure, he casually asked, "Ms. Dupain-Cheng, can I ask you a personal question? "

She smiled, "Yes, sir? "

He gestured at her earrings, "Where did you buy this pair from? I've seen you wear these almost all the time."

Marinette and Adrien exchanged a quick look and that didn't go unnoticed by Gabriel.

Her smile looked forced, "An acquaintance gifted them to me in high school. And I love this style, so I wear these earrings frequently. "

Suspicions confirmed.

Marinette had never once looked him in the eye and her bluebell ones flickered to anywhere but him.
His apprentice, his best designer was Ladybug!

He had been fighting her all this time? Guilt flooded his heart even more than it already did.

Adrien walked over to them and picked up Ames, smiling at the giggling girl.

Looking at him, Gabriel suddenly had a hunch about Chat Noir's identity as well.

He asked Adrien to hand him Ames for one last time and Adrien nodded. As soon as the blonde passed her to him, Gabriel looked at his son's hand.
Yes, there it is.

A silver ring on Adrien's finger.

No doubt. He had been putting his son and his successor to his fashion brand in danger all this time...

Gabriel controlled his expression and bid them goodbye.
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That night, an unnamed parcel was dropped off at Marinette's house.
It was a brown cardboard box, sealed tightly with cellotape.

When she opened it, there were two small boxes, the kind of pattern on it, with which she was all too familiar...

There was a small piece of paper along with the boxes.

It was a note.

It read,
'Ms. Ladybug, I'm returning what isn't mine. Hopefully, you can forgive me,
Hawkmoth.'
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A/N- Thanks for all your support and encouragement!! Each comment or vote from you makes my day!!
Stay pawsome!! 🐾