The gang had been in classes for a few weeks now. Nino and Alya were loving their classes and making connections with upperclassmen. Adrien and Marinette were already quite well known in their classes so people were eager to work with them and learn from them. 

At first, Marinette had trouble fitting into her classes, because so many of her classmates assume her being Adrien's soulmate was the reason for her success, however, after a few classes people saw that she really was that good, and they were all eager to partner up with her. 

Adrien now found his training as a manipulator harder to contend with now. He was known as the most trusted boy in Pairs. All his classmates wanted to work with him. His gift helped him out here a lot, he knew who wanted to work him for their own gain and who was just really lost and needed help.  But his father's training was always in is head. He needed help. 

So he found him standing at the bakery door without Marinette. He took a deep breath and walked in, Tom was working the till, "Adrien! What a lovely surprise! What brings you here my boy?" 

"I need help Tom." Adrien sighed. 

"With Marinette?" Tom raised his eyebrow.

"No with business. My father spent all my childhood train me to be just like him, cold, hard, and manipulative. I have never wanted to run a business like that. Or have a relationship like that. I want to take steps to change who I've been raised to be. Will you help me, Tom?" Adrien looked up at the man hopefully. 

"Oh, Adrien! I would be happy to do that. I've been waiting for you to ask me for years." Tom smiled. 

"Years?" Adrien was confused. 

"Adrien, do you really think I fell for you and my daughter's story a few months back? Even with the job offer and everything. I knew something didn't line up. And I knew you had something to do with it. I have seen what your father had been trying to do with you. And I knew someday if my daughter had a strong enough influence you'd come knocking on my door." Tom smiled at the young man in front of him. 

"You're not mad?" Adrien was worried. 

"I was at first, I wasn't a fan of someone forcing my daughter to date them, but I knew her gift would not give her much of a choice. But then I saw you started to soften and she started to really love you and I wasn't as mad anymore. So let's make a deal when you come over for those lessons Mari has you doing we will take about business and relationships and how to do it well." Tom stuck out his hand. 

"Sounds like a deal!" Adrien shook Tom's hand. He could do this. 

With Tom's help, Adrien's marks actually got better and he noticed his gift was actually stronger. He could read people better. He found that with a father's loving guidance he was really better. Marinette noticed he was a better person. She honestly loved him more. She felt valued and cared for. If only she could tell him about his father. 

Gabriel, on the other hand, had been watching his son closely, and it was safe to say he wasn't happy. Sure the improved marks were good, but he was going soft. His son was no longer manipulating people. So on one of his son's internship days, he called him into his office. 

"Son, welcome." He gestured to the seat.

"Father." Adrien nodded. 

"I want to talk to you about something I noticed." Adrien gulped. "You're going, soft son. You're helping your girlfriend at the house, you're learning domestic skills, your deals are not nearly as beneficial for us. What are you doing? This isn't who I raised you to be."

Adrien stood up. "Father, I like who I am. I like being a bit more down to earth. I like helping the other business it forms better business connections. I'm strengthing people making them better meaning they want to work with me." he walked to the door. 

"Are you sure this is your doing?" His father knew how week Adrien's confidence was. After all, as his father, he'd help shape it. "Are you sure you aren't just trying to please your new little family? I've seen you with them, you want them to like you. And yet you've let your girlfriend walk all over you. Your week Adrien. You let her control you. I am so ashamed."

"FATHER STOP! I know what you're trying to do! I won't listen! She loves me! Her family loves me! They are proud of me! Why can't you be? She's not controlling me. You are! If you are so disappointed in me then give the company to someone else! See if I care! I own Marinette's brand I can sell it back to her and be her model instead. We don't need you!" Adrien's voice was sharp and full of rage. 

Gabriel stood, towering over his son. "Son, you know you don't mean that I'm just looking out for you. I want you to be happy. I also want you to be strong. What if Marinette is lying to you? Have you ever demand that she tell you if she really loved you?" 

"She told me she loved me, over the summer, no one was around. She has shown me over and over again. She's never denied it." Adrien stammered. 

"Son, your stammering. You don't know. And I can prove she doesn't." Gabriel reached to his tablet. He pulled up a recording from their conversation at their house the other day. Only this one was edited. He pressed play.

"Sir I'm sorry, but I don't love Adrien."  "Miss. Dupain-Cheng, you, cannot tell Adrien."  "Sir, why are you not telling your son?" "Because I need him to focus. So whenever I encourage my son to marry you, you will say yes." "Sir, you don't need to tell me to marry him." 

Adrien stared up at his Father, tears in his eyes. "She really said that? But that doesn't make sense. All her actions, everything about it. seemed so real." 

"Oh my son, my poor son, blinded by love. She tricked you. She probably wanted freedom from her gift. She probably played your emotions. Saw your weaknesses. And used them." He stocked his son's hair. His editors had done such a good job. It sounded so real. He needed his son to break, it was the only way to get him back. "Look, don't do anything rash, think about it four a few days. Carry on like nothing has happened and see what happens." Gabriel smirked knowing his son wouldn't do that. His son had a short temper like his own. 

Adrien quietly walked back into his office. He needed to know the truth. Without Mari ever doubting him. He needed Chat back. Chat could scare her into the truth. He had a plan. He simply needed Mari to think that Adrien was busy on Saturday. Which was easy to do. He just needed Natalie to say there was an event that only he and his father were allowed to be at. And that she had the weekend off. This was going to be perfect. 

He did have an early morning photo shoot on Saturday, that Mari did wake up to help him prep of so she would take a nap later on that afternoon. So when the shoot was done Adrien slipped out to the shed. Slipped on his Chat outfit, and grabbed the collar and slipped back into the house. 

He quietly walked up the stairs, careful not to wake Marinette. Not that she would, she slept like a rock. He quietly walked into her room. He took her wrists and handcuffed them to the top of the bed frame. He then tied her ankles to the end of the bed. He made sure to leave her tucked into bed. He then slipped the collar on her neck.  He looked and saw that she had an alarm set for four pm so he sat outside her room waiting for her to wake. 

He heard the alarm going off. He heard her grown and then "What the heck! Adrien this isn't funny!" 

He chuckled in a deep low voice. "My princess, who says this was Adrien's doing?" 

"Chat! I thought we had a deal?! I have the text that proves it." She looked at him horrified. 

"Really what did those texts say? Let me look it up...." He pulled up Chats Instagram on his phone. "Oh right it wasn't a text it was a conversation, I told you something like if by the end of summer if you are truly committed to him, I'll leave you alone. Only I'm not sure you really did..." He then sat on the bed, not on top of her but next to her. 

Without giving her a chance to respond, leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I think you tricked me." He then bit her ear gently not hard enough to leave a mark but hard enough for her to react. He then moved to her neck and kissed it harshly. He didn't leave a mark but he needed her to remember that Chat was the bad guy not Adrien. Adrien had saved her from Chat. 

"Chat! Stop! What do you mean? I love Adrien. He's my soulmate." Her voice softened He stopped and she looked away. As if she was hiding something. "Chat what about your soulmate, what would she say if she knew this." 

"I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for Adrien. See I got my hand on a little recording that makes me question if you meant what you said, My Lady... So we are gonna play a game, to see if you're really telling the truth." He leaned back. 

"Chat, I can't lie, is all this necessary? You can just make me tell you..." She looked up pleading with him. 

"I know..." He sighed. "But I'll be honest with you Princess, I'm mad at you. Hurt because of you. I left you alone for that boy, and you lied to him." 

"Chat. Please just show me the recording and I'll tell you the truth. If I can." She looked away. As if her heart was breaking. 

"Fine, But I'm not leaving till I'm happy with the answer." Chat pulled out his phone, where he had stolen the recording from his father. "Sir I'm sorry, but I don't love Adrien." "Miss. Dupain-Cheng, you, cannot tell Adrien." "Sir, why are you not telling your son?" "Because I need him to focus. So whenever I encourage my son to marry you, you will say yes." "Sir, you don't need to tell me to marry him." He watched her face intently as he played the recording, her face fell, and tears rolled down her cheek. 

"That's what he was doing... He used me to get to Adrien... that's why he was so short with me this week... His father must have shown this to him..." She cried.

"What do you mean?" Chat looked at her confused. 

"I can't tell you. He made me promise..." She looked at him with tears. 

"Oh... So he made with up?" Why did he ever trust his dad... "I need to go..." Chat started to leave. 

"Wait Chat! You still have me tied me up." 

"Oh right." He untied her.  "Now go sit downstairs. Wait for your prince charming to show up." 

"Ya... I feel like I have some explaining to do... But Chat how did you get that recording?" She started walking down the stairs. 

"That's not yours to know Princess." He slipped out the back door and changed and went to confront his father. 

Adrien needed answers before he went to Mari.