Coming back home, Adrien threw himself on his bed and detransformed. He sat back up, checking the Graham de Vanilli rings carefully. He took them out and inspected them as he held them between his index finger and thumb. They had to be the object containing his amock. Now that he knew who he was, he could feel it.

The boy closed his eyes and lay down in the bed again. He took a deep breath and let his tears run freely, finally letting himself feel all the grief and heartache he had been holding back.

After what felt like hours, Marinette texted him again.

Marinette: I just wanted to make sure you are fine... I am getting really worried.

He felt guilty about not even letting Marinette know he was fine.

Adrien: Sorry, Marinette. I am fine, just had a very bad headache and did not feel like looking at my phone.

Done, he had replied to her, she could stop bothering him.

His phone buzzed again.

Marinette: Oh, good to know!

Marinette: I was getting concerned.

Marinette: Call me when you feel like it.

But he did not want to talk to her. He did not want to talk to anybody. Everyone around him was lying to him: his girlfriend, his stepmother, his partner (who turned out to be his girlfriend as well)... So he decided to stay in his own company for the time being.

"You are very quiet today, Adrien," Nathalie stated as they were having dinner.

He hummed as a reply.

"Do you... hum... want to tell me what you and Marinette argued about?"

"We did not argue" Adrien cut her sharply.

Silence was in the air for a few seconds, both eating to fill the awkward silence. Then, Nathalie tried again.

"Why were you avoiding her then?"

"I just wanted to be alone, that's all". He spoke, a bit more upset.

Nathalie sighed and decided to let it go for now, despite knowing he was lying. She wanted to care for him and be better than his father was. When did their meals become as silent as the ones Adrien shared with his late father?

The rest of the dinner went by very silently, with Nathalie occasionally trying to probe for some answers.

They were finally having dessert when Adrien spoke "Nathalie, have you ever felt like someone else was pulling the strings of your life?" He paused, looking at her surprised stance. "I mean, like although you wanted to take an action or make a decision, you ended up doing something else, not even understanding why?" he clarified.

Nathalie was taken aback. He probably was describing what he felt when his father was controlling him through the rings. But there was no way he could know how close to the truth that description was, Nathalie thought.

"Adrien, I will not try to control your life like your father did... That is a promise. Is that what you are talking about?"

He did not expect such a concise and direct answer. "Well, yes... It's just that, when he gave me an order, I felt like I had to obey, even when I did not want to. For example, he once made me leave Marinette alone with him, even though I had just promised her I would not do that. And right after I left them, I realized I did not want to do it, but I was also not capable of going back."

"Adrien, your father was an extremely strict man, and I doubt that many kids your age have relationships with their parents like you did with your father. He always wanted what was best for you, even though he had a slightly unhealthy way of procuring it."

"Slightly? He was controlling me like a freaking doll" Adrien screamed while strongly holding his napkin, now completely losing his temper.

Nathalie took a deep breath. Maybe he had found out something after all. Regardless, she had to stop softening the way she spoke about Gabriel.

"You are right, Adrien, and I am so sorry. I tried to stop him, you know? The only thing I can promise you is that I will look out for you, and without ever trying to control you."

"You may not try to control me, but you still lie to me" He muttered, not sure if she heard him, as he put down his napkin and got up. "What difference does it make?" He said in the same low and defeated tone, as he left the table. "I still do not feel good enough to go to school tomorrow" he told Nathalie, while leaving the room to go to his room.

Marinette had been waiting for Adrien to come back to school for two days now. Their teacher mentioned that his guardian, Nathalie, called to inform her that he was still not feeling well.

"Did you talk to Adrien?" Alya asked, during the break.

"Yes, by text. But he has not picked up any of my calls..." Marinette said with a defeated tone. "And he asked me to give him some space for now."

"I am sure it is nothing, girl," Alya said, trying to comfort her best friend.

"I am not... Remember how he was already acting strange before he got sick?" Marinette said while moving her fingers as to mimic air quotes. She sighed. "I think that something is up. "

"Maybe ask him to give you a call after school."

"And if he doesn't want to talk, like the other days?"

"Just insist" Alya shrugged. "He is your boyfriend, he needs to talk to you."

She tried to call him again. She waited nervously, hearing the periodic ring. After a few seconds, it went to voicemail. She left a message, asking him if they could call after school.

Marinette let her friend's words resonate, while the bell rang, calling them back to class.

She spent the rest of her day feeling anxious and distracted from her classes. She could not wait for the moment she would be alone in her room and could finally call Adrien again.

Once she was home, she tried calling him again. It was the fourth time she was trying this day, and she was starting to get nervous about it.

The phone had been ringing for a bit. She was now sure it would go to voicemail when Adrien picked up.

"What is it, Marinette?"

"Adrien, you picked up"

"I know." He said, impatiently, "What do you need?" He asked coldly.

"I... hum..." She was suddenly speechless at his apparent coldness. After spending a full day trying to call him, she would have expected to know what she wanted to say to him.

She heard silence on the other side and understood that, unless she spoke, he would not say a word.

"I just wanted to know what is going on with you, Adrien..." She said sadly "I miss you.", she added.

"Nothing is going on, I am fine." He said in the same flat tone.

She sighed. "No, you are not fine. You are skipping school and you are avoiding me. Whatever is going on, I am here for you, you can trust me."

"Like you trusted me?" He muttered.

She was again taken aback by his words. And confused. Very confused.

"What do you mean? I love you. I will always be by your side."

"You already proved to me that that is not the case." He lashed.

She waited for a second before continuing. "What are you talking about?" she said with a trembling voice, trying as hard as possible to keep her tears away "Of course I will always be there for you, Adrien. I am your girlfriend."

"Maybe you shouldn't be. A girlfriend would not do what you have done." the sharp, cold words left his mouth, right before he hung up.

Marinette was left in her room, staring at her phone, in disbelief.

What had just happened? What could have gone so wrong?

With tears coming down her face, she unlocked her phone and found Alya's text conversation. She typed the messages as the tears fell on the screen of her phone.

Marinette: Alya, can we talk?

Marinette: I think Adrien just broke up with me.

A/N: Dear readers, please bear with me... I promise the story will start being less depressive (at some point)... Until then, I hope you enjoy reading these angsty chapters as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Also, sorry for the interval between chapters being longer than usual. I already wrote the drafts of all chapters, but I like to read each chapter before uploading it, adding some more details and dramatic elements. We are around halfway through the story now. Thanks for the reviews/favs/follows. :)