Chapter 16

The three jumped from ceiling to ceiling, getting close to the Seine. As they reached the master's apartment, Chat Noir looked worriedly at Ladybug.

They went down an alley that she knew well.

"Wait here."

Ladybug ran until she entered a building.

Both men decided to undo her transformation to wait for Ladybug to return.

Adrien was no longer paying attention to anything. He just had eye contact with Gabriel once, but it was enough for him to evade any attempt to get him to speak with him. It was a very awkward silence.

They heard footsteps approaching. Instead of Ladybug, the one who returned was Marinette Dupain Cheng. Gabriel realized that the suspicions he had long ago were true.

"Master Fu is waiting for us inside. But I must warn you, Mr. Agreste, he is not happy to see you" Marinette said cautiously.

Gabriel nodded.

"I understand"

Adrien and Gabriel followed her to the apartment where the master lived. Marinette opened the door and let them enter. The master was in the middle of the room, drinking tea.

"So, this is Hawkmoth. I once suspected it, but I didn't have enough evidence to prove it. And I suppose the one you carry is Mayura."

Gabriel recognized that old man after seeing his face. He was his son's replacement Chinese teacher. He has always been under his nose.

"And you are the guardian of the Miraculous."

They both stared at each other. There was a lot of tension in the environment.

Adrien decided to intervene.

"Master, it's Nathalie, she used a damaged Miraculous and ended up like this. Can you help her?"

He nodded. Master Fu was not so cruel as to leave Nathalie unattended.

Gabriel laid her down gently on the ground where Fu indicated.

"First, I require you to hand over the two Miraculouses."

Gabriel gave him the peacock Miraculous first and without question, he took off the butterfly Miraculous.

Nooroo went down to his master's hands. Gabriel held him in his hands

"Nooroo, I'm going to hand you over to the guardian of the Miraculous. You will not see me again. But before I do, I would like to apologize to you."

The little being just listened to him.

"I did you a lot of damage, I not only treated you badly, I kept you captive and without the freedom you always had. And for the rest of my life, I will deeply regret it."

"I accept your apologies master; I just hope I can find the relief you need" Nooroo floated out of his hand and out of his reach.

"Goodbye Nooroo."

Gabriel looked at the Miraculous of the butterfly in his hands one more time.

"I renounce you, Nooroo."

The kwami from the transmission was absorbed by the Miraculous, which returned to its natural state. The master returned the butterfly's Miraculous to the box.

"Marinette, can you bring me the green jar from the top of the first shelf?" Master Fu asked her from where he was.

"Sure, Master."

He then, proceeded to take the peacock's Miraculous.

"This Miraculous will take a while to fix. It's not impossible, but I want the bond that Duusu has with this piece not to be completely broken. At the moment, my priority is Miss Sancoeur" Master Fu left the Miraculous in its respective space and put the box away "Marinette, are you ready with what I asked you?"

"Yes, master" she brought him a jar with something unknown inside. "But may I ask, what is it for?"

"This is a healing potion. This will give her time to recover internally."

The master put his hands on Nathalie, muttering some spells. Then he gave her a few drops of that potion by mouth. When finished, he turned to Gabriel.

"I can't do enough for her. Although she will be able to recover more easily, there are physical wounds that I can't heal. You have to take her to the hospital. I'll catch up with you there as soon as I can. But I don't assure you that Nathalie is going to get out of this."

"Thank you, master."

Gabriel took the woman in his arms.

"Master, do you think this is a good idea?" Wayzz watching them leave.

"Mr. Agreste still has many things to understand" Master Fu rose from his seat with his hands behind his back. "And it is our duty to explain it to him."

Gabriel ran to the nearest hospital. When he entered the nurses received him and brought the stretcher. He left Nathalie on it and before he could follow Nathalie, one of the doctors stopped him.

"No, I must go in with her" Gabriel was desperate.

"Mr. Agreste, she needs you to let us attend her, please. We'll give you news as soon as we can. Now, could you tell us everything you know about what happened to her?"

Gabriel told him everything, just omitting some details.

"Okay, Mr. Agreste, we will do our best to take care of her, but I suggest to prepare yourself because we do not know if Miss Sancoeur will be able to survive any procedure that must be done. Does she have a family member so we can contact them?"

"She doesn't have anyone else, I'm her employer. Her family abandoned her years ago."

The doctor clutched his chin, thinking. He saw the despair reflected on Gabriel's face.

"I understand, although I can't have someone other than a relative to be in her care, this time I think I'll have to make an exception."

With that, the doctor left. A couple of hours passed after Nathalie was rushed into the hospital. Marinette and Adrien decided to stay and wait for Master Fu and find out about Nathalie's condition.

The doctor came to the waiting room looking for Gabriel.

"You can come in to see her now. We had to sedate her."

The doctor led them to the room where Nathalie was hospitalized.

Gabriel was not prepared for what he would see. He saw Nathalie there, lying in that hospital bed. She had sunken eyes with dark circles, her skin paler than normal. A respirator supported her. Her chest rose and she fell weakly.

"We'll keep her under observation. Her lungs were badly damaged, we had to intubate her so she could breathe well. At the moment her prognosis is reserved."

In those moments Gabriel had stopped listening to what the doctor was saying. His mind had gone blank. Adrien had turned very pale at the doctor's words.

After the doctor left them, someone entered the room. It was Master Fu.

"I came to see how things were going. And to speak with you Mr. Agreste."

Gabriel came out of the state he was in upon hearing Fu's words.

"Marinette, can you escort Adrien? This is between Mr. Agreste and me."

"Yes, master" Marinette took Adrien's hand so that they both went to the waiting room. "Come on Adrien."

After both boys left, Master Fu directed to Gabriel.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Gabriel was confused.

"I wanted to tell you about the effects of wish of the Miraculous. Since it seems that you have no idea what you were playing with. But first I want to ask, what did you want the Miraculous for?" Master Fu leaned on his cane supporting both hands on it.

Gabriel looked at where Nathalie was, before answering.

"I just wanted to bring my wife back. She is in a magical coma right now."

Master Fu cupped his chin at this revelation.

"Then that wish would have probably caused Miss Sancoeur or even Adrien to take her place."

Gabriel was just beginning to process that information.

"I didn't know… I didn't think the wish had that kind of price." Gabriel was quite distressed, understanding what would have happened if his wish had been fulfilled.

"The universe has to be kept in balance. If your wife woke up from her lethargy, someone else would take her place, someone you love just as you love her."

"An equivalent exchange" Gabriel replied, beginning to assimilate the idea of how horrible it was.

Fu nodded.

"No… No…"

Gabriel fell to his knees clutching his head. He looked at the ground, unable to see Fu. His eyes were starting to burn.

"Miss Sancoeur will recover Gabriel. But if you transmit negative energy to her, it will not help her at all."

Gabriel continued stared at the ground.

"I appreciate this, Mr. Cheng. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't intervened."

"You don't have to thank me. But lamenting will not change anything" The master proceeded to go to the exit "I hope you find a better way. And may you never relapse again."

That old man could take it for granted. He never wanted to own a Miraculous again. It only brought pain to him and his family.

"Besides, it's you who owes your son an explanation."

It was true, now the first step was to have a serious talk with his son.

Gabriel and Adrien returned to the mansion.

"Adrien, before you retire, I need to talk to you. It is important."

"Okay father. I hope it is."

Gabriel and Adrien sat in the dining room.

"I just want to tell you the truth, especially about the Miraculous, about Hawkmoth… About everything"

Adrien just prepared to hear what he had to say.

"Why did you became Hawkmoth, father?" The boy asked him.

"I wanted to save your mother, Adrien ... She was very ill, just like Nathalie."

Adrien jumped up from his seat. And he began to recede little by little.

"Where is my mother?"

"She… she's here in the mansion, in a cryogenic chamber. She is under a deep sleep.

Adrien's eyes were wide open. The only thing he could do was run.

"Adrien, wait!"

Adrien ran to his room, just asking one thing. He just wanted to be left alone. Gabriel fulfilled his wish.

Nathalie's room at the hospital would be ready in a few days so that he could stay. Gabriel paid the bill in advance for everything they would need to treat Nathalie. He gave them all of her personal information, the one he had as his employer.

He first passed Nathalie's room. The mansion staff had already cleaned that room. The sheets were clean and the covers had been changed. He sat for a moment, admiring each and every picture Nathalie had on her nightstand.

Then he went to his office. They hadn't cleaned there yet, so he would take the opportunity to take out and put away some of Nathalie's things. He knew her scarf was there the last time he checked, so he didn't want anything to happen to it.

The first thing he found when he opened the top drawer was a small notebook, a fairly new one that he had never seen before. He opened it to find a sheet written in the handwriting of his assistant. He began reading it.

I write this as proof of what is happening at the Agreste mansion. And of the mistakes I made in my time there.

I have been working for Gabriel for years. I know the story of how he emerged in a world as competitive as fashion. The fact that his wife was always there for him, even if the Grahams of Vanilly doubted what benefit it would bring them to ally themselves with a "nobody" as they called him. But for Mrs. Agreste he was her whole life, according to what she told me when I started working for the Agrestes.

I met him when I went looking for a job, hoping to improve my life. And it happened. All my problems had been solved by that man and his wife.

As the days went by, I realized how good that family was to me. They offered me a new apartment which was included on what they were going to pay me, for my comfort. It suited me, because I really had money left for just a few more days. If they hadn't hired me, I'd be out on the streets right now.

Mrs. Agreste was, well, she's a very nice person. She treated me very well in all the time that I have been working for them. She was the only person who asked me every day if I was okay. I appreciate her very much for that. But she got sick, for a Miraculous that I, Nathalie Sancoeur found after many searches for books and maps in my teens. And for that I feel very guilty. A happy family was destroyed. I wish I had never found those miraculous.

I have seen Adrien grow in front of my eyes. I always keep all the things he gives me. I regard him as a son, one that I never had. He is too good for this world so it is my duty to protect him. He doesn't deserve the treatment Gabriel gives him.

Despite that, Gabriel has been more attentive to me lately. It is not normal for a boss to act this way. I guess it's because I've been using the peacock Miraculous, the Miraculous that is damaged. Now I know what Emilie felt when using it. It is a feeling that the only way to describe I find is that it is horrible.

I feel like I lose my breath when I leave the transformation in addition to losing my physical strength. But everything is for him, for them. I know I have no chance with Gabriel, the only man I have truly loved. He is unattainable for me. He only has eyes for his comatose wife and not for a simple secretary like me. A nobody like me.

Emilie is the sun and I am just the shadow that accompanies Gabriel.

Over time Gabriel and I have grown closer. I know what we do is wrong, but I just want to see him happy again. Although we have fought from time to time, I know that he did not do it intentionally. Gabriel cares a lot for his son, Adrien. But I've long thought that he's been wasting himself away with his obsession with Emilie, forgetting who he has to care.

Adrien has been ... pretty sad. I've tried to make his life not so miserable. I know he has everything and more than he could ask for. But I see that he always needs his father. Since Emilie left, Gabriel changed a lot. He only cares about his job and not his son.

That reminds me of something: I stole Adrien's gift from that girl, the one who won Gabriel's contest with the derby hat. I didn't want to disappoint Gabriel and also see Adrien sad because he thought his father forgot his birthday. Adrien questioned me about this. I felt very guilty. If I told him it was to please Gabriel, he would no longer trust me. But I told him that I did it to make him happy, which was partly true. In the end I apologized and everything ended well for everyone.

That girl ... is the best thing that could have happened to Adrien since his mother "disappeared" She has tried to be with him as much as she can. She even once helped him escape. I know it sounds irresponsible, but at least I'm glad he was able to run away from the routine for at least a day.

Later I found out that Adrien is Chat Noir. I know I should have told Gabriel. But seeing what he did during the last few months it made me fear. I don't know what he would have done if he found out. Although he was suspicious of him, he was about to hurt his son in a few occasions. I cannot allow it.

I thought about stealing the Miraculous from Adrien, but I couldn't. I didn't feel good doing it. Maybe I can find a way for him to hand it over to me, without the use of force. I promised Emilie that I would look out for his well-being and I am still fulfilling it.

A few days ago, I saved Adrien. I know the Miraculous Ladybug fixes everything, but it was all very instinctive. I could not imagine seeing him hurt, without help. I was not able to let them fix the problem with the Akuma themselves.

I have a plan in place. I'll lure them in and just explain what I want the Miraculous for. They will give them to me and I will make the wish. Everything will be fine. If I don't come back, it was because I failed and the Miraculous ended up killing me.

If something happens to me, I would like to make this clear:

Gabriel, I love you with all my heart. Since I saw how worried you were for your family, you made me feel things that I have never felt for someone else. No one in my life cared so much about me.

Today I confirm the curse of the Sancoeurs. We cannot love and we cannot be loved. I have no right to be happy, much less love someone like Gabriel. That only brings me pain and misery. This is when I wish I had never met the Agreste Family.

Gabriel held the tears, his eyes stung. I take a shaky breath and crumple the letter in his hands.

He couldn't hold back his frustration anymore.

The first thing that hit the ground was Nathalie's desk.

Then the plants followed, his mannequins, and all of his paintings, including Emilie's, exposing the safe. When he threw the trash can that was under Nathalie's desk, he discovered the large number of bloody tissues that she had thrown there. Some had darker spots than the others, indicating that those had been there for a long time. He shed the tears that had accumulated in his eyes.

The atelier was a mess, even worse than it was when he became the Collector. Screaming frustrated and hurt. It was heard throughout the entire mansion.

Adrien was in his room looking out the window when he heard all the fuss from below the mansion. Plagg came out of his pocket alerted.

"Boy, what's going on?"

"I don't know, but we're going to investigate" Adrien ran down where the noise was coming from and prepared himself to open the door. As he did so, he saw what had happened. He was surprised by the state of his father's office. It was practically destroyed.

His father was kneeling on the ground, desperately clutching his hair.

"What happened?" Adrien asked, quite surprised.

"I'm a monster. A miserable person" Gabriel grabbed the hair desperately.

"You finally realize it" Plagg said wryly.

"Plagg!" Adrien exclaimed.

"No, he's right. Leave him. I killed her" Gabriel murmured into his hands.

"Father…"

"I'm the cause of Nathalie being like this, in that state. I deserve everything bad that happens to me" Gabriel covered his pained face.

"You have to be there for her, father. She needs your support to get out of this, she cannot do it alone."

Gabriel took a deep breath. That was the only thing he could do to make it up to her. He would pay to have her transferred to a better room than the one she already was in for good care. He would even pay a higher sum so the hospital let him stay there as long as he wants. He was capable of going bankrupt just for Nathalie to recover.

So sorry for the delay, but this semester was really crazy. I hope it was worth the wait.