It was a bad decision, and she knew it. The moment Adrien and Emma stepped out of her office Marinette wanted to run after them and take her baby back. A quick reality check put a stop to those thoughts. She did have that critical deadline for a massive project to finish today and with Emma's "help", Marinette now needed a few extra hours she hadn't planned for. So not liking what had happened but also not seeing a better solution, the woman returned to her work and tried to concentrate as much as she could. The faster she finished her job, the sooner she could take her daughter back and, maybe, there wouldn't be any lasting damage.

To Emma's heart, at least, because for Marinette, it was probably too late already.

Marinette might've had doubts about her feelings toward Adrien when they met at the park yesterday. Today, however, after spending the whole morning with him in the same room, she couldn't deny it anymore. She knew she had it bad again. All of those years of being apart, all of those hours of convincing herself that she was over him dissipated in a single meeting. Her heart was up and running, screaming and longing, loving him all over again.

That might not have been a problem if it wasn't for one little detail. Marinette wasn't alone anymore, and she couldn't follow her heart blindly. Now she had Emma to think of first and, considering the recent development, she was getting a little worried. No. Worried was not even remotely cutting it. Marinette wasn't even nervous. She was terrified! Emma liked Adrien, liked him a lot and right away! A girl who was usually quite cautious toward strangers agreed to spend a day with Adrien alone mere hours after being introduced, and that was precisely what worried Marinette. Emma didn't allow a lot of people into her heart, but when she did, she gave it wholly, just like her mama. Her obsessive wish to find a father was also well-known.

Under normal circumstances, Marinette might have considered this to be a good thing, a possible chance at personal happiness for her and a much-desired daddy for Emma. But not now and not in this situation, because Adrien would disappear from their lives as fast and as unexpectedly as he had appeared in just a few days, leaving both of them heartbroken.

The woman stopped drawing and closed her eyes. She didn't spend the last couple of years trying to protect Emma from that kind of pain and disappointment only to let it all go to waste now. She couldn't let that happen to her baby. There wasn't even a real chance anyway - Adrien would never look at her twice. He had never done so in school. He never sought her out after graduation. She hadn't heard a word from him while he was overseas. Why would that change now? The answer was simple - it wouldn't, and she'd do anything in her power to protect her baby's heart. No matter what it would cost her.

Determined even more to finish her job quickly, Marinette put away another final sketch and glanced at her cell phone. A few more pictures and a text message from Adrien. Emma was grinning. Emma was riding a petite rollercoaster. Emma was hugging a huge black cat plushy. A small smile found its way onto Marinette's face despite all the worries. Emma seemed to be having a great time.

For that she was thankful. That also added fire to her fears. Her baby was happy for now but what will happen in a week? Marinette's mind couldn't help but conjure up numerous disastrous scenarios: Emma crying, Emma constantly asking where Adrien was, Emma demanding to take her to Adrien, Emma drawing Adrien in all of her sketchbooks, Emma refusing to eat her meal unless Marinette brought back Adrien. Marinette signed. She was playing with fire, and she only prayed that her fears would stay just that - fears, an abstract that would never become a reality.

Another picture made its way onto her dash. Emma in a pink crown on her way to lunch with the soon-to-be-wed couple. Marinette smiled sadly. She was too busy to attend herself, but she suspected that Adrien and Emma would cause quite an uproar. And she was right because just a little over two hours later her cellphone received a message from the bride-to-be.

[Alya: Hey, did you hear the latest breaking news?]

[Marinette: Did Nino see your dress and like it? Or did he finally give up on DJ-ing his own wedding?]

[Alya: I am working on the DJing thing, but that is not it! You won't believe, but I just discovered a new gene! Unfortunately, it runs only in Dupain-Cheng family. In its female part to be exact!]

Marinette giggled. Alya could sometimes be very adorable and over the top. Dramatic. She was Alya Césaire after all.

[Marinette: Really?]

[Alya: Yes! Thanks to this gene none of the Dupain-Cheng women can resist Adrien Agreste's charm, falling madly in love with him at first sight!]

Then followed a few pictures – Emma sitting on Adrien's lap and feeding him ice cream from her spoon, Emma putting a paper crown on him and laughing, Emma kissing smiling Adrien's cheek and finally Emma sitting on his shoulders and waving goodbye to whoever took the photo.

A soft smile adorned Marinette's face. Looking at those two, she caught herself thinking about how cute they looked together, how handsome and fit Adrien was and how naturally they bonded-

Bonded?

Marinette paused and bit her lip. No. She couldn't allow that. For her baby's sake, for her innocent little heart, she had to do everything in her power to save her from heartbreak.

[Alya: You do realize that it was not one of your greatest ideas, Marinette?! What were you thinking?! Are you prepared to face the consequences?]

[Marinette: I didn't have a choice, Alya. It was either that or a chance to lose my job.]

[Alya: Oh, come on! The old man will never fire you, and you know that! You are his best designer.]

[Marinette: Because I finish everything on time and take my work seriously. And I wouldn't be able to do that if Emma was around the office today.]

[Alya: Oh, don't go there with me, girl! You could've put her in Gabriel's office, and he would be perfectly happy! He adores her and don't you even bother to deny it!]

[Marinette: If by adores you mean tolerates then yes he does.]

[Alya: Aha, like the fact that she's the only child who is allowed in the office building for more than five minutes is not proof enough for you? Or that he remembers her birthday?]

[Marinette: First of all, it was my conditional clause in the contract to be allowed to bring Emma to work sometimes, and you know why! Second, she shares her birthday with his late wife. That's kind of hard to forget!]

[Alya: How about the fact that he forgave her for "improving" his collection a day before the show? He would've killed anyone else, but Emma was given a free pass!]

[Marinette: Only because I fixed everything overnight.]

[Alya: Christmas presents?]

[Marinette: Coincidence. He just happened to have a few extra toys in his office.]

[Alya: Yeah, right. Like I would ever believe that Gabriel Agreste keeps toys in his office. What about that ridiculously expensive, limited edition, Agreste-fashion Barbie doll he gave her two years ago for her birthday? How many of those do you keep in your office to give out to kids who are not even allowed to be there?! What about last year? He gave her a personally designed dress!]

[Marinette: M. Agreste was thinking about making a children's line and that was a prototype that he didn't need anymore!]

[Alya: In her size and her favourite colour? Complete with a pair of matching shoes and hair accessories? And don't forget a miniature handbag with "Emma" embroidered on it! Just a lucky coincidence, I guess. Humour me.]

[Marinette: Alya! This all can be explained.]

[Alya: Go ahead and try but give me a logical reason, not a coincidence every time.]

For a few minutes, Marinette stared at the phone. Then she closed her eyes, breathed out and typed back.

[Marinette: I need to get back to work now, so if you would, please, let me get back to it, I'd really appreciate it.]

[Alya: Avoiding the topic won't explain it, Marinette. What is it with you two and those Agreste men? Ignore the facts all you want but Gabriel Agreste loves Emma, and so does Adrien who, by the way, is leaving next week. From what I saw - it's too late now. She already told me that she likes him more than Mme Bella so be prepared. Just a friendly warning. See you tomorrow at five.]

[Marinette: See you tomorrow.]

Marinette put away her cell phone and bowed her head over the table. She tried to convince everyone and herself for years, but deep down she knew that Alya was right – Gabriel Agreste loved Emma, and she didn't have the slightest idea why.

Finding a job with a baby who had trust issues with new people wasn't easy. So when she was first interviewed for a position at "Gabriel" Marinette specifically asked to put in her contract a clause that would allow her to bring her child to the office once in a while in case of an emergency. M. Agreste disputed that stating that a child would not fit into the fashion madhouse but when Marinette refused to work for him he backed away. Being the man he was and recognizing the talent when he saw it, Gabriel perfectly knew that any other brand would snatch her up and give her a personal nanny if that was what she wanted because Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the talk of her school, a rising star, they said, the most promising graduate of the decade. He had to have her in his company even if it meant a compromise from his side. The clause was approved after Marinette explained her reasons and argued that she would be more productive in an office with Emma playing in a corner than frantically trying to find a suitable babysitter and ending up missing a day at work.

Since then Emma didn't come to her office often, and when she did, she mostly stayed in her room playing with toys. After a while, everyone got used to the idea, and some of the colleagues even started to bring the little girl treats when she was around. For Gabriel Agreste, she didn't exist. In the beginning, at least. Emma wasn't allowed to leave Marinette's room without direct supervision so he never really saw the little girl until her third birthday. That day Emma begged Marinette to spend the day with her at her work and seeing as it was her birthday, Marinette gave in. It was also a week before the spring show, and Marinette was busier than usual. A few hours into the day and Emma slipped out of the office undetected, venturing to wander through the halls in search of someone she could share her gift with.

Two years before the present time

Gabriel both loved and hated this day - the day of his beloved, kind, beautiful, late wife's birthday. She passed away unexpectedly a while ago and ever since then his life had never been the same. That loss darkened not only his days but his very soul, creating a cold, indifferent man he was today.

Gradually he stopped caring for his son, letting his work consume his every minute awake. From Adrien, he unintentionally began to expect only disappointment. His mother did that to him, why would her son be any different. She died and left him alone and emotionally broken; she left him disheartened in love, in life, in everything around him, unable to trust or love anyone anymore. Deep down he knew that these feelings weren't healthy, leaving this world wasn't Emilie's fault, but he couldn't help himself but feel that way. Maybe, because he didn't grieve properly or, possibly, his grief was just too big for him to overcome alone. He might never know but this day, the day of her birthday, was the most painful day in a year because it was her, his Emilie, who wouldn't leave his thoughts the whole day.

This year Gabriel was spending this day at work as usual. There was no point in taking a day off, especially since this week the spring collection was supposed to be finalized. Gabriel liked to check every item to ensure perfection personally, and that was the reason why he was heading into the designer's department first thing in the morning.

Walking through the hall, Gabriel suddenly stopped near a large window, spotting a rainbow just above the horizon at the corner of his eyes. Emilie loved rainbows. She told him once that she believed rainbows were a symbol of hope after the rain. Sometimes she even used to stay and watch them until they disappeared.

"Why are you so sad, Monsieur?" he suddenly heard a voice that didn't belong in these halls, a child's voice.

Gabriel looked down, freezing in his place. A small, blond girl with bright emerald eyes was tugging at his jacket gently and smiling at him. Yet it wasn't the presence of a child that shocked him most of all. It was an uncanny resemblance to the one who occupied his mind today.

"Today is my birthday," the girl smiled. "and that's why I want to give you this."

She stretched her arm out and offered him a small, pink teddy bear, sending the pain right through his heart.

"I know it's pink and you are a boy. Most boys don't like pink, but mama says pink is a happy colour. I want you to be happy today."

Dumbfounded and not controlling his actions, Gabriel took the bear and looked back at the girl.

"Why?"

"Because it's my birthday!" She grinned. "Everyone should be happy today! My mama always tells me to share one of my presents with someone who is sad so that they could be happy. She says that I made her happy so I should share this gift with others. You are sad, and it's my birthday, so I want you to be happy."

She smiled again. Gabriel gulped in astonishment. Fast-approaching footsteps broke their silence. A moment later Mlle. Marinette Dupain-Cheng ran up to them, looking distressed and apologetic at the same time.

"Emma! What are you doing here?" She kneeled before the girl and hugged her. Then quickly stood up, picking Emma up in her arms. "I am so sorry, M Agreste. I don't know how this happened and I hope she didn't bother you. She usually is very good at staying in my room, but today she escaped somehow. I'll do my best to prevent this in the future."

Snapping out of his trance, Gabriel quickly reverted to his cold, business-like self. "Please do, Mlle Dupain-Cheng," he snapped and turned around. Keeping his posture straighter than usual, he slowly walked back to his office, clutching a small, pink teddy bear in his hand.

The first thing Gabriel did upon his return was to pull out his wife's photo album and find her baby pictures. Thank goodness, due to her parent's obsession with photography, they had quite a few of those and, despite the images fading and losing colour and sharpness, a quick look confirmed that he didn't imagine the resemblance at all. Emma looked almost identical to his late wife in her toddler years. That, of course, could only be a coincidence but, on the other hand, the man vaguely remembered Mlle. Dupain-Cheng being in the same class as Adrien in school. Yes, he remembered noticing that when accepting her application and he was too experienced not to suspect anything and write it off as a coincidence. Of course, even the idea sounded somewhat unrealistic and even pathetic in some sense, but Gabriel wasn't a man to leave things unresolved. He needed clarity. The album back on a shelf, he picked up his phone and dialled a number.

"Pierre, I need everything you can find on Mlle Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her child. Immediately. Yes. And check for possible connections with Adrien. Of course. As always."

Gabriel hung up and sat back in his chair. His eyes closed as a tired sigh escaped his lips. Soon he'd know for certain because Pierre was his best man and he was a professional at his job. If anyone could give him answers to the bundle of questions wildly running through his head right now, that would be Pierre.

Two hours later a man in a sleek gray suit was already sitting in the chair in front of his desk, pushing a red folder onto the table. Gabriel looked at the papers and carefully inspected some of the highlighted information. He couldn't remember the last time when he experienced such a wide range of emotions. He could hardly hear Pierre talking in the background.

"They certainly knew each other, M. Agreste, being in the same class. However, I could not confirm if they saw each other after graduation. The last page might be the most interesting one, and I suspect that is why you requested all of this. Emma Dupain-Cheng was born about nine months after Adrien left France. Her birth certificate is missing the name of the father."

Gabriel stood up and walked to the window. The rainbow was still there. Strange. It never stayed for so long before. The man stood in silence for a couple of minutes before asking the question that was occupying his mind for the last few hours.

"Is there any way to confirm it?" He didn't even turn around, his eyes still glued to a play of colours above Paris. "Reliable and confidential way."

"DNA analysis will certainly do the trick, M Agreste," Pierre replied indifferently. "I'll need Adrien's and your samples to be extra accurate. Do you want me to obtain the girl's and her mother's confidentially or openly?"

"I don't want anyone to know about this, Pierre," Gabriel replied. "Especially Mlle Dupain-Cheng. Unfortunately, for Adrien's part, the best I can offer you in such circumstances is anything you can find in his old room. I'll let Nathalie know to let you in. What do you need from me?"

"A cheek swab would do, Monsieur."

"How long will it take?"

"It always depends on a payment," Pierre answered. "The fastest I'd say a week if we are to include your samples. If only parents and a child are to be involved then a few days. But I'd recommend the first option since Adrien's sample may be considered a highly unreliable source since we would be searching for it in the room that he hasn't occupied in years. You do want the most accurate results possible, right?"

"Then a week it is," Gabriel sighed. Better to wait longer then make a mistake. "And remember, this is confidential."

"As always, boss." the man stood up and walked out, leaving Gabriel standing at the window, still watching the rainbow, a small, pink teddy bear in his hands.

"Marinette, the boss wants to see you. And he said to bring the kid."

Panic ran through Marinette's mind yet somehow, she wasn't too surprised. Gabriel was going to fire her after that little stunt Emma pulled earlier. Really, it should've been expected. The only question remained - why hadn't she started packing already?

Resigned, Marinette took Emma away from her colouring and headed over to Gabriel's office, stopping only once they reached the door. There was little strength left in her to knock, and she was a bit scared, but most of all she was upset. She worked so hard for this job. She deserved to work here. She knew that. However, Emma would always come first and if Gabriel wanted to fire her because of her baby's innocent actions, then she would have to accept it. With renewed determination, Marinette knocked.

The moment she entered, Gabriel Agreste stood up behind his desk. He silently motioned them to the chairs and sat down.

"Mlle Dupain-Cheng," he started right away with the voice less strict than she'd expected yet with a still unreadable façade. "It came to my attention that your daughter has a birthday today."

"Yes, Monsieur." Marinette blinked. That was the last thing she expected. Correction. Gabriel inquiring about Emma's birthday was a thought she hadn't entertained at all. "I apologize again for her-"

"That's quite alright," Gabriel interrupted her. "No harm was done." He tried to smile as his eyes lingered on Emma for a few moments, curiously studying the little girl. Eventually, he leaned down and took a sleek, black box decorated with golden ornaments out of the drawer.

"My late wife also had a birthday on this day." His eyes focused on the box for a minute as he paused. "I've never met anyone with the same birthday date before," he added, shifting his eyes back to Emma and finally to Marinette. "Your daughter reminded me of her today, so I wanted to give her a small gift."

Standing up from his chair, Gabriel walked over to Emma whose eyes were already sparkling with excitement.

"Oh, no, M Agreste!" Marinette protested. "You don't have to give her anything-"

She couldn't finish. He didn't let her.

"I want to, Mlle Dupain-Cheng, and as my employee, you have to do everything I tell you to do. Therefore," he crouched down in front of Emma's chair. "Here you go, um…"

"Emma," the girl smiled shyly.

"Here you go, Emma." The corners of his lips tugged up with a smile. "Happy Birthday!"

Grinning to her fullest abilities, Emma stood up on her feet and accepted the box from his hands. A quick glimpse through the transparent top and Marinette saw a gorgeous Barbie doll dressed in one of Gabriel's designs she recognized right away. She remembered that dress and all the hype it created, but she didn't know that it was used to dress up dolls. In fact, Marinette didn't even know there were toys associated with "Gabriel". Later she would find out that it was a very pricey, limited edition item with only fifty copies ever made. However, she would never learn that just a few hours ago about five people were working on locating and buying out one of those for Gabriel Agreste who requested an exceptional gift for a small girl by the end of the workday.

"What do you say, Emma?" she gently nudged her daughter.

"Thank you very much, Monsieur…"

"Gabriel." The man stood up. "Gabriel Agreste."

"Thank you very much, M Agreste." Emma smiled and pressed his present close to her chest. A tiny smile made an appearance on Gabriel's face again. He quickly squashed before it could be noticed by anyone else.

A week later Pierre was back in his office with a different folder. Gabriel stared at it silently, not knowing if he was ready to see the content and face all the implications it could possibly bring. Simple black letters on white sheets of paper inside that red cover could change his world forever or crush a small hope he was already harbouring in his heart. Unexplained and not really welcomed yet, but still hope.

He finally gave up. "Just tell me, Pierre."

"Well, what can I tell you, M Agreste?" Pierre shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Congratulations! You are a grandfather."

Not letters but the words, yet his world stopped for a few moments. Gabriel's thoughts stopped, his vision blurred. His breathing quickened after a pause. He never suspected that this would be how he would react to the news.

"Is that accurate?" he whispered. "Any chances of a mistake?"

"We checked it three times with three different samples, M Agreste," Pierre answered. "There are no mistakes. Emma Dupain-Cheng is your granddaughter and the child of Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Thank you, Pierre." Gabriel stood up, his composure back, the cold exterior in a full view. "That would be all for today. Send the bill to me personally. And I hope that it'll stay between us."

"As always, boss." Pierre nodded and quickly left.

Left alone, Gabriel could do nothing but stare at the folder. A full five minutes passed before he gathered the courage to open it and look through the papers. There were no mistakes. But there were questions, lots of them. Why didn't Marinette tell him anything? Why didn't Adrien, his son, mention anything to him, his father and the grandfather of this child? Was he afraid? Ashamed? Pierre couldn't find any proof of contact between this girl and his son in the years following his school graduation yet Emma clearly existed and was undoubtedly Adrien's daughter. There could be only two explanations - Adrien might've not known, or he might have decided to have nothing to do with the baby and her mother.

Gabriel frowned at the mere thought. I thought I raised him better than that. Though, I knew that disappointment would come sooner or later. Why didn't Marinette say anything to me? Most people would think that it would've been much easier for her to receive a job or to get excellent child support from Adrien.

Even without his help, his son was more than capable of supporting this child and offer her a carefree life.

Lots of questions. Zero answers.

"Marinette, M Agreste wants to see you."

Taken aback by surprise, Marinette frowned but closed her sketchbook and headed to Gabriel's office. It was quite uncharacteristic for the head of the company to summon his designers as soon as the last runway was over, so all she could do as she walked the hallways was to contemplate the reasons for this particular call. Since the previous accident, Emma had yet to come to the office and mess up something again, so the most likely explanation was that Gabriel wanted to discuss a few ideas and trends for the next collection. However, Marinette wasn't at that level of the team yet, and she knew that. Could Gabriel have changed his mind about firing her? Was he going to scold her for something she fell short on? His disapproval was infamous and could mean the end of her career in the fashion industry in general. Whatever it was, that five-minute walk was one of the most nerve-wracking ones yet.

"Good morning, Mlle Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel pointed to a chair in front of his desk as soon as Marinette entered.

"Good morning, M Agreste," she tried to smile in return and settled in.

"I have a rather strange request of you today, Mlle Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel broke an awkward silence. "Currently I am considering you for promotion, but to make the decision, I need to ask you a very personal question. Is that alright with you?"

Marinette stalled. She didn't expect that. She also didn't know about any promotions planned for this year but, if obtained, it would've been a great opportunity for her. In the process of renovating her newly bought house, the single mother could use any assistance she could get. Marinette would never admit it out loud, but it was hard to raise Emma alone, both financially and emotionally. A promotion would make things just a bit easier if not a lot, taking away the financial part of the dilemma.

"It depends on the question, sir," she answered shortly. "I'll try my best to give you an answer."

"Very well." Gabriel sat back. His eyes fixated on Marinette, observing her carefully, as he asked his next question. "Can you name the father of your daughter?"

Shock and fear merged on Marinette's face, her body tensing instantly. A couple of moments she needed to gather back her composure did nothing to help her find a suitable answer. That wasn't something she expected. That wasn't something she was willing to disclose. What did Emma have to do with anything?

"Is this information in any way related to my work performance?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"Not to your performance directly," Gabriel replied. "But since you did an excellent job on the last collection, I am considering you for one of the top designer positions in the company. As you are well aware, I don't like any scandals associated with my label, and I will do anything to avoid them. Being a top designer, and a representative of "Gabriel", you must be beyond reproach so to prevent any damage from happening, we usually research the candidates first."

Marinette tensed up, trying her best to suppress a shock and rising anger caused by Gabriel admission. If she understood correctly, he possessed a file on her containing her daughter's birth certificate and who knew what yet. Did he know she was Ladybug? Where she bought her groceries? Her dry cleaner's number? No. Forget that this was way out of line and an unacceptable intrusion into her personal life, to say the least, but how could he talk about it so calmly and freely? She had nothing to hide. Not after giving up her Miraculous. Yet this made her incredibly angry.

"This is standard practice in this industry, Mlle Dupain-Cheng," Gabriel inserted, probably guessing Marinette's thoughts from the expression on her face. "I can assure you that all of the big companies have files on all top and promising designers, no matter who they are working for. Information like this could be quite useful sometimes-"

Gabriel paused, cleared his throat and continued: "Judging from what we know, you came up as a decent and reliable person except for one little detail - a missing name of your child's father. I am sure that there is a simple explanation but our competitors could be quite unkind. We would hate to see you being shamed and dragged through the public eye for something so simple as a name."

Watching Marinette even closer, Gabriel added: "We just want to make sure that there is no potential scandal before throwing you into the high fashion world. For your sake as well as for the label and your little daughter. That's all."

The boldness with which he spoke derailed Marinette off the tracks into confusion. Her anger quickly took the second place when Gabriel continued to stare at her, clearly expecting the answer at any moment. For a few seconds, Marinette just sat there, not knowing what to do. The promotion sounded so lovely, yet she couldn't admit that Emma's father was Chat Noir. That would be the front-page news. She also couldn't just make up some random name for two reasons. One, she hated liars and wasn't that good at lying herself. Two, any information she gave would apparently be checked upon and proven to be false. There was only one thing left Marinette deemed possible to do.

"I'm sorry, M Agreste," she finally answered. "But I cannot answer this question. I must ask you to make your decision based on my work performance alone."

"Are you sure, Mlle Dupain-Cheng?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "All I need is a name. I'm not asking you for the reasons why his name doesn't appear on her birth certificate or why you went your separate ways. His name only. Is that too much to ask?"

"In this case, I believe it is, M Agreste," Marinette confirmed and straightened up letting her employer know that her decision was final. She might be fired for this, but some things were way too important for her to compromise. With all the strength she had left, Marinette added: "Also, I would appreciate if you would keep my daughter out of these corporate trivialities in the future. Did you need anything else from me?"

"No. That would be all," Gabriel said and stood up. He stretched his hand. "It was a pleasure talking to you today."

"The pleasure was mine, M Agreste." Marinette shook his hand and promptly left.

That weird conversation didn't leave her mind for a long time and even two years after she still hadn't figured out why he asked her that question or why he hadn't fired her on the spot for her refusal to comply with his demands. Instead, next week she received a promotion to one of the company's best position, earning a colossal paycheck by her standards, complemented with an exclusive, vast benefit package available only to the top employees of "Gabriel". Emma had not only became more than welcome at the office, but she also started receiving personal presents from Gabriel Agreste himself on every possible holiday there was. Everyone just assumed that the boss needed inspiration and Emma surely had plenty of it to offer. His exceptional attention was just a way to say thank you. Truly unusual for him. Jaw-dropping even, but still, there was no other explanation available at the time.

For Gabriel that conversation answered only one of his questions - Marinette was a decent woman who relied solely on her talent and hard work to earn her place in the fashion industry and didn't use her "unique" position as the mother of Gabriel Agreste's only grandchild to her advantage. For that, she deserved his respect and a little subtle reward. He was still unsure if Adrien knew about being a father, but he strongly doubted that there was a single woman in the world who would keep an Agreste child a secret from either Adrien or Gabriel; if not for the hope of being included in the family, then definitely for the chance to get a nice child support. If Marinette still kept quiet after he asked her so directly than the most obvious conclusion for him was that Adrien refused to acknowledge the baby. Being a decent woman, Marinette probably didn't want to bother with suing him or telling Gabriel.

"I thought I raised him better than that."

That thought wouldn't leave his mind for days until a decision was made.

"Very well, if he doesn't want to take responsibility on his own, I will make sure he does."

Gabriel Agreste personally scheduled a visit to his lawyer that same week and changed his will that same appointment. Adrien's inheritance was cut in half. The other half went to a certain Emma Dupain-Cheng. Confidential. To be revealed and awarded only after the passing of Gabriel Agreste.

A few years later the day of his beloved, beautiful, kind, late wife's birthday was still the most painful day for him. But now it also brought hope and love. With the small, blond girl with her pink teddy bear and emerald green eyes came a start of a change in him, something that no one expected anymore. Slowly learning to open his heart, Gabriel looked at Emma as a lasting remembrance of his Emilie, a gentle kiss and a soft push to his former, caring, loving Gabriel-self. And just as that small photo of his lost love in her toddler years took a special place in his wallet, the little girl he noticed sometimes running through the halls of his offices captured his heart forever and made him want to love again.