Scene: Le Taillevent. Inside; Afternoon.
The De-Sinclair family members, Kalianna, Darius, and Vanita, are eating silently with Jeong Woo, Vanita's brother.
Vanita decided to end the silence by setting down her fork. "Okay Jeong, ever since you got back in Paris, you've been acting off. You brought us out to this restaurant to tell us something but you haven't told us yet, what is it?"
Jeong clears his throat. "Can't it wait till dessert?" He eats a piece of the medium-rare steak on his plate.
"It, really can't," Darius spoke up, scratching his head. "I've gotta get down to the law firm to handle a divorce case in half an hour."
"Isn't today your day off?" Kalianna questions her dad, poking at the scallop on her plate.
"When it comes to work, when is there a day off?" Darius rubs the back of his neck with a tired look.
Kalianna frowns while Vanita looks at her husband in concern.
"Look Jeong, could you just hurry up and tell us? I'm sure whatever news you got isn't that bad." Darius eats a scallop from his plate.
Jeong sighs in frustration. "...I'm engaged."
Vanita's eyes widened, Kalianna gasped lightly, and Darius, caught off guard by the news, began to choke.
"Dad!" Kalianna cries while her father coughs, holding his throat.
"Hold on dear, I've got you," Vanita stands up, getting behind her husband's chair. "HI-YAH!" She delivers a powerful karate chop on Darius's back with her hand.
The scallop flies out of Darius's mouth, clearing up his windpipe.
"Ew," Kalianna cringed in disgust as the chewed-up scallop lands directly on Jeong's steak.
"Aaand I've lost my appetite," Jeong slides his plate to the side.
"I'm sorry," Darius apologizes to his brother-in-law. "So sorry Jeong."
"Have some water honey," Vanita offers the lawyer a glass of water.
"Thank you Ita," Darius takes the glass, sipping on the water.
"Back on topic, Uncle Jeong... you're getting married?" Kalianna asked the food critic in shock.
Jeong nods in confirmation.
"I never thought you'd settle down," Vanita sits in her seat. "You've always been so focused on your career that you've never had time for love."
"Actually," Jeong began nervously. "I met my fiancee two years ago. I proposed to her a week ago,"
"What?!" Vanita shouts in surprise.
Darius, who was still drinking water, begins choking again.
"Dad, c'mon!" Kalianna complains while Darius coughs, pounding his chest.
A couple who was sitting nearby looked at the family weirdly, and Vanita saw them.
"What're you both looking at? Mind your own business!" The dressmaker demands, and the couple immediately look away. "Nosy a$$ people," She mutters.
"H-How did you not tell us you met someone?" Darius asks Jeong after he calmed down.
"Well it wasn't exactly something I wanted to bring up every time I visited. I was... a little too shy about my relationship. I'd never been in one before." Jeong shrugs, sipping on his champagne.
"Except for Meghan," Vanita cuts in.
Jeong sputters out his champagne. "Please, let's not talk about her," He sets his wine glass aside.
"Meghan? Who's Meghan?" Kalianna asked curiously.
"Jeong's college nightmare sweetheart, a screaming banshee dressed in human skin. That girl was a jealous brat." Vanita told her daughter, whose mouth shaped into an 'O'.
"Moving on!" Jeong proclaimed loudly, then lowered his voice. "Meghan is in the past, my fiancee is my future."
"Who is she?" Vanita asks.
"Is she nice?" Kalianna asks.
"Is she pretty?" Vanita inquires again.
"Does she have financial stability?" Darius queries.
Jeong looks at Kalianna. "Yes, she's nice," He looks at Vanita. "Yes, she's pretty, stunning even," He looks at Darius lastly. "And yes, she does have financial support."
The De-Sinclair family sighs in relief.
"What's her name though?" Kalianna queries.
"Her name is Alessia Santoro, we first met each on..." Jeong clears his throat. "On Tinder."
"On Tinder?!" Darius and Vanita shout at the same time.
"Uncle, you go on Tinder?" Kalianna quizzed teasingly.
"It's not a big deal." Jeong blushes slightly.
"It is when it comes to you!" Vanita replies.
"Stop being so immature Vanita." Jeong retaliates.
Vanita sips on her red wine, hiding a smile.
"Wait, if you and Ms. Alessia met two years ago, how come you didn't bring her to our Thanksgiving dinner?" Kalianna asks Jeong.
"As a diplomat, Alessia's always busy. She had a meeting to attend so I couldn't bring her to the Thanksgiving dinner that night." Jeong explains.
"Diplomat? Wow Jeong, you've scored yourself a businesswoman, congratulations!" Darius raised his glass of white wine to the food critic, and he just nods to him.
"Thank you. Anyway, I'm having my engagement party tomorrow," Jeong pulls out two invitations from his suit, placing them on the table. "I'd love for you guys to be there."
"Of course we will! We'd love to meet Alessia." Vanita says, grabbing Darius's hand, who smiles slightly.
Kalianna smiles as well.
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Scene: Collége Françoise Dupont. Next Day. School Cafeteria.
Adrien got out of the lunch line with his food tray, he slowly walks around, looking for who to sit with. He saw Hiro sitting at a table with his friends, but all the chairs were occupied, so he continued to look around.
"Adrien!"
The Agreste boy cringed at the familiar voice that called his name and he turned to see Lila waving at him. She was sitting at a table with Nino, Alya, and Kim.
"Over here! Come sit with me!" The scarlet brunette winks at him.
Adrien simply turned away from her and saw Kalianna sitting down at an empty table with her tray, smiling brightly.
Curiosity arose in him and he walked towards Kalianna's table, sitting down across from her.
Lila, who had witnessed this, scowled in displeasure since her infatuation chose to sit with her enemy instead of herself.
"What're you smiling about?" Adrien asked Kalianna.
The amber-eyed girl looks up. "Oh, Adrien, what did you say?"
"You're smiling very brightly. What's got you in such a good mood?" Adrien probed.
"My Uncle Jeong is engaged!" Kalianna smiles, bouncing slightly in her seat. "I'm going to his engagement party tonight. I'm really excited, hopefully his fiancee is nice as he said she is."
"That's cool, what's his fiancee's name?" Adrien questioned.
"Alessia Santoro." Kalianna replies.
"Alessia Santoro? Hmmm, that name sounds really familiar," Adrien gets out his phone, going to Google.
Kalianna takes a bite of her seafood paella, not paying attention to what the boy was doing. He types up Alessia's full name, pressing the search button.
After loading for a brief moment, images of a gorgeous woman popped up. She had light brown skin and eyes, dark brown hair with black roots, and full lips that were coated with red lipstick.
Adrien skimmed over Alessia's information and his eyes widened. "Kalianna, it says here that Alessia Santoro is a diplomat."
"Ummm... yeah, Uncle Jeong said that." Kalianna told Adrien.
"It also says here Alessia was born in Monaco and she represents the city! She's also a multi-billionaire and the ex-wife of Bradford Sterling, an European billionaire!" Adrien shows Kalianna a Wikipedia photo of Alessia and a handsome man, the former was smiling while the latter looked stoic.
"Wow, really? Uncle Jeong really is a lucky man!" Kalianna says.
"I remember when Bradford and my father did business together when I was twelve. My father designed Alessia's wedding dress." Adrien explains.
"Wait, so if Bradford and Alessia were together when you were twelve, then that means they must've gotten divorced a few months after then, I think," Kalianna figures. "My uncle Jeong says he met Alessia two years ago and I'm fourteen now. So why did Alessia and Bradford separate?"
"It says here on Wikipedia they divorced because their marriage was dull and that there was no love they felt for each other anymore. They both said this on an interview about two years ago." Adrien read the information about Bradford and Alessia off his phone.
Plop!
Both Kalianna and Adrien flinched at the sound of Lila abruptly putting down her tray on the table.
"What're you guys talking about?" The Rossi girl questioned, sitting down right next to Adrien.
Adrien exited Wikipedia and put his phone away. "Nothin' much." He shrugs.
"And why would we even tell you anything? Go away Lila." Kalianna glares at the girl.
"Kalianna, that's not very nice!" Lila told the noirette, turning to look at Adrien with a pout. "Do you want me to go Adrien?" She puts her hand on his arm, rubbing it.
Adrien, not in the mood for her unwanted touching, shrugs her hand off. "Kalianna, do you need a plus one?"
Lila rose an eyebrow. "Plus one? Plus one for what?"
"My uncle's engagement party," Kalianna rudely informed the spiteful vixen, looking back at Adrien. "And my dad did say the invitation said you could bring a plus one with you. Why do you ask?"
"Yeah, why are you asking Adrien?" Lila inquired.
"Isn't it obvious?" Adrien looks at her with a blank stare. "I'm asking Kalianna if I could be her date."
The ravenette's eyes widened at his bold remark. She didn't expect him to say that, especially straight up to Lila's face! She bit her lip, holding back a giggle at the aghast look on her arch-enemy's face.
"W-What?" Lila stuttered, blinking at Adrien, shocked at his words.
"You heard what I said Lila, I'm not repeating myself," Adrien retorts, then looks at Kalianna. "So Kal? Can I be your plus one?" He gives her a small smile.
"I... sure!" Kalianna replies, getting up with her tray, Adrien follows her actions and walks away with her. "But what about your dad? Won't he say no?"
"Don't worry about him, I'll convince him." Adrien assures.
Lila stares at them as they leave, her mouth hanging open, making her look like a gaping fish. She frowns as Kalianna and Adrien sit at an empty table nearby together.
"So where's the engagement party gonna be at?" Adrien quizzed Kalianna.
"At Novotel Paris Les Halles, a four-star hotel. The main event is gonna be in the restaurant though." Kalianna explains to Adrien.
At hearing those words, Lila smirked, an idea already forming in her mind.
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Scene: Outside School.
Classes were now over, and Adrien sighed as he exited the building. Once he reached the end of the stairs, he began to wait for his car.
However, his peaceful state didn't last when a shrill voice called out to him from behind.
"Adrikiiins!"
The blonde yelped when Chloé jumped on his back. "Chloé, get off." He demands, not in the mood for the Bourgeois girl's shenanigans.
"Whoa, what's got you so bossy Adrien?" Chloé asked, getting off his back. "But then again, I like when you're bossy. It shows you got it from me."
Chloé pets her ponytail as Sabrina, holding her book bag, comes walking down the stairs and stands beside her.
"Why are you all over me so much Chloé? I thought I was Adri-nothing when you got Akumatized into Queen Banana." Adrien reminded.
"Don't mention that horrible day!!" Chloé shrieks, stomping her foot. "I still have yet to get revenge of Maya for taking me out of MY movie!"
"It wasn't your movie, it was Maya's," Adrien retorts. A honk was heard and he turned around to see his car waiting for him. "Look Chloé, I've got basketball practice today since it's Wednesday, what do you want?"
"I want you to be my date for this lame party I'm attending tonight." Chloé says, putting her hands on her hips.
Adrien tensed up at this. Chloé was going to a party tonight too? Could it be... Kalianna's uncle's engagement party?
No, no! It couldn't be! It was probably just a coincidence.
"Just think, Chloé Bourgeois, daughter of Paris's mayor, showing up with Adrien Agreste as her date, the hottest teen supermodel worldwide! All those girls would be so jealous." Chloé says smugly.
Another honk was heard from the Agreste car just then, and Adrien glanced at it before looking at Chloé.
"I can't be your date to the party Chloé, I'll be busy. I'm sorry." With that, the supermodel turned and walked away towards his car.
Chloé gawked after him, then became angry. "Now just wait a minute! You can't reject me! I'm your childhood friend!"
However, Adrien ignored her and got into his car, which drove away right after.
"ARGHHH!!!" Chloé stomps her foot in frustration. How dare Adrien decline her offer to be her date?! Didn't he know she was the most beautiful girl in Paris?!
As she was fuming, Sabrina began to fan her, hesitantly suggesting for her to calm down.
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Scene: Agreste Mansion. Gabriel's Atelier.
Gabriel is designing a fashion piece on his monitor when a knock on the door was heard.
Adrien then entered, fiddling with his Miraculous ring. "Father, could I be Kalianna's plus one for her uncle's engagement party?"
Gabriel's fingers froze. He closed his eyes, sighing in irritation. He didn't want to hear about that troublemaking girl, especially since she had won the Fashion Icon award instead of his son.
"No." With that sharp answer, Gabriel continued to work.
"Bradford Sterling's ex-wife is the fiancee of Kalianna's uncle." Adrien reveals.
Gabriel's fingers stopped once more at the blonde's words. "Bradford Sterling?" He looks up at Adrien. "As in-"
"Yes, you designed his ex-wife's wedding dress. Alessia Sterling, remember? She claimed her last name Santoro again after she divorced Bradford. I'd like to see her again." Adrien says.
"And you think being the date of that... girl will help you do that?" Gabriel questioned, spitting out the word 'girl' venomously.
Adrien decided to ignore his father's hostile tone because he was used to it by now. "Yes, father. Can I?"
"Hmph, fine. What time is this engagement party?" Gabriel inquires.
"It starts at seven o'clock p.m. and ends at eleven." Adrien replied.
"Be back by ten p.m. sharp." Gabriel instructed, resuming on working on his fashion piece.
"Huh? But father, at Kalianna's Halloween party you allowed me to be back by eleven!" Adrien protested.
"Be glad I did, this time I want you back by ten because you have a photoshoot tomorrow, now get up to your room." Gabriel orders, not taking his eyes off the monitor.
Adrien sighs and exits the office.
After he did, Gabriel's phone began to ring. He took it out of his dress jacket, and once he saw who the caller was, he answered.
"Hello?"
Scene: Adrien's Room.
Adrien is searching inside his closet while Plagg is on the bed with a chunk of Camembert.
"I mean, it could've been worse. He could've allowed you not to go, he even could've told you to be back in an hour! You should be grateful." Plagg bites off a piece of his cheese.
"Yeah, you're right Plagg, I was pushing it a bit. I should know my father by now," Adrien holds up a purple tuxedo. "But then again," He puts the tux back on the rack with his other ones. "I hardly know anything about him."
"True that! You're father is as cold as ice and as boring as a stuffy old noble." Plagg throws his Camembert into the air and eats it whole.
Adrien chuckles at his words, pulling out a black tuxedo. "Should I wear black Plagg? You can't go wrong with it right?"
"Of course not!" Plagg flies into the closet towards him. "Just look at me and my shiny black texture!" He gestures to himself. "Plus, you wear black leather as Cat Noir, what's wrong with wearing a black suit?"
"Hmmm, you're right Plagg. It is the classiest option." Adrien smiles, walking out of the closet with the tux.
"Atta boy!" Plagg flies after him.
Scene: De-Sinclair Château. Dining/Living Room.
Kalianna is having dinner with her family. "Mom, dad?" She calls to them.
"Yes, Pumpkin?" Darius looks at her.
"I hope you both don't mind but.. since I asked him too, Adrien's going to be my plus one for the party." Kalianna informs, poking at the salmon in her plate with her chopsticks.
Vanita froze as Darius dropped his own pair of chopsticks. She looked at him to see his right eye was twitching as he was trying to compose himself.
"What?" Darius asked through gritted teeth.
"Dad, it's no big deal!" Kalianna whines.
"It IS a big deal! How could you not consult with me first before-!"
"Ahem,"
Darius turned to see Vanita narrowing her eyes at him. He cleared his throat and looked at Kalianna. "How could you not consult with me AND your mother first before asking that boy to be your date?! You know I don't like when you go out with him! What about Luka huh? I really like that kid."
Kalianna frowns and puts down her chopsticks. "Dad, that's enough. Luka and I broke up a long time ago and we've both accepted it, we're not getting back together. I really like Adrien, and if you can't accept that, then... I don't know what'll it take for you too."
"You're father's just being overprotective as always sweetheart don't mind him." Vanita spoke up, putting her hand on her husband's.
"Don't mind me?!"
"He'll come to accept the fact that you won't be staying away from Adrien anytime soon," Vanita smiles at her daughter, then gives Darius a dirty look. "And if he doesn't, 내가 그를 만들게. (I'll make him)."
Darius's forehead starts sweating and he gulps at his wife's heated glare.
Kalianna giggles and takes off a piece of salmon with her chopsticks, eating it.
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Scene: Agreste Mansion. Night. Adrien's Bathroom.
Adrien fixed the lapels of his black tuxedo and smiled in the mirror.
Plagg whistled as he came floating over. "Look at you Mr. James Bond. Kalianna's gonna fall head-over-heels for you even more!"
"You think so?" Adrien asked his Kwami.
"Definitely!" Plagg responds.
Adrien smiles once more. "Thanks Plagg, now hid in my jacket, it's time for us to go pick up Kalianna."
Plagg hides in the supermodels suit jacket before he exits the bathroom, closing the sliding door.
Scene: Agreste Foyer.
Adrien leaves Nathalie's room and goes down to the top of the steps with a content look. As he did, he wondered what outfit Kalianna was wearing.
Was she wearing a dress? A power suit? She would look good in a power suit though; she'd look like a cute professional CEO.
Adrien blushed at the thought and took a step down the stairs, then he looked up, and his eyes widened by what, or, who he saw.
On the left side was his bodyguard, on the right was his father, and in the middle was the classmate he disliked the most.
"Lila?" He breathed out in disbelief.
"Hey, Adrien. Are you happy to see me?" The scarlet brunette gives him a sneaky smile that almost made him shiver.
The blonde then took notice of her outfit. She was wearing a short red dress with a black bow behind it, a black slit, and black ankle boots.
(Sukura41: Well at least she looks good for once 😒. I know I sound like I'm hating but I don't give a sh1t. Lila's lucky I chose this outfit for her, it could've been much worse.)
Adrien looks at Gabriel with a confused look. "Father, why is Lila here?"
"She'll be attending the engagement party with you of course." Gabriel reveals.
"What?" Adrien's eyes widened.
"When you left my office, I received a phone call from Lila." Gabriel begins.
~Flashback~
"Hello?" Gabriel says into his phone.
Gabriel: She asked me if she could go to the engagement event with you.
"Hi, Mr. Agreste! Listen, Adrien's going to this engagement party tonight, and he's going with Kalianna since the engagement is celebrating her uncle and his fiancee. Did you know about this?" Lila asked the designer over the phone line.
"Yes, Adrien made me aware. He's Kalianna's plus one." Gabriel says.
Lila gasps over dramatically. "Mr. Agreste, you allowed this?! I thought I told you Kalianna was bad news."
"I know, but Adrien would like to see an old friend of mine, and I didn't want to deny." Gabriel replies.
Gabriel: Not only that, but she also wanted to keep an eye on you.
"Well, okay, but could I at least go with Adrien? Just to keep an eye on Kalianna so she doesn't make him uncomfortable." Lila says.
Gabriel nods. "Of course, Adrien's bodyguard will pick you up tonight at six-thirty."
"Thanks a lot Mr. Agreste!" Lila then hangs up, smirking in triumph.
~End Of Flashback~
"Keep an eye on me?" Adrien rose an eyebrow, now standing at the bottom of the steps in front of his bodyguard, co-star model, and father. "I'm fourteen, why would I need to be watched like a baby?"
"Do not question my decision Adrien. This is Lila's chance to socialize and get influential connections." Gabriel says curtly.
"Connections? What do you mean Mr. Agreste?" Lila asked the Agreste man.
"Alessia Santoro is the fiancee of Kalianna's uncle. Since she's a diplomat from Monaco and a multi-billionaire. She's sure to have a lot of socialites and other wealthy people at her engagement party." Gabriel explains to the manipulative girl.
Lila's eyes widened at the news. And she couldn't help but feel jealous of Kalianna as her uncle was marrying a billionaire diplomat! While on the other hand, her mother was just working at an embassy, she wasn't even the head of the embassy!
"If people see you on my son's arm, they'll sure to approach you to make conversation." Gabriel told Lila.
"I see, I'll try to make connections then." Lila gives him a polite smile.
In reality, all she was thinking was if she got rich and powerful connections, she could be even more famous than Kalianna and finally afford the luxurious things she wears.
And maybe Adrien would even ask her on a date!
Speaking of the said blonde, she smiled brightly at him. "I'm so glad we're going to this engagement party together Adrien." Stepping towards him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a long kiss on his cheek. "Mmmmwah!" She then pulled away, batting her eyelashes at him.
Adrien looked off to the side, glaring at the floor as he clenched his hands.
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Scene: Agreste Mansion Courtyard.
Gabriel watches as Gorilla opens the back door of the Agreste car for Adrien and Lila. "Remember Adrien, ten p.m. sharp."
Adrien gives him a stiff nod and climbs into the car, and Lila gets in after him.
Gorilla then closes the door and enters the driver's side.
Scene: Agreste Car.
"Gorilla, please take us to Kalianna's house." Adrien instructed.
Gorilla nods and drove through the gates, departing from the mansion.
Lila felt irritated at the mention of Kalianna's name. "Why are we going to Kalianna's house? I thought we were going straight to the party."
"Since I'm Kalianna's date, I have to go pick her up and be her escort, it's only something a gentleman would do." Adrien told Lila.
The Rossi girl hummed, looking away with a frown.
Adrien looked out the window, trying his best to act like the spiteful vixen wasn't sitting right next to him.
"Do you like my outfit?" Lila asked him sweetly.
The Agreste boy cringed at the sound of her annoying voice. He didn't want to talk with her, he wanted to get to Kalianna's house in piece.
"I figured I'd wear red because it's the color of love. It's WAY more of a step up than that ugly Fendi dress I wore when I got Akumatized isn't it? I don't know what I was thinking when I wore that dress, after I went home I immediately threw it in the trash. If you don't like it, then I've got no reason too either." Lila ranted.
"M-hm..." Adrien nods, still looking out the window.
"Adrien, are you listening to me?" Lila questioned.
Adrien didn't respond.
This causes Lila to scowl and she puts her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, how do I look? I need your opinion."
Adrien looks at her, examining her briefly before he resumed looking out the window. "You look good, but your exposing too much of your back."
Lila grew offended by this statement. "So Kalianna can walk around wearing short skirts and baby tops but I can't show my back?"
"For one," Adrien turns to her with a frown. "Kalianna wears safety shorts underneath her skirt, and two, those baby tops that she wears are crop tops. Every girl knows that Lila, and Kalianna's tops barley show any skin."
"How do you know she wears safety pants? Are you looking under her skirt to see?" Lila probed angrily.
"What're you trying to imply? That I'm some p£rvert like you?" Adrien retorts.
Lila gawked at him, taken aback by his harsh words.
"I'm not saying you can't show your back, I'm saying the dress is something a fourteen-year-old shouldn't wear, and it's bound to be cold." With those words, Adrien then turned to look out the window again.
Lila couldn't even say anything. Her obsession had just called her a p£rvert like half of the school labels her.
Feeling embarrassed, she looked out her own window, glaring at the outside.
Scene: Kalianna's Room.
"And done!" Tikki proclaims after she puts a pin into Kalianna's hair.
The noirette had her black locks pinned up into a pretty braided bun. She smiles at the hairstyle in her vanity mirror.
"Thanks a lot for helping me braid my hair Tikki." She thanked the Kwami.
"It's no problem Kalianna." Tikki replies.
Collecting a silver bracelet with diamonds from her jewelry box, Kalianna put it on. "Perfect." She smiles at it, she then notices a pair of beautiful blue earrings that matched her outfit.
The ravenette frowns and touches her left Miraculous earring, feeling a bit sad she couldn't take it off and wear the pretty earrings.
Tikki notices her longing stare at the earrings and sighed. "You can wear them you know."
"Really?" Kalianna asked her Kwami, surprised. "But last time when I took my Miraculous off Cat Noir and I had to switch-"
"That won't happen, not if you keep them close to you this time." Tikki says, gesturing to her holder's purse.
Kalianna looks at it, then takes off her Ladybug earrings, placing them into her purse. She then grabbed the blue earrings.
Scene: De-Sinclair Château Foyer.
The doorbell rings and Vanita, wearing a black power suit, approached it, pressing the button for the intercom.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mrs. De-Sinclair! It's Adrien, I'm here to pick up Kalianna." Adrien says over the intercom.
"Hold on, I'll open the gate for you." Vanita presses another button on the intercom.
Scene: Outside The De-Sinclair Château.
The entrance gate opens, and Adrien walks in with Lila beside him.
Scene: De-Sinclair Château Foyer.
Vanita opens the door and smiles at Adrien. "Hi, Adrien!"
The Agreste boy smiles back. "It's good to see you Mrs. De-Sinclair."
Vanita's smile faded when she saw Lila beside her. "Oh, I see you brought... company."
"This is a classmate of mine, Lila Rossi, you remember her right?" Adrien asked the dressmaker.
"Unfortunately." Vanita replies, staring at Lila, her eyes holding disgust in them.
The scarlet brunette gives her a fake smile. "Hi, Ms. Vanita! It's really good to see you, I'm such a fan of your work."
"That's Mrs. De-Sinclair to you. The last time we met, you got my daughter suspended. And that illness that you claim to have, I researched it, and I found nothing." Vanita informs curtly.
The Rossi girl laughs. "That's because it's a rare medical condition Mrs. De-Sinclair. You can't find everything on the internet."
Vanita glares at the model, loathing the smug look in her eye. How she wished she could magically turn into a teenager to smack Lila silly.
"Ita, who's at the door?" Darius questioned, coming downstairs. He was wearing a grey Ralph Lauren suit.
"Hey, Mr. De-Sinclair, I'm here to pick up Kalianna and escort her to the engagement party." Adrien spoke up.
Darius stopped at the bottom of the steps, narrowing his eyes at the blonde, then he noticed Lila, who waved at him. He rose an eyebrow at Adrien.
"You're coming to pick up my daughter with another girl? And the girl who got her suspended no-less?" Darius clenches his hands, scowling at Lila.
The said girl flinched and grabbed Adrien's arm. "I-I'm really sorry about that incident Mr. De-Sinclair, c-could we move past that?"
Adrien pulled his arm out of her hold, causing her to frown. "Where's Kalianna, Mr. De-Sinclair?"
Darius looked upstairs. "KALIANNA! Adrien is here!!"
"I'm coming!" Kalianna's voice yells back before she appeared at the top of the stairs, carefully taking each step since she had on heels.
Adrien watches as she comes down, his jaw hung open at how beautiful she looked, especially in that light blue lace dress she was wearing.
"Wow," The Agreste boy breathed in awe, staring at the love of his life.
Lila crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, watching Kalianna come downstairs. She glared at her, envious of how the girl got a reaction out of Adrien and she didn't.
"Kalianna, you look..." Adrien trailed off as Kalianna approached him.
"Like a classy socialite?" The noirette asked, striking a pose.
Adrien laughs lightly. "Definitely."
Kalianna smiles, but her eyes widened when she noticed Lila.
"Hi, Kali!" She sweetly greeted her.
"It's Kalianna, what're you doing in my house?" Kalianna queried angrily.
"I'm coming to your uncle's engagement party with you and Adrien of course!" Lila rubs Adrien's arm, making him recoil. "I wanna keep an eye on Adrien."
"What are you? His babysitter?" Kalianna scoffs, gently grabbing Adrien's arm. "Adrien, let's go to your car. Mom, dad, I'll see you at the party." She told her parents, then walked towards the door with her date.
Lila shot a dirty look at Kalianna's back, then looked at Vanita and Darius with a tight smile. "It was nice seeing you both, Mr. and Mrs. De-Sinclair."
The adults just narrowed their eyes at the scarlet brunette as she hurried to catch up with Kalianna and Adrien.
"...I don't like that girl." Vanita told her husband.
"Neither do I."
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Scene: Agreste Car.
Lila is displeased as Kalianna is sitting in the middle of the backseat next to Adrien, who is praising her about how good she looks.
"You look really pretty Kalianna, seriously. That dress fits you like a glove. And your earrings are very beautiful." Adrien told the noirette.
She giggles. "Thank you for the fourteenth complement this night Adrien."
"You've been counting?" Adrien questioned.
"Of course I have." Kalianna replies.
Hearing enough of Adrien chat with her enemy, Lila decided to speak up.
"I'm surprised you didn't decide to wear one of those baby tops Kalianna,"
Adrien and Kalianna turned to her.
"You seem to love wearing them." She smirks at Kalianna.
"So? A lot of girls wear short tops nowadays." Kalianna shrugs.
"Yeah, but isn't it inappropriate for your age?" Lila rose an eyebrow.
"You're literally wearing a backless dress and you're gonna talk to me about the crop tops I wear being inappropriate? How did your parents even let you out of the house looking like that?" Kalianna eyes Lila up and down with repugnance.
"I recieved this dress from a modeling company. I figured I had to wear it to such a fancy occasion." Lila shrugs.
Kalianna rolls her eyes. "Lying as always to look good in front of Adrien, how pathetic."
Lila scowls at her enemy for calling her out.
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Scene: Novotel Paris Les Halles Restaurant.
The engagement party is in full swing by the time the De-Sinclairs, Adrien, Lila, and Gorilla arrive.
"Wow!" Kalianna smiles, looking around at the expensive restaurant, her arm linked with Adrien's. "This place looks so luxurious!"
"And there's a lot of rich people here." Lila points out, watching the wealthy individuals mingle with a small smirk.
Meanwhile, Jeong is with his fiancee Alessia, who is conversing with a couple that looked to be royalty.
The food critic then spots his sister and brother-in-law. "My love," He grabs Alessia's hand.
"Hm?" The woman looks at him.
"My family is here." Jeong told her.
Alessia smiles. "Really? Where?" She looks around.
(Sukura41: Alessia Santoro's voice actress is Angelina Jolie.)
Jeong gives the royal couple a polite smile. "Your Highnesses, please excuse us."
The couple nods and leave while Jeong puts his arm on the small of Alessia's back, guiding her towards the group at the entrance.
Kalianna was the first to notice her uncle. "Uncle Jeong!"
"How's my little niece?" Jeong asked, approaching with his fiancee.
"This party is so fabulous Jeong." Vanita told her brother.
"The food will be even more delicious." Alessia spoke up, clinging to Jeong's arm.
"You must be Alessia Santoro, Jeong's fiancee." Darius stated.
Alessia nods. "C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer. (Pleasure to meet you)."
"You as well." Darius bows.
"Let's continue talking over dinner, shall we?" Jeong suggested.
Vanita and Darius murmured in agreement.
🌼🌼🌼🌼
Gorilla is standing by the doorway as he watches over Adrien. The said boy is sitting in between Kalianna and Lila.
"Tonight, we'll have appetizer, entree, and finally dessert." Jeong announces.
A male server comes over just then, placing a plate of Salade Niçoise each in front of the teens and adults before walking away.
"What's this? A salad?" Vanita questions, poking at the food with her fork.
"Yes, Salade Niçoise, a famous salad from the Côte d'Azur region of France." Alessia says.
Adrien takes a bite of his salad. "It tastes pretty good."
"Thank you young man, your Adrien Agreste aren't you? Your magazines are in Monaco." Alessia told the boy.
Adrien opened his mouth to answer, when Lila reached over, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, he is Adrien Agreste, he's the most famous teen supermodel out there, and I'm also his co-star." Lila informed Alessia, smiling at her.
Kalianna rolls her eyes, eating her steaming salad with a piece of meat.
"Really? I hadn't heard of you." Alessia said straightforwardly to Lila.
Adrien, who is drinking a glass of soda, almost spits it up as he puts down his cup.
The smile that Lila had plastered on her face twitched.
"But you," Alessia turned her attention on Kalianna. "I've heard of you, and your magazines too. Top ten model in Paris, Fashion Icon of the month, rising fashion designer, and teen millionaire."
At the mention of the last two words, Adrien's eyes widened.
"You've accomplished a lot Kalianna De-Sinclair, plenty for a fourteen-year-old." Alessia praises the amber-eyed girl.
Kalianna giggles, her cheeks bright red. "Well, it's never too early to get achievements. Maybe one day I'll get an offer for a fashion internship."
A jealous bitter feeling grows in Lila's chest, and she practically stabs her fork into her plate, glaring murderously at it. Kalianna had stolen the attention away from her, and right now, she wanted to jump on the girl and strangle her.
"Kalianna, you never told me you were a teen millionaire." Adrien said to Kalianna, still surprised by the news.
"Are you her boyfriend, young man?" Jeong questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Adrien blushes. "No."
"Then a girl's business is a girl's business." Jeong told the supermodel. "I'm engaged to my lover, and even so," He grabs Alessia's hand. "I don't get into her personal affairs," He kisses Alessia's cheek. "Because I'm not married to her just yet."
The diplomat woman blushes at his words.
After the group finished eating their salads, minus Lila, who barley ate anything, the same server collected their dirty plates, then left.
Shortly after, he came back again, serving them each a plate before he walked away.
"What's this meal called?" Adrien questioned, looking at his dinner.
"Bouillabaisse, Traditional Provencal fish stew," Alessia told the Agreste boy.
Vanita takes a sip of the stew with her spoon, and her eyes widened. "Mmm, the sauce is really good! Spicy, but good."
Alessia smiles. "I'm glad you like it. My mother used to make this for me, it's my favorite meal."
Adrien offered his spoon of fish stew to Kalianna, and she happily ate it, then reciprocated his actions, making him chuckle, but he ate the stew from her spoon.
Lila, seeing this, cringed in disgust, then looked down at her own fish stew.
Meanwhile, Chloé, André, Audrey, and Zoé are around a table nearby, eating. Well, except for Chloé, she is too busy taking pictures. And Audrey as well, she's on her phone texting.
Zoé gets upset as the camera noises are annoying her. "Chloé, could you please put the phone away and eat with us?"
Chloé glares at her. "Shut up you copycat troll! It's bad enough that daddy dragged me to this boring party with you." She continues taking pictures.
Zoé sighs, then spotted Adrien and Kalianna out the corner of her eye. She looked at them. "Adrien? Kalianna?" She smiles.
Chloé immediately put down her phone. "Did you just say Adrien?! Where?!" She stands up, excitedly looking around for her childhood friend.
"Oh no..." Zoé mutters.
"Chloé, dear, sit down!" André told his daughter.
"Leave the girl be, she's looking for Gabriel's son." Audrey says, still texting on her phone.
André sighs and shakes his head.
Chloé spots Adrien and gasps, running over to him.
"Crap!" Zoé gets up and chases after her. "Chloé, wait!"
"That's such a gorgeous engagement ring Alessia." Vanita commends, inspecting the purple diamond ring on Alessia's left ring finger.
"Thank you, Jeong knows me so well. Purple is actually my favorite color." Alessia informs.
"Adrikiiins!!!"
Both Kalianna and Adrien froze at the sound of the annoying voice and they turned to see Chloé running up to their table with Zoé behind her.
Before Adrien could even react, Chloé hugged him from behind, squishing his back against the chair.
Kalianna looks at Zoé, who gives her a panicked expression.
"What're the odds that we ended up at the same party?" Chloé asked Adrien, dragging him by the arm out of his chair.
"I wish it had been zero." Adrien mumbles.
"What did you say?" Chloé probed, confused.
"Nothing." Adrien replies.
Lila stands up just then. "Hey, Chloé! It's nice to see you." She gives her a forced smile.
Chloé rolls her eyes. "I don't even know who you are," She dismisses Lila with a wave of her hand.
The scarlet brunette's eye twitched at this.
"Chloé, let's go back to our table." Zoé tries to grab Chloé's hand, but she slaps it away.
"So, anyway, Adrien, do you wanna come sit at my table with me?" Chloé pouts at him, batting her eyelashes.
"Um, I'm good here." Adrien replies.
Chloé scoffs, then looks at Kalianna. "I can't understand why you'd wanna sit with De-Sinclair, she's nothing but a lowlife loser."
"Don't talk about my daughter that way!" Vanita defended Kalianna.
"I'll talk about her however I please! She's just like her mother, a disappointment!" Chloé sneers.
"What?!" Darius clenches his fists.
"That's enough you bimbo b1tch," Kalianna hissed, standing up, glaring at Chloé. "This lowlife loser and disappointment has achieved more than you ever have in your life Chloé, so why don't you go back to your table with your family of a$$holes? Minus Zoé, cause she doesn't have your sh1tty last name."
"How DARE you?!?!" Chloé raised her hand to slap Kalianna.
However, a hand caught her wrist.
"Huh? Who the he11 do you think you are putting your hands on me?!" Chloé yells, glaring at the person who held her wrist.
Alessia looks at the girl coldly. "This is MY engagement party little girl."
Chloé's eyes widened as André came rushing over.
"M-Ms. Santoro! I'm so sorry about my daughter's behavior," André pulls Chloé away. "My deepest apologies." He then quickly leads Chloé away.
"I'm really sorry about her." Zoé gives Kalianna and Adrien a sheepish smile before hurrying after her relatives.
Alessia turns to her fiancee, Lila, Kalianna, Adrien, Vanita, and Darius with a smile. "So, who wants dessert?"
"Ooo, me, me, me!" Kalianna bounces on her feet excitedly.
"Me too," Adrien sits down with Kalianna. "I've got time."
Lila sits down as well. "Me too." She says dryly.
She just wanted this party to be over with so she could go home, she wasn't having fun, especially with how Kalianna and Adrien were making googly eyes at each other.
As the group conversed with one another while the same server placed down the dessert dishes, Lila stayed silent, twirling the fork in her hand.
And imagining stabbing Kalianna in the throat with it.
Word Count: 6,897
(Sukura41: Lila stabbing Kalianna will never happen guys, no need to worry.)