A.n.-It's not friday, but with the new episode on Saturday and I'll be on a plane to Canada by tomorrow night, I figured I could give it to you all early. This is the last main chapter. I wanted to thank you all for your support, it is more than I could ever imagine on my first piece in this fandom. There is still an epilogue and previews of future stories.

Adrien began to pace nervously glancing at the doorway. It killed him that he didn't know what the girls were talking about. He had followed the girls inside but remained in the hallway because of the buzz he heard inside.

Amelie had called off the wedding.

He was, for all intents and purposes, a free man, although he'd imagine that Mrs. Marlone would have a thing or two to say about the matter. After all, if the wedding was called off that meant that she could kiss any stake she had in the Agreste fashion line goodbye. By the rumors floating around, Amelie didn't provide any explanation for her decision before pulling Marinette into a room and locking the door behind her.

Adrien cast out his thoughts when, to his horror, Mrs. Marlone stepped out into the hallway and let out a sigh. There were no places to hide and a high probability that she would see him. His luck ran out when her gaze snapped upward, and her eyes narrowed in.

"My daughter just called off the wedding, why do I get the feeling that you're the problem?" Although acting dumb never seemed like the right answer, Adrien didn't hesitate to have Mrs. Marlone underestimate him.

"She did? I'm sorry your plans didn't work out; maybe next time." Okay, maybe the snark was a step too far, but Adrien didn't regret it.

"I would drop the sarcasm if I were you, boy. Don't forget that I own you. With one little call and all your secrets will be blasted on every newspaper in Paris."

"Do it," Adrien challenged defiantly. "I'm done being controlled by your family. I'd rather let all of Paris know who I am then be repressed by the grime that you are."

"When I through with your little whore, only her parents will hire her."

"Call her that one more time," Adrien's blood boiled. "She's talented, smart and beautiful; she would find a job even if you tried to blacklist her. Do you want to know why? Because she has more talent in her fingers than you do in your body. My father assured me that she would be with the company a very long time." So maybe he bluffed the last part, but it would be true if they held a conversation. His father knew outstanding work when he saw it.

"How dare you!" She allowed her temper to take over and raised her to strike him. With ease, Adrien grabbed her hand before she could make contact.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Adrien growled lowly.

"What's going on here?" Gabriel's voice echoed among the hallway.

"Father!" He immediately dropped the hand that was blocking the attack. There were sure to be a lecture within his future in upholding the Agreste name the proper way.

"Gabriel, I'm so glad you're here. You would not believe what your boy just told me." He shouldn't have been surprised that she tried to play the victim, and it may have worked if he hadn't told his father everything.

"Adrien, why don't you go somewhere and leave the talking to the adults." His mouth dropped out of protest. How could his father send him away?

"But"- was the only word to escape before he was met with a stern look.

"Now." The only thing he wished at that moment was to wipe the smug look of victory off Mrs. Marlone's face.

Adrien didn't venture far, just until he could spy on the two without his presence being known. Granted the distance along with the sounds from the party did make him strain to hear what was going on.

"Gabriel, you need to teach that boy of yours some manners. I've never been so insulted in my life!" He cringed as Mrs. Marline lashed out. The worst part, he couldn't go and defend himself without a stern talk from his father later. It was of the utmost importance to preserve the Agreste family name after all.

"Allegra, the merger is off. If you want the Agreste company, you will have to pry it out of my cold dead hands." He kept his voice at a low, menacing tone. "I know exactly what you did to try and acquire this company the first time, and it will not be tolerated." Adrien had experienced his father's wrath numerous times, but it was a different experience watching it from afar.

"The brat told you? He has more guts than originally thought." Amelie's mom crossed her arms across her chest, unfazed.

"That brat happens to be my son. Watch your tongue." A swell of pride explodes within him. His father was defending and protecting him.

"It's not my fault that your offspring can't keep his secrets or it in his pants. Once my investigator transferred the information, I knew he would be wrapped around my finger." She retorted.

"You mean you blackmailed him," Gabriel corrected.

"Call it what you like, it would be your word against mine." Allegra crossed her arms defiantly across her chest.

"Actually, it's your word against yours."

"What?"

"You're not the only one to hire someone to investigate. The second I heard Amelie's last name I became suspicious. And I bided my time. Once Adrien came to me, I went to the police and offered my full cooperation. " he loosened his necktie and pulled out a wire. They have enough to put you away, but hearing you confess to your crime was the icing on the cake." Mrs. Marlone's face faded to a ghastly pale. "Ah, right on time." The police rounded the corner and headed straight for her.

"Mrs. Marlone. You need to come with us."

"What are you doing?" Amelie's voice echoed through the halls. Unfortunately for the family, her exclamation causes the press in the other room to be tipped off. They rushed out the door yelling out their questions. Amelie made a dash towards her mother only to be stopped by Adrien's arm holding her back. "Where are you taking her?" Amelie's cries feel among the crowd. Adrien didn't see Marinette anywhere, which caused him relief. If he saw her, it would only distract from what he needed to do; have a long overdue talk with Amelie.

He grabbed her wrist and started to drag her to a room he hoped would be abandoned. One of the last things he noticed before the scene in front of them played out was Gabriel lean in and whisper something in Mrs. Marlone's ear. Adrien didn't know what was said, there were far too many people acting as a barrier, but by facial expression made; it had to be terrifying.

Adrien managed to use his strength to guide her into one of the side rooms to give them the privacy he deemed necessary. All of Paris didn't need to hear the potential argument that was about to occur. Once the door closed, Amelie made no effort to run back outside; her mom would be in the police car by now. Even if she did try, it would be too late Adrien mused. Mrs. Marlone's sins finally caught up with her, and now she had to be held accountable. Still, Amelie's deafening silence made him worry, in an ideal world she wasn't supposed to witness that.

"So, it's true," he almost missed it, her voice barely filled the air. Adrien knew she could be referring to a couple of different things, but he had to assume the topic of the blackmail came up.

"Yes." What else could he say? He was overjoyed that he was no longer under her clutches, but Amelie lost normal contact with her mother for potentially years. It was not his intention to make the arrest as public as possible, that decision belonged to his father. Judging by what he could hear from their conversation, there had been bad blood stirring between the families for a long time.

"How could you do this to me?" Her voice was laced with threatening tears.

"I'm sorry," he replied. Even with all the empathy in the world, the word seemed to come up short. It reminded him once more of his shortcomings and that he did nothing to make everything right.

"I think we're a little past that now." She hissed. "Really, Adrien. It had to make a mockery out of my mother, my family, me! The night before our wedding. If you didn't want to marry me, I gave you a way out."

"I couldn't!" Adrien raised his voice in return. "If the wedding were called off then she would-" he stopped himself. Given her current state, now would not be the time to reveal his alter ego.

"What? What was her leverage?" Amelie pushed. When his eyes dropped to the floor, she released a scoff. "It's her, isn't it?" His lack of response told volumes. "My mother tried to warn me; I didn't believe her even though I've seen the way you look at her."

"Amelie"-

"Don't. I'm not that naïve. I should have known that she would have fallen for your charms in such close quarters. Then she used her influence to get her spot in the Agreste internship, didn't she?" Amelie accused. Adrien's eyebrows furrowed, that was a lie, probably ingrained in her from her mother. Marinette could have earned that internship even if he hated her; his dad had a knack for spying top talent.

"I had nothing to do with that." He shot back. "Marinette won that spot all on her own." Not that he expected Amelie to listen to the truth, she was spiraling after everything went down. Her mind probably was processing all the poison lies she had been told by her mother. It was the only way, he reasoned, that she could preserve the idea of a caring mother.

"Unbelievable, even now she has you wrapped around her finger, and you don't have a clue."

"She's not manipulating me, Amelie, I love her, for a lot longer than you've been in the picture," Adrien tried to explain. Maybe if she saw that his feelings for Marinette ran deeper than just the previous year, she would relent.

"How can you not see that Marinette is using you to get ahead in her career?" The lie pushed his anger into a dangerous area. He refused to carry on the charade that Mrs. Marlone was a decent human being when all Amelie was doing was degrading his love's talent and devotion towards him.

"How can you say that when I was just the right choice for your mother over Bellamy? For someone who was so in love with him, you dropped him like out of date fashion at your mother's beck and call." He recoiled as the hurt darted across her face. He refused to be the monster that torn her limb from limb with his words; her decisions had already aided in that process. "I didn't mean that," he apologized, but the damage had been done.

"He's not talking to me, you know after I told him that I had to marry you. I don't know if he will ever forgive me for what I put him through."

"Give it time," he assured her.

Adrien made his way towards the door despite Amelie calling out his name. As far as he was concerned, this matter was solved, and his conscious cleared. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of his father carrying on a conversation with Marinette. Normally when forced to carry out small talk, he had noticed that his father had tells that he is uncomfortable, but this was the most relaxed he had seen him. The realization hit him- his father approved of Marinette. Adrien couldn't help but stop and stare at the two mesmerized, even if only for a moment. Nothing was stopping them from being together; he could march right up to her and kiss her if he wanted. The thought only made him crave it even more.

Marinette sighed as she glanced back at the door. Amelie and Adrien had been in there what seemed like hours; however, she knew in reality, only 10 minutes had passed. Amelie could be saying anything to him whether to try and win him back or tell him off; either option made her heart churn. She had to trust that he loved her the way that he said he did because that would be the only way that they survived this.

"Well this wedding proved to be satisfying," Marinette jumped at Gabriel's voice beside her. His sudden presence caused her palms to start to sweat. Who knows what he had heard and how it affected the way he viewed her. What if he no longer wished for her to be employed at his company? After all, she had been the source of a scandal towards both the Marlone and Agreste name. There was no doubt that some reporters would print that she caused the wedding to implode...and they wouldn't be wrong.

"It's been something, sir," she added at the end for good measure. Maybe there was a chance she could still salvage her job.

"Did you know about...Adrien's situation?" Leave it to one of the most powerful men in fashion to not want to admit out loud that his son went off and got himself blackmailed.

"I only found out a couple of days ago," Marinette confessed as her eyes fell to the floor. Would Gabriel think of her differently because she didn't tell him?

"I see," Gabriel cleared his throat before continuing, "it seems my son my son has made an error of judgment then. I hope you won't project that on the company and continue to work under the Agreste name."

"You want me to continue to work for you?" Marinette didn't understand; it didn't make any sense, the shareholders could see her as a liability. "Why?"

"Because you possess talent far beyond your years Miss Dupain-Cheng. The fact that Mrs. Marlone wanted to do everything to make us part ways only secures that knowledge." His grip on his cane tightened as a smirk played his lips. "And it would be nice to have the excuse to see Adrien around the office more, even if he's not there to see me." A pink tint dusted her cheeks. Marinette knew that they had to tell Adrien's father eventually, but his tone teased that he realized more than they would have shared. "I realized how deep his feelings ran for you over the summer when I saw the way he looked at you. You make my son impeccably happy, and for that, I'm grateful because it reminded me of when I was younger and in love." That news hit harder than she thought, even Mr. Agreste could sense how Adrien felt about her, and here she was questioning herself for months.

"Adrien talks about her often. He knows how much she loved you both." The line blurred to how much she should discuss this with her boss, but the way he conversed with her, it was almost like he considered her family.

"Indeed," Gabriel agreed. "And now he'll get to experience that same deep-rooted love." When their eyes met, she experienced the softest expression that she had ever seen from the man. The hidden subtext read through loud and clear: take care of my son. "Enough small talk. Relax this weekend, and I shall see you at 9 am sharp on Monday morning." Marinette wondered why he cut his conversation short until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and immediately met the pair of stunning green eyes she loved.

"Father, can I steal her away for a moment? There are a couple of things that I think we need to discuss." Gabriel gave a gentle nod in response.

"Nothing would make me happier." Adrien's hand slipped into her and laced their fingers like it was second nature.

The second they had their privacy, Adrien gently tugged Marinette towards him and stole a kiss. She relaxed into his touch and, the two melted together. After everything that they had been through, nothing was holding them back; they were free.

"I missed you," he murmured softly against her mouth, and she could relate. After their plan had fallen apart, the next couple days ripped a piece of her heart to shreds every day. Now the healing process has begun.

"Wait, Adrien." He pulled back a couple of inches from her face and even then, the temptation lingered to return to the hard conversation in front of them. It would be easier to sweep it under the rug, but they weren't that type of couple. "We need to talk." She watched as panic washed over his face like a deer caught in headlights. Any of that phrasing and she would have been fine, but Marinette knew what he was thinking at that moment. "Not like that," she quickly reassured him. "We need to talk...about where we stand."

"Stand?" He parroted back in confusion. "I'm with you; I want to be with you." He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out the tiny box that had plagued him since the train station.

"Marinette, all I want is a future with you." She gasped as he lifted open the top to reveal the ring inside. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Adrien," she breathed out. "It's beautiful...but," she couldn't help and see his smile falter.

"But?" The last thing she wanted was to hurt him, but she couldn't ignore her gut.

"But...not yet. I'm not ready." Her fingers caressed the outside of his face as they dipped into his hair. "There's nothing I want more than to live my life with you. But we can't ignore what happened. I got us into a mess because my imagination ran away with something a stranger thought they saw-"

"Mar, I should have known you wouldn't have ditched me at the station. It's not just your fault." Adrien interrupted.

"See what I mean?" Her eyes pleaded with him; if they were to have a chance together in the future, they couldn't rush the present. "I forgive you for the past mistakes, but we can't move forward pretending that they weren't made. It will lead to disappointment."

"Where does that leave us?" She smiled despite his dejected voice because what she wanted hadn't wavered since the beginning.

"I want to be with you Adrien, but if we do this, we need to take our time and start slow." Joy radiated through her body as she watched his face light up with the realization that he wasn't going to lose her. Marinette felt her breath hitch when the space between them evaporated and his strong arms wrapped around her waist. Her hands return to play with the golden hair as he emitted a low purr. The sound brought a warm smile to her face, and the two enjoyed each other's company, if only for a moment.

When Adrien did pull back, he met a half-lidded gaze of his girlfriend. "I know that face; what are you thinking about?"

"How much time could we had with each other if we both made different decisions that night."

"You mean if I would turn down Amelie," his eyes fell to the ground as the shame of his decision that night began to circulate within his mind.

"Or if I would have kissed you while waiting for the cab." Adrien's eyes shot up to meet the mischievous glint in her own.

"Well My Lady, the night is still young," he wiggled his eyebrows as he raised her hand to be greeted by his lips. "I'd say we have some catching up to do." He leaned in with his eyes closed fully expecting her lips to finish closing the gap, but instead he was met with...something else? His emerald eyes peered open to see her finger resting on his mouth.

"I believe I'm owed a date first," Marinette reminded.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I should have asked this the moment I laid eyes on you, but would you do the honor of joining me for dinner on Friday night at 7 pm?"

"Better late than never," she retorted teasingly. "The pleasure will be all mine." She paused for a moment just staring at him affectionately. "Oh, and Adrien"-

Without a moment's hesitation, Marinette closed the gap once more and crashed her lips onto his as her fingers tangled among his sunshine locks. She released the kiss way too soon; he wasn't sure if his world would stop spinning for the next couple of minutes. He could feel her shift, so her lips were right outside his ear. "That should hold you until our date," she teased. Before Adrien could react or reach out to grab to make her stay, he was subjected to watch Marinette saunter out of the room swishing her hips side to side. Adrien sighed, she was going to be the death of him, and with that, he was completely satisfied.

A.n.- There's still a bit more to read. I look forward to hearing whatever you have to say. I'm sorry if Gabriel's plan wasn't elaborate enough for you, I kinda feel like it would escalate if it made to the actual wedding, so you are more than welcome to accept that headcanon. He was trying to act within the law, turn over a new leaf. I would love to hear your thoughts. The epilogue is super fluffy and I'm super excited to show you my new stuff.