Chapter 14: The press

The wait stretches like bubblegum. Gabriel drums his fingers against his knee. His eyes, with his eyebrows weighing heavily above them, wandered between a clock in front of him that was hung on the neat, white wall; Nathalie, from the corner of his eye, obviously, and his hand. He starts to hesitate about the appointment, and the corners of his mouth swing left and right.

From the stolen glances at Nathalie, he thinks she transformed into a statue: her fixed expression lost in the closed door of the room, lack of blinks, and the always present immeasurable hate in her eyes. Interrupting his train of thought, a little girl, maybe six or seven years old, skips out of the room, her pigtails jiggling along her body. Gerald pats her back. A middle-aged man picks up the kid and gives a thankful nod to the therapist.

Gabriel stands up, a bit too fast for Nathalie not to shoot a confused look at him. Gerald smiles, bowing slightly, his arm extended towards the door. He directs one last look at Nathalie and enters the room. She'd wait outside.

"Oh, Mr. Agreste, welcome. Come in."

Gerald noticed that it was eight o'clock. Something he expected from a businessman like Gabriel. Nathalie would wait outside while they finished.

Gabriel scanned the office. Gerald's desk was at the other end of the room and in the center was a coffee table with a small couch on either side.

"Make yourself comfortable." Gerald took his usual seat. Gabriel sat in the chair that Gerald pointed out to him. Gerald needed to gain Gabriel's trust so he would not hesitate to reveal things to him that could lead to a good diagnosis.

"And tell me Gabriel. Has there been any problem in your life that has led you to this situation?

"I..." Gabriel didn't know where to start "It's a long story."

At least Gerald could see that Gabriel wanted to open up. Some patients did not want to tell much or simply did not tell anything at all in the first sessions. When he saw Nathalie's message confirming that Gabriel Agreste was coming to see him, he couldn't believe it at all. Until he saw a large sum of money flowing into his bank account directly from Gabriel's company, Nathalie assured him that his services would be well paid.

"We have time." Gerald checked his planner. Luckily, this time he set aside enough time for Gabriel "The results should be influenced by the time in which a person can show progress. Not all of us evolve in the same way. So, we could talk about his relationship with Adrien first. I would like to know what your relationship with your son is like."

Gabriel took a deep breath.

"My wife died a couple of months ago. It's been difficult for me to let her go. And that's why... I hurt my son and Nathalie too."

"Can you explain it better?" Gerald thought it was interesting that Gabriel had named Nathalie. Nathalie was more important to the story than he thought.

"I abandoned my son, even when my wife asked me before she died to take care of him when she was no longer here. Nathalie tried to help me do the right thing. Letting my wife go and taking care of Adrien as she asked me," Gabriel continued with the story "My wife left some recordings, but I asked Nathalie to destroy them and I never got to see them. Then I saw the ones she had left for Nathalie and it... made me doubt many things."

"And how did all that affect your relationship with Adrien, Gabriel?"

"It's very difficult to deal with him after what happened. Several weeks ago, he barely spoke to me. After putting him aside, he no longer sees me the same way as before." Gabriel said clearly, hiding the real reason.

"So that's why you finally decided to come?" Gerald took a sip of his coffee.

"After a while of continuing to make mistakes, I realized that Nathalie was right and decided to follow her advice. And that's why I came here. Now I feel like my own son hates me and Nathalie, I think she hates me too because I didn't want to let Emilie, my wife, go.

Gerald realized Gabriel's main problem

Gabriel was not able to let go.

"And tell me how exactly did you leave Adrien abandoned?"

"I got immersed in my work as a designer after Emilie left us. I thought that if I gave Adrien everything he wanted he would be happy in my absence, but..."

"But Adrien didn't care about that." Gerald completely understood what he was referring to "It's very common with patients, they believe they can fill a void with materialistic things. That never solves the lack of love and affection of a son, Gabriel."

Gabriel didn't answer anything. Gerald was probably right.

Gerald noticed that Gabriel seemed uncomfortable. He wanted Gabriel to feel comfortable with him. And he was curious about what Gabriel and his wife's relationship was like before she disappeared. He would have to change the subject.

"Gabriel, I need you to tell me about your wife." Gerald made a posture "What was your relationship with her like?"

"She was the love of my life... I always wanted her to have what she never had when she lived with her parents. She was royalty, you know, and that caused a lot of pressure from her parents." For the moment Gabriel would only tell him the basics of her relationship. He didn't feel comfortable speaking about it just yet.

Gerald knew it very well. Emilie left all her fortune and power to marry Gabriel. It was a scandal.

"Our relationship ended badly at the end of her days. She urged me to let her go, but... I didn't want to."

"I understand Gabriel, letting go of a loved one is something very difficult."

Gerald did not expect that this case would be so special.

"And what about your assistant Nathalie?" Gerald needed to investigate the relationship between Gabriel and Nathalie "I have noticed that she plays a very important role in Adrien's life and yours too from what you said. What is your relationship with her like?"

Gabriel didn't expect him to ask about her, Nathalie didn't prepare an answer for that. He would have to tell him all the basics for now.

"Nathalie has served as my assistant for years. She's been there for me...I've been mean to her these past few weeks. And that's why now we are fighting over certain decisions I ghave made. And I don't blame her."

Gerald could detect that the relationship between Gabriel and Nathalie was very tense. It was something he would have to work on as well.

Gerald could tell that Gabriel was very broken.

This case was going to be difficult.

For the moment he would only focus on Gabriel.

"Gabriel it is clear that your wife wanted the best for you and that you were not going to cling to the past. And that's a good thing. It sounds like you're still in denial about your wife's death."

"It's very difficult for me to stop thinking about her. I feel that if I leave her aside in my life, I will be betraying everything I promised her when I married her." Gabriel placed his hands together while he waited for what Gerald was going to tell him.

"No, Gabriel, letting go doesn't mean you're going to betray your wife. If she asked you to let her go, it was because she wanted you to be happy. Your marriage was something very special and it will continue to be so if you honor her word and keep the promise, she wanted you to keep." Gerald replied.

Gabriel remained silent.

"It is clear that you want to change if you came here, but to do so the first thing you have to do is let go the past and look toward the future. If you don't do it, you will be left in the same situation. You must let your wife go."

"I don't know how I should do that."

Gerald wanted to try to get Gabriel to let out his feelings. Being such a reserved man, he might try to do it the roundabout way.

"Maybe you should write some letters" Gerald recommended "You could write down all of your thoughts to your wife, if you have a hard time showing your feelings to people."

"Are you sure that would work?" Gabriel didn't understand how something like that could help him.

"Well, we could try," Gerald said cheerfully. "If you can keep going, we'll be able to deal with Adrien's problem easily."

The alarm on Gerald's phone rang, warning him that time was up.

"Well, I think that would be all for the moment. We have limited time today, although I think that with what you told me we can begin to make progress. We'll see you at the next session if you decide to attend, I guess."

Gerald extended his hand to say goodbye. Gabriel squeezed it and opened the door to leave.

Gerald hoped that Gabriel would have the courage to come back and do what he asked to see if there was any result. Before they left, he needed to talk to Nathalie, again.

"I need to talk to Miss Sancoeur for a moment, if you don't mind."

Nathalie saw how Gerald got close to her.

"So, I probably have to talk to you too, Miss Sancoeur." The expression on Nathalie's face went from serious to worried.

"Me?" Nathalie was a little surprised.

"Yes, you are part of the family circle and you are quite close to it. So, I also need to talk to you in more depth about... certain things that I have noticed."

Has Gerald realized that we have been lying to him? Nathalie thought.

"Next meeting I need to talk to you three. You and Mr. Agreste are a vital part of that problem.

"I'll attend too." Nathalie didn't want to raise Gerald's suspicions. The best thing was to accept.

Gabriel encountered something he did not expect at all.

After his appointment with Gerald, he dedicated himself to thinking about what he was going to do. He clearly would have to write the letters, although he still didn't know where to start writing them.

Someone had been spreading rumors about them again. When he woke up, he found his phone full of notifications from his personal email and also from his private messages. Everything called his attention to a piece of news that everyone sent him.

When Adrien was little, some television station made up a rumor that he and Nathalie had something.

But this time it was different.

Gabriel Agreste's new love?

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

Now what is this about?

He opened the news page, finding the big headline.

GABRIEL AND HIS NEW LOVE

That seemed very strange to Gabriel. It had been years since there was speculation that he had a new relationship, and he always denied it every time it happened along with Emilie and with the help of Nathalie herself.

And the first thing that appeared on the page were the photos of him and Nathalie when they went to Dr. Gerald's office.

They must have taken it when we left Gerald's office. he thought.

Someone had been following them. The real question was to know who. Surely with a lawsuit they would desist from following him again.

That was quite common for him.

But he didn't want to have Nathalie involved, not this time when his feelings were real now. They wouldn't leave poor Nathalie alone if he didn't intervene.

Marinette left to see Nathalie again. She had brought a new version of the potion she created with Luka to give it to her.

This time the one who opened the door was the Gorilla. He growled at her in approval and she went up to Nathalie's room. Marinette would have to finish the potion right there since she was asleep again and she couldn't finish it. Her guardians were not making her life any easier. They were forcing her to go to their lessons so that the situations she got into wouldn't happen again.

She was very tired.

"Marinette, Marinette…" Nathalie's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

Marinette stood waiting for Nathalie to let her in and she hadn't realized she was talking to her.

"I'm sorry." Marinette came in and she started to take some things out of her backpack. "We didn't have time to get the potion ready so I'll have to finish it here."

"Don't worry Marinette, take your time."

Marinette quickly mixed the components she prepared to relieve Nathalie's symptoms. Nathalie saw that Marinette had dark circles on her face and she looked quite tired. She had to remember that Marinette was still a child.

And yet she had to carry the weight of the great responsibility of being Ladybug.

"And tell me Marinette, how are you?" Nathalie asked, frank.

"I… well I'm dealing with the guardians. They are not at all happy with what happened with the Miraculous in the last few months." Marinette shook the bottle until the mixture inside it changed color. She then proceeded to add the other ingredients.

Nathalie could tell that the guardians were being very hard on Marinette.

"Do you need help? I mean of what you're going through with the guardians."

"Oh no, no. I lied to the guardians so that you wouldn't get involved. I didn't want to risk them finding out what we were doing." Marinette quickly mixed the ingredients she had thrown into the small bowl.

"Marinette, there must be something we can do for you," Nathalie took both her hands while she mixed. "A girl your age shouldn't have to deal with a great responsibility alone."

"At the moment there is nothing you can do; Luka is helping me anyway and so is Adrien." Marinette checked the potion one last time to make sure everything went well when making it.

"If there is anything we can do for you, please tell us." Nathalie insisted.

Nathalie watched Marinette as she arranged the bottle so she could take it. Marinette wanted to ask her how things had been between her and Gabriel, but she wasn't sure if it would be appropriate.

"And how have you and Mr. Agreste been?"

"We haven't been able to talk like two normal adults "Nathalie was very disappointed that in all that time she and Gabriel haven't had a frank talk "Every time we try, a new conflict arises between us."

Adrien once told Marinette that they had both become closer and that suddenly something happened between them that caused a break.

"Could I know what happened between you? "For a moment Marinette regretted asking that question."

"When Gabriel got the Miraculous from you Marinette, he went to look for me on the train where I was traveling with Adrien to London. Gabriel planned to send us away to Protect us. He went to the train and talked to me about feeding the kwamis while we figured out what to do at that point. I had a plan for him, I gave him a USB with information to repair the damaged Peacock Miraculous."

"And what were you planning to do with that?" Marinette was curious what Nathalie's plan was.

"I told Gabriel to travel back in time with the rabbit Miraculous and go to the specific moment in time to save Emilie from using the damaged Miraculous. It was then that Gabriel decided that it was more important to defeat you than to save his wife and me. Of course I got furious with him."

Marinette started to feel a little guilty.

"I think I know what happened." Marinette remembered what she did with her Lucky Charm on that occasion "My Lucky Charm. When I used it, it gave me a box just like the ones Master Fu used to store the Miraculouses and I left it in the middle of the Bunnix Burrow to mislead Monarch and he followed us."

Marinette couldn't help but wonder if what she did was the right thing.

"Marinette, don't blame yourself, it was Gabriel's decision to go after you, instead of doing what I told him." Nathalie didn't want Marinette to think that what she did was something bad "You only did what you thought was the right thing at that moment. Gabriel's decisions are not your responsibility."

Marinette could tell that Nathalie was very loyal to Gabriel.

"That's when you started having problems between you, right?"

"Yes, that was when our relationship deteriorated." Nathalie seemed a little sad.

Marinette was quiet for a moment. Finally, he came to a conclusion of something quite obvious with the little he knew about them.

"You love him, don't you, Nathalie?" Marinette realized Nathalie's feelings for Gabriel Agreste.

Nathalie didn't think she would ever be asked that kind of question.

"I…" an almost imperceptible blush "If I used to love him, before he lost his mind. I would like to say that my feelings for him are completely dead, but..."

"Do you still love him?" Marinette asked, with a sympathetic look.

"Yes." Nathalie admitted, embarrassed, "I still love him."

"I think we have more in common than you think." Marinette realized that loving an Agreste was quite... complicated.

Nathalie couldn't understand it.

"More in common, what does you mean?"

"Being in love with an Agreste." Marinette thought very carefully about her next question "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Nathalie now understood what she was referring to: "It hurts."

"Me too, he made me suffer a little. But now things are going well for us." Marinette hoped to give Nathalie hope that things would be okay.

Nathalie heard a notification on her phone. When she opened it, she found a link that directed her to a news site. Upon reading her headline her smile disappeared.

Oh no.

Marinette received a message from Adrien.

It was the same link that directed her to the news that Nathalie received. When she read the title, she understood what it was about.

"Where did those photos come from?" Marinette dared to ask.

"It was when I went with Gabriel to his appointment with the therapist. They must have taken them from afar so we wouldn't notice. Gabriel always dealt with this kind of thing ever since he became famous, but it hadn't come up again in years, especially with the death of Adrien's mother."

Nathalie watched as her email filled up with messages asking about what was on the news.

This is the last thing we need.

Marinette also looked at Nathalie's email.

"I have contact of someone who could help us."

Marinette had an expert she could ask.

Marinette left to visit Alya. She explained the situation and Alya took her to her room to talk about it.

"Let's go to my room. It will be safer to talk there."

Alya closed the door to her room to talk to Marinette alone.

"Alya, how do you deal with the press?" Marinette got to the point.

"How do you deal with the press? What kind of question is that? You didn't get into trouble with them, did you?

"No, no, I didn't get in trouble with them," Marinette waved her hands at what Alya was implying "But there are other people who did get in trouble with them and they need assistance."

Alya suspected that wasn't the truth of the whole story.

"Is all good?" Alya hadn't heard much from Marinette in the last few days. Although they were on holidays, they hadn't had much time to tag along.

Marinette sat next to Alya on her bed.

"More or less. I'm in a pretty serious situation."

"Do you need help Marinette?" Alya was worried about her friend.

"No Alya. I wouldn't want to involve you. It's very dangerous. You've done enough for me already."

"Is it something serious?" Alya was very worried about Marinette. You could tell she was onto something very serious.

"I can't tell you much. It's a very dangerous situation and I already have too many people involved to involve you too, Alya."

Alya understood that he didn't fully trust her. And apparently that was something so serious that she didn't want to involve her directly.

"I understand that you don't want to tell me, Marinette. Just whatever you're doing, be very careful Marinette."

"I'll do." Marinette hugged Alya.

"Now, to deal with the press I can talk to some people to help us from the Ladyblog…"

Alya explained what they could do in that case. Marinette went with the idea to Gabriel who was a little skeptical of the idea.

Marinette returned as soon as she could to the mansion with the idea. She gathered Nathalie, Gabriel and Adrien in the kitchen to explain what Alya advised her. Gabriel was a little skeptical of the idea.

"You can record a video explaining that you are both only in a professional relationship. Like you've done before." Marinette finished explaining what Alya had explained to her.

"Will it be effective to do something like that?" Gabriel's public relations team told him the same thing. Gabriel wasn't so sure that was a good idea.

"That was the advice Alya gave me. She knows a lot about social media. You can record a video clarifying the relationship between you and Nathalie; and she will be in charge of spreading it over the internet."

"And does she know anything about us, Miss Marinette?" Gabriel still didn't completely trust Marinette. "You haven't told Miss Césaire anything?"

"I have avoided telling more people because I am afraid that one of them will find out and we will get in trouble. The guardians gave me an ultimatum. If they find out that I lied to them and that you are involved, I will stop being the guardian and… I will lose my memory when that happens."

Gabriel realized at that moment that Marinette took a big risk by making the decision to give him a second chance. And she could lose everything. She looked at Nathalie who was sitting drinking her coffee in the kitchen.

"Then we must prevent that from happening at all costs" Gabriel said.

"Luka is doing everything possible so that they don't notice what we're doing. It's been difficult, but we're doing it, for now" Marinette sat in the dining room "Though for the moment, let's focus on solving this little problem."

Adrien was thoughtful. Suddenly an idea came to him.

"What if we publish the video on my public account?" Adrien suggested.

"Your account?" Gabriel remembered asking Nathalie to create a brand account for Adrien because of her modeling work, although she was left behind when Adrien decided to stop modeling months ago.

"I think it would be more credible, father. I could use account reach to help spread the message as well. I know my account has been inactive for a long time, and it may not have the same reach as before, but we could try."

"Then let's do it, Adrien," Gabriel agreed.

"Nathalie, you have the password to my account?" Adrien ran to look for Nathalie to help him with his idea.

"Yes, I have it, Adrien." Nathalie proceeded to access the account that Adrien used for his modeling work "I'm ready when you are."

They proceeded to record the video and edit out the parts that probably wouldn't help their case. After Adrien published the video that Gabriel recorded with the intention of calming the waters, they disconnected from their networks for a few hours and waited for the result to be positive.

Gabriel was on edge. He just cleaned up in the kitchen while they waited. Nathalie, Adrien and Marinette sat in the dining room to see the public's reaction.

Within hours the video went absolutely viral. Everyone was sharing the video.

"What are they saying about us, Adrien?" Gabriel decided that it was time to face the public's opinion.

Adrien logged into his account after hours and began to read comments.

"Some ask who Nathalie is, others are not very convinced. There is even a hashtag called Gabenath."

Gabriel didn't expect that there were so many people who thought they were a couple.

That was something unexpected.

"Are you sure it's a positive reception, Adrien?" Gabriel wanted to make sure they would be left alone after doing this.

"Sure." Adrien scrolled down his page "There are more good comments than bad ones."

Adrien continued reading comments. Apparently, that would be enough to calm people down a bit.

"I'm sorry for getting you into this, Nathalie. It wasn't my intention." Gabriel thought that maybe he should have insisted to Nathalie that he was going to therapy alone.

"It's okay, Gabriel. It's not the first time, and I don't think it will be the last." Nathalie was very sure how desperate the media could be to get a juicy story for her audience. All these years working for the Agreste's taught him that.

Marinette went to see Alya again to thank her for her help and ask her for something of utmost importance.

"Thank you very much Alya," Marinette sat on Alya's bed. "I didn't know who else to turn to for this."

"I know, it's the least I can do," Alya sat in the swivel chair at her desk "But what do you need?"

"Alya, can you do me another favor?" Marinette moved her fingers nervously.

"Tell me." Alya approached with her chair to where Marinette was.

"I need to find who stole the butterfly Miraculous. And I think you would be the perfect person to help me."

"I need you to tell me the whole story then…"

Alya made herself comfortable.

Marinette then proceeded to tell her what had happened in her confrontation with Monarch. She just omitted to say who Monarch really was.

Alya listened in amazement to the fight Marinette had with Monarch. Once the story ended, Alya had certain suspicions.

"He didn't die, right Marinette?" Alya was guessing some things from what Marinette told her.

"Yes, Alya, I'm covering him up along with the person who was Mayura. I can't tell you who they are. I'm afraid that the guardians will interrogate you." Marinette finishes Alya talking too much like last time "They were already hard enough on me."

"So that's how that person got the Miraculous?" Alya was thoughtful.

"Yes, when I fought with Monarch, he lost the Miraculous at one point in the fight and someone else took it without me realizing it and when I went to look for it, it was too late."

"Then I'll be in charge of investigating," with the information she had, Alya could start investigating "I have one last question, do you have any clues about who it could be?"

"I'm not sure. I know that he is a person apparently of a similar age to us. We don't know any further than that. We couldn't see that person's face in the few recordings in which he appears.

"So, this is going to be more difficult than I thought." Alya finished writing down the last details that Marinette gave her in a notebook. "Don't worry Marinette, I'll help you investigate."

"Thank you Alya. I owe you one." Marinette and Alya hugged each other.

Nathalie admits her feelings for Gabriel aren't death after all.

Thank you so much to luzbugs for Beta-ing this chapter.