The walls weren't thick enough to cover up the cries of his daughter's classmates. He could overhear some of the conversation from behind the wall of the bakery.
"How are we going to tell the Dupain-Chengs?"
It was the first thing that caught his attention. He wanted to go over and ask what was going on, but Tom silently waited for a reply to see if he could tell what they were talking about. He could hear the sobs of Alya and Chloe echoing throughout the building.
"We'll think of something. Don't worry," his teenage employee responded to the question.
What could they be talking about? Was it about Marinette. It couldn't be about her... right?
Maybe it was about their bread? Maybe the bakery food wasn't so great and it made them sad.
Tom tried his best to think of scenarios in which his worst possible fear wasn't a reality.
"Chloe," he heard Alya ask meekly through her cries, "How did she die?"
A strike of pain stabbed through his chest as it was the final nail in the coffin. It wasn't just his imagination running wild. His daughter was really gone. She wasn't just out in the world, exploring or having fun anymore.
He picked up a photo of her from a nearby shelf and squeezed it in his arms.
Tom felt his airways close off as he breathed heavily. His daughter, his only baby, was no longer there. Once beating him at video games, eating dessert and playing around in the kitchen, and being lively with her family, Marinette was no longer there. She wasn't going to be there to lighten up the bakery anymore. The whole house was growing less and less colorful without her.
She... was gone. His only baby was gone.
Stumbling out the door as he choked back a scream of hatred for whoever was responsible for his baby's death, he caught himself against the wall of the bakery. Smashing his fist into the side of the building, he was frustrated.
Tears began rolling out as he thought about her.
Her smile that she'd never be able to show.
Punch.
Her bright blue eyes that she'd never be able to open.
Punch.
Her playfulness and silliness that would never be able to bring any further joy to others.
Punch.
He didn't protect his daughter, and now she was gone for good. When she went missing, and she sent that video, it was a relief to know that she was at least alive, but his worries for her never left.
He'd dropped her photograph.
More tears rolled down his cheeks as he punched the wall more aggressively with both fists. Letting out a scream of fury, he didn't even see the little black butterfly flapping towards him.
"Why?! She wasn't supposed to go yet!! She wasn't!!"
Without another moment wasted, it absorbed into the photograph.
A clear, calming voice answered his question as huge tears rolled off his cheeks.
"You feel as if you didn't protect your child."
"I do!! I didn't!! I need her back!!" Tom shouted.
"And if there's one thing you need, it's your poor little girl in your arms again. I can help you get her back."
"Y-You can get her back?" Tom asked incredulously.
"Of course. I wouldn't stop a father from having his child back. It's unfair, and it doesn't make anyone happy with her gone. All I need are the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous, and you'll have your precious daughter back."
"I'll do whatever it takes, Hawkmoth."
What color did the world need without Marinette?
* * *
"It's an akuma attack!" Chloe yelled, pointing out the window.
"Quick, we can all hide in the house. Right this way!" Jean began to lead the teenagers up the stairs, where Tom and Sabine told him to hide people in case of an akuma attack.
Chloe, Alya, and Nino all followed him up the stairs quickly, and they all were sat in the living room.
Jean whispered, "Okay, so let's stay quiet and calm until Chat Noir and Ladybug show up."
"Our Ladybug is officially retired. She's gone forever," Chloe muttered truthfully.
Nino, Alya, and Jean all turned to look at her with confusion.
"I don't understand. You said that she... went away on a mission. Is it true?" Alya whispered, clutching Nino's arm anxiously.
The blonde froze, realizing now was the time to make her decision. Would she lie and honor Marinette's wishes or tell the truth and expose her secret identity?
What would Marinette want her to do? What would Ladybug do? What should Chloe do?
She wasn't sure exposing Ladybug was the best thing to do, especially with Jean there. Even though his dreamy brown eyes and warm smile felt trustworthy, she wasn't about to blab personal business to a beautiful stranger she only met a handful of times.
"You know... what I'm talking about," Chloe muttered in response to Alya's question. Once he was gone, she'd tell her two classmates the truth.
It wasn't her right to cover up Marinette's death and sugarcoat it. Those who loved her deserved to know what she had gone through.
Before much longer, all the teenagers turned when they heard the door swing open. Sabine looked at them with worry.
"Mrs. Dupain-Cheng! There's been an akuma, and you were out at the store. Are you okay?" Jean asked, jumping up to help her.
"T-Tom, he's been akumatized. I don't know where Ladybug is, and I'm getting worried. Tom didn't seem upset at all when I left. Did he deal with an upset customer?" Sabine whispered, looking at all of them anxiously.
"I... I- uh... Mrs. Dupain-Cheng..." Alya bit her lip as she tried to push the lump in her throat back down. The tears wouldn't stop rolling down her cheeks as she tried to think of a way to say what happened.
"What's wrong, dear?" She asked her daughter's best friend.
With widened eyes, she turned to look at Chloe, Jean, then at Nino helplessly.
"There's been a... report," Nino spoke up, but couldn't look her in the eyes.
"I-It's about... Marinette," Alya managed to whisper to Sabine, her heart twisting with pain.
Her worried expression twisted into anxiety and distress. "What's going on with my Marinette?" She asked quickly, but was terrified to learn the answer.
Was she kidnapped? Was she hurt? Was Marinette forever paralyzed? What was happening with her daughter?
It couldn't possibly be that horrendous idea that she spent every moment trying not to think about. It couldn't be her worst nightmare. Her baby girl was going to be okay. She had to be okay.
Breaking down into sobs, Alya managed to say the words she dreaded ever learning about.
"Sh-She's gone. Marinette..." Alya whimpered, burying her face into her arms to spare the pain of watching the woman who raised and birthed her best friend try not to crumble to pieces at her own words.
"N-No... I'm sure she'll be back, Alya dear. Remember that video? She's okay," Sabine swallowed the lump in her throat.
Chloe felt the tears rolling off her cheeks and dribbling down her chin as she stared down at the ground. Her friend's mother didn't want to accept that Marinette was gone, and she didn't blame her.
Still angry with Adrien for lying to her, she admitted to hearing it from him. "Adrien told me!"
"Maybe Adrien heard another rumor. Ladybug promised to tell us if anything happened to Marinette. We should talk to Ladybug. After the akuma attack, we should run out and find her," Sabine rambled, nervously twisting her wedding ring on her finger.
"Ladybug retired."
"No, she disappeared! Her powers got the better of her, and they made her disappear! It was just like the old Chat Noir!" Alya explained tearfully.
Chloe cringed, but knew it wasn't worth keeping the truth. "Ladybug... she's gone now," she said, but she wouldn't look up as she spoke the next few words, "And so is Marinette."
A/N: So Chloe just basically revealed the truth, and we have to await the reactions! How do you guys think Sabine and Alya will react once they find out Marinette is Ladybug?
I'm sorry this chapter is shorter than usual! I promise the next update is longer and will have more drawings.
The good news is that my hiatus is over! ❤️
However, so many things have come up that I wasn't expecting, like I adopted a new dog!
Ignore my arm and skirt lol, but here he is! He's so sweet, and also a bit of a handful, so please excuse me if I take a while to update things.
Also the next update will be out as soon as I can finish it! 💖