Hello everyone! Welcome to the sequel, Shadow! When I started Loss, I didn't think it would become so popular that it would have a second book. But, here we are now thanks to all of you!
I appreciate all the support and love everyone has shown! Hopefully, this book will be just as good as the first! *crosses fingers*
Alright! Enough of my ranting!
Enjoy!
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Marinette's P.O.V
We all have our secrets.
Whether it's for our own selfish reasons or to protect the ones we hold dear to us or even both.
Sometimes, we just want to leave secrets in the past and forget it ever existed. But, we can never escape something stuck with us for the rest of our lives. A stain that can never be removed or a scar that will never heal.
Sometimes, it's hard to trust people blindly when they could stab you in the back at any moment without you knowing. Secrets could tear families apart and break even the strongest of bonds that could've taken many years to build.
Sometimes...
...naïvely looking at the light of innocence is blinding, never revealing the true darkness of the shadows lingering right behind you.
I know I didn't see it coming...again.
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No One's P.O.V
Salem, New Jersey
Detective Dylan Gutman sat in his office sorting through some important papers, each page held the record of an adolescent for a specific job he was assigned to a few years ago. Through that amount of time, he was able to complete most of the missions required for his assignment.
Yet, Dylan couldn't take all of the credit. He wouldn't have been able to complete most of them without his partner.
Knock knock
"Come in," Dylan said, setting the papers aside as the door opened. A younger male within his mid-twenties poked his head into the room before entering, closing the door behind him. Dylan nodded his greeting, smiling when seeing his fellow partner.
"Good evening, sir," the young male greeted, professionally before sitting in the chair across from his boss's desk.
"Evening, Paul," Dylan said before noticing the folder in Paul's hands, "Whatcha got there?"
Paul placed the folder on the detective's desk and opened it up.
"Well," Paul began, sorting through the information within the folder, "I've recently discovered some very important...information."
Interested, Dylan glanced down at the papers in curiosity and asked, "What did you find?"
Paul pulled out a cutout section of a newspaper and showed his boss. Dylan skimmed the newspaper cutout, seeing a picture of a Chinese woman and sentences of a foreign language he couldn't read. The detective's eyes looked away from the newspaper cutout and at his partner.
"What language is this? What's this have to do with anything?" Dylan asked.
It's French," the young assistant answered. The detective nodded, knowing his partner was from Paris, France until moving to America around the time they were both assigned this assignment. It was no surprise that the young man knew the language.
Paul's tone soon turned into one of seriousness, "This is the obituary of Sabine Dupain-Cheng."
Dylan's slouched form soon straightened, perking up at the name of the woman. He knew that name, sounding all too familiar on his brain until it suddenly clicked.
"You mean..." Dylan trailed off, looking down at the woman's face again and analyzing it.
Paul nodded in confirmation, "There's an address in the obituary. We found them."
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Paris, France
Marinette's P.O.V
"Today, we will be starting a family project," Miss Bustier announced to the whole class, "You will do research on both sides of your family tree and present it to the class on a powerpoint or read it off a paper. You have a month to complete this assignment so give it your all."
Then, Miss Bustier handed out a paper with instructions on the project.
"This will be a walk in the park," Alya said, "As a reporter, I know how to dig for the details so this will be just like writing the Ladyblog but without video." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head and smiling. I looked down at the paper before realizing something.
I don't know my mom's side of the family very well. Mom never really talked about grandma and grandpa Cheng or anyone on her side of the family except for her Uncle Wang. She was always a mystery, making me realize just how little I knew about her.
I frowned a little, saying, "It's going to be easy for you, not so much for me."
"How come?" Alya questioned, perking an eyebrow.
"My mom never really talked about her side of the family," Marinette explained, slightly upset, "I suppose, I never really asked or even thought of asking."
Alya hummed in thought before suggesting, "Maybe, you can ask your dad?"
I pursed my lips in thought, wondering how much my dad knew about my mom's family. He was bound to know a few things but probably knew just as little as me.
"I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask but I'm not sure how much he would know," I replied, "I might have to look up my information on the computer."
The bell rang. Everyone began to stuff their supplies in their bag while the teacher gave us one last reminder. I slung my bag over my shoulder and began to head for the door with Alya.
"Ugh, Sabrina! You were supposed to bring the pink-colored blush lipstick, not lemonade!" Chloe complained to the nerdy redhead. My eyes narrowed, sending a glare at Chloe. I felt bad for Sabrina, who repeatedly bowed her head while apologizing. I huffed, unable to take in the scene anymore and walked over to Chloe and Sabrina.
"I am so sorry, Chloe!" Sabrina apologized once again.
"You better be," Chloe huffed, displeased.
"Chloe, would you knock it off," I spoke up, getting both the girl's attention. Alya stood at my side, also glaring at the mayor's daughter and seemed as if she wanted to say something too. Chloe sighed in annoyance, turning around and was about to go off on me.
I was prepared to defend Sabrina, and anyone for that matter, from Chloe's wrath again. She couldn't keep going around bullying everyone, including the one person she considered her "friend." Chloe has to grow up sometime and lose the spoiled rich-girl attitude.
Yet, I wasn't prepared for what happened next.
To my surprise, her blue eyes widened slightly and mouth gaped before suddenly closing, swallowing down the cruel words she was about to let out. I watched in confusion as she straightened her posture and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Whatever," she muttered under her breath. She walked around me and headed towards the door, exiting the room. I looked at the doorway astonished, blinking in confusion and trying to figure out what just happened. Chloe didn't fight back at all, not even an insult. She just...walked away?
"Am I the only one hallucinating or did Chloe just really walk out the door without harassing us?" Alya asked, unsure of what just happened. Sabrina and I glanced at each other, asking the same question.
"That was...strange," I agreed, pursing my lips in thought. Could Chloe truly be changing for the better? Yet, no one knew the reason why. Shaking off the shock, Sabrina grabbed her bag and hurried after Chloe. Alya and I watched Sabrina leave before looking at each other in confusion.
"Hey, dudettes!" Nino chirped, walking over to us with Adrien in tow.
"Do you two want to work with us on the project in the library tomorrow?" Adrien asked, smiling brightly. I returned the smile, responding, "Yeah, I can."
"Same with me," Alya answered before her phone buzzed. She checked her phone and groaned in disappointment, "I've got to babysit my siblings tonight."
"I've got to babysit tonight as well. Maybe, I can bring Chris over and we can babysit together," Nino suggested, him and Alya walking towards the door.
"Yeah...that's actually a good idea!" Alya exclaimed before playfully questioning, "When did you get so smart?"
"I've always been this smart!"
"Uh-huh, I'm sure you have," Alya replied, sarcastically.
Nino scoffed, making Adrien and I laugh before following a little ways behind.
"Those two sure do make a cute couple," I said, watching Alya and Nino walk the hall hand in hand. It only made me wish to see Chat Noir sooner and clasp his hand in mine. I didn't realize that I was fantasizing about Chat's finger's weaved with mine until Adrien spoke.
"Yeah," he said with a breathy sigh. Then, I felt something brush against the back of my hand. I glanced down to see Adrien's hand quickly retreating before looking up at his face, catching him staring at me for a moment. His head shot straight forward and body became ridged.
Yet, what really bugged me was when I swore I could see a splash of red painting his cheeks.
"Wo-Would you look at the-the time!" Adrien stuttered, nervously scratching the back of his neck, "I have to get to fencing p-practice! See yo-you later, Marinette!"
Then, Adrien speed-walked into a different direction and bumped his shoulder into a pole. I blinked in surprise as I watch him disappear into the boy's locker room.
That was...odd.
"Wait..." I thought, realizing something, "He has fencing practice today?"
Adrien's P.O.V
I groaned, hitting my forehead repeatedly and saying how stupid I was. I tried to hold her hand! I need to be Chat Noir to do that, not Adrien! Unexpectedly, Plagg flew out of my jacket with a look of boredom and amusement.
"Plagg," I hissed, quietly and opened my jacket while looking around for anyone, "You need to be careful and hide so nobody sees you." He just ignored me and completely changed the subject.
"Real smooth, kid," Plagg said, sarcastically, "Like, sandpaper."
"What are you even talking about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You trying to pull moves as your civilian form instead of your hero form. For shame, I thought I taught you better," Plagg said, shaking his head back and forth in disappointment. I could tell he was trying hard to hold in his laughter and rolled my eyes.
"You're not helping," I uttered, crossing my arms.
"Wasn't trying to," Plagg replied, lazily floating on his back and laughing. I huffed, trying to sustain a glare but it was kind of funny. I grabbed some Camembert from my bag and tossed it to my Kwami, who ate it whole.
"Eat up, buddy. We're going to go visit a princess in her tower tonight," I said.
"You're so cheesy," Plagg replied in disgust.
"I learned it from you," I said back, smirking.
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I landed on Marinette's balcony as Chat Noir and walked over to the skylight. After knocking on the glass, I heard Marinette allowing me entry into the room. I opened the skylight and poked my head in, looking around the room for Marinette.
My eyes didn't spot my lady anywhere in the room, making me very confused until feeling something soft and warm touch my cheek. I was caught off-guard and yelped, falling onto the bed in surprise. A melodious laugh came from the bluenette beauty, who was sitting on the bed out of my view.
I sat up before looking over at pretty bluebell eyes and a sweet smile.
"Hey, Kitty," Marinette greeted, still giggling and wrapped up in the blanket I left here. It didn't matter though since Marinette seemed quite fond of the quilt. So, I let her keep it.
"Hello, yourself," I replied with a smirk before my eyes suddenly averted down at her hands. Her hands were fiddling with one another, begging to be held. I looked back up at Marinette to notice that I was once again caught staring. Whether she did notice or not, Marinette didn't say anything.
I sheepishly looked away, feeling my face growing warm as her eyes observe my very soul.
I felt something grab my right hand and gently gave it a squeeze.
"Do you mind?" she asked, teasingly. I smiled softly before sitting in the empty spot beside her. We both laid back on the pillow, our hands molding with one another.
"Of course not, Buginette," I answered before pulling her hand up towards my face and placing a kiss on the back of it. Marinette slipped her hand out of my hand, much to my disappointment. I was about to say something about it until feeling something warm cupping the side of my face.
I closed my mouth and felt heart skip a beat when staring down at the beautiful girl sitting next to me. Her thumb gently caressed rhythmic circles on my cheek before moving up into my hair. Her finger's combed through my locks, scratching nicely at my scalp. I leaned into her touch, closing my eyes in relaxation.
Then, my ears twitched when hearing muffled snickering. I open my eyes to see Marinette trying to hide her giggles behind her hand. Raising an eyebrow, I tried to figure out why she was laughing until another sound filled my ears and felt a vibration coming from deep within my chest.
My eyes widened before slapping my hand over my mouth and pushing Marinette's hand away from me.
"Kitty," Marinette teasingly began, giggling, "Did I hear you just purr?"
"Nope," I lied, voice cracking in nervousness, "You are hearing things, Princess."
"No, I am pretty sure I heard you purr," Marinette playfully spoke, a cute, sly smile appearing on her lips. A sheepish grin formed on my face and scratched the back of my neck.
She was so adorable, I couldn't help but lean in and place a lingering kiss on her cheek. I pulled back only a little to rest my forehead against her own and smirked in victory when her cheeks a nice tint of red.
"You got me, Bugaboo."
Everything was perfect...
...so, why was something bothering me?
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Tom's P.O.V
"Good morning, Tom" the elderly mailman cheerfully greeted.
"Good morning," I replied, reaching into the display case and grabbing two blueberry muffins. I paced the goods into a bag and handed them to the mailman.
"Here's your usual muffin pickup," I chirped. The mailman chuckled, placing the letters on the counter.
"You don't need to keep giving me muffins every time I come, not that I don't appreciate it," the mailman said. I waved it off like it was no big deal at all, which it wasn't.
"Nonsense, enjoy your breakfast," I said. The mailman chuckled, shaking his head, "You are quite something, Tom. Sabine was a very lucky gale."
I softened at the mention of Sabine, smiling warmly.
"Believe me," I thought, "I was a very lucky man."
The mailman left the bakery and I was left to look through the mail. I placed the bills off to the side until a certain letter caught my eye. I scanned the envelope to see where it came from. Much to my surprise, it was from America.
"Why am I getting American mail?" I thought but noticed it was addressed to me. Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the envelope. A folded piece of paper fell out. I grabbed the paper, unfolding it to see it was all written nicely in French. My eyes scanned every word on the paper until certain parts caught my attention.
Then, I felt myself freeze.
"This can't be possible..." I trailed off in disbelief. This had to be some kind of sick, cruel joke. There was no way that this was true.
"What's not possible?"
I jumped about two feet in the air when seeing Marinette looking up at me confused and worried.
"M-Marinette," I stuttered, hiding the letter behind me and placed my free hand over my racing heart, "You scared me."
Marinette felt slightly guilty, apologizing, "Sorry, Papa. I didn't mean to scare you."
I sighed, calming down from the scare, "It's alright, sweetie. Why are you up so early, anyway?"
"I've got school," Marinette answered, raising an eyebrow at me weirdly.
"Oh, yeah," I chuckled, nervously and snatched a croissant from the display case, handing it to my daughter. Marinette gratefully took it but still kept a keen eye on me, observing my very soul with those bluebell eyes.
"Bye, Papa. I'll see you during lunch," Marinette said, seeming suspicious of me. I waved goodbye until she left the bakery and was out of sight. My smile soon melted into a frown as I sighed, lifting the letter to read it again.
"She...She's can't be..."
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I do not know when the next chapter will be out. I wanted to get a book done before I posted this. But, that didn't happen cause I'm a crazy ding-dong and thought it'd be better to get the sequel out beforehand.
Lol!
Anyways, hope you enjoyed and see you whenever I get the next chapter out!