Marinette died at that moment. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. She couldn't form a coherent thought in her mind, let alone any semblance of speech. The world as she knew it was over.
What had happened to the last few hours? Had she imagined all of that? Was Adrien just toying with her that whole time? But… he's perfect, she told herself. But no, he couldn't be perfect. He just spent the whole evening with her, just to destroy all her hopes and dreams and tell her he's in love with someone else? No, that's not perfection, that's cruelty. Anger began to bubble up unbidden among the chaos of her sorrow.
She tried looking at his eyes, still staring at the ground, but was too caught up in her own emotions to read anything in them. How could he be so heartless? she asked herself, how could I have ever loved him? Tears were flowing freely now down her cheeks.
"Why?" she finally managed to choke out before burying her face in her hands.
"I'm sorry, Marinette," he said, and Marinette imagined he might be starting to cry, too, "I really am…"
"It's Kagami, isn't it?" Marinette asked. For some reason she just had to know who it was. She didn't know what good it would do her, but she had to know.
"What, Kagami?" Adrien sounded surprised, "No, of course not!"
"Then who?" Marinette peeked between her fingers, but her vision was blurred from all her tears. He was looking at her, his soft green eyes suddenly looking so cruel and cold when before she had seen only warmth and kindness. She couldn't bare to look anymore and closed her hands again.
"It's…" Adrien hesitated, "It doesn't matter. I know I hurt you Marinette, and I really am sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"So why did you say yes?" Marinette wasn't stammering anymore, instead her voice was quivering from sorrow and tinged with rising anger, "Was it… just to make fun of me?"
"No, of course not!" Adrien answered quickly, "It's that…" He trailed off. Apparently, he had no good explanation. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"No, I'm sorry!" Marinette shouted dropping her hands and standing suddenly, "I can't believe I ever cared about you!" she shouted at him. Then she turned and ran home without looking back.
Even as he said it, he regretted it. Marinette was such a nice girl, she didn't deserve this kind of treatment. If only he could get Ladybug out of his mind, maybe this night would've ended on a better note, but he had to be honest with his feelings, and honest with Marinette. He wished so much to go back and time and just say no to her that morning, but it was too late.
"Why?" Marinette choked out between tears. When Adrien looked up, he saw her face was buried in her hands and he could hear her crying now. How could I do this to her? he chided himself.
"I'm sorry, Marinette," he said, starting to feel like he might cry, too, "I really am…"
"It's Kagami, isn't it?" Marinette asked suddenly.
"What, Kagami?" Adrien was taken aback, "No, of course not!"
"Then who?" Marinette peeked between her fingers at him, and he caught a glimpse of her blue eyes, now moist from tears, and this time all he could see was Marinette. Am I making a mistake after all?
"It's," he hesitated. Should he tell her? It's not like telling her would give away his identity, there were probably plenty of people who were in love with Ladybug. Of course, none of them knew her like he did, and probably none of them would dump a sweet girl like Marinette in favor of a superheroine they only fantasized about. "It doesn't matter.", he said finally, "I know I hurt you Marinette, and I really am sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"So why did you say yes?" Adrien could hear the rising anger in her voice now. He realized that she wasn't just crushed, but she hated him now, and he could hardly blame her. "Was it… just to make fun of me?"
"No, of course not!" Adrien answered quickly, "It's that…" How could he explain? How could he say that he genuinely liked her and wanted to give her a chance, but just couldn't get his lady out of his mind? "I'm sorry," he whispered instead, uncertain what else to say.
"No, I'm sorry!" Marinette shot up suddenly, finally uncovering her eyes, now puffy and red, "I can't believe I ever cared about you!" she shouted. Without another word she turned and ran back home.
"What have I done?" Adrien asked himself, burying his face in his hands.
If it could work on himself, then Gabriel knew that his miraculous would have been glowing all week. His final, grand plan, his army of akumas on Hero's Day, had ultimately failed. Not only that, but he was very close to being caught and unmasked, and only Nathalie's willing sacrifice saved him at the last minute.
Now he wasn't sure what to do with himself. He wanted to keep his promise, to obtain the Ladybug and Cat Noir miraculous so he could bring his sweet Emilie back, but all of his attempts and all of his plans had failed. Was there anything else he could do? Was there still any hope of success? And in the meantime, he felt he was losing touch with the only other person in the world that he loved: his son. Tonight, he was out with his friends, and Gabriel didn't even know where or what he was doing. He felt too lost to try and control him, or anything, anymore.
His miraculous began to glow. He continued to wear it, more out of familiarity than anything else, but he hadn't used it since his grand failure. Every now and then it would glow, he would sense the emotions of a troubled soul, but he would ignore it. He just wasn't ready yet, he had to figure out what he was doing with himself first.
Despite himself, he closed his eyes and focused, feeling the rush of emotions from whatever potential victim triggered his miraculous. It was a girl, one that was familiar to him. Marinette was her name, a friend of Adrien's, also an aspiring fashion designer. Her emotions were intense, stronger than any he had felt in a long time. Someone had wronged her, humiliated her, rejected her. She had felt an intense love that had collapsed on itself, leaving a void that was quickly filling with unbridled rage and sorrow.
Opening his eyes again, Gabriel found he had been holding his breath without realizing it. The emotions were so intense, so powerful, she would certainly make for a powerful villain. It was stronger than anything he had felt before, even stronger than Audrey had been. Dare he to hope that he may try again, and may yet succeed? He wasn't sure, he wasn't even sure if this was still the path he wanted to take, but it was tempting.
As he stood in his office, considering what to do, the miraculous grew brighter. Her emotions were flaring up, getting even stronger. It was too much! She would certainly be unrivaled in her strength, stronger than any other villain he had created! Perhaps this was a sign, perhaps not all hope was lost after all. They say that true love conquers all, and true love was what drove Gabriel so relentlessly; surely this was proof that he needed to continue down this path.
He turned toward the portrait of his beloved Emilie, smiling for the first time since that fateful day. His fingers easily found the hidden buttons in the portrait, activating the lift that would take him to his secret lair.