Flowers Left Behind | Luka x Reader

Chapter 14

Something was definitely wrong with Adrien. He couldn't stop coughing. He felt his throat close up and his stomach churned in pain. The moment he got home, he ran straight upstairs to his room, ignoring Nathalie and the Gorilla. He felt like throwing up.

He busted open the door to his bathroom and knelt down in front of the toilet. He gripped the sides of the toilet as the coughing burned his throat. What he felt coming up didn't feel like any form of liquid or food that he ate earlier. It felt like something was growing within him and stabbing his insides. What made it even worse was the fact that while this was happening, his wrist felt like it was on fire. He closed his eyes, tears welling up and threatening to fall.

Meow

Monsieur Fromage had walked in and began rubbing his body against his owner's thighs as a sign of comfort. There was a knock at his door, but he couldn't hear who it was. All he could hear were the sounds of his coughs echoing against the walls of his bathroom.

"Adrien, are you ok - Oh" Nathalie gasped the moment she reached the bathroom's entryway. Adrien's coughing had stopped. He leaned back, eyes widening and heart dropping to the floor at the sight.

There, floating inside the toilet, were about a dozen red peony flowers and petals.

"No no no nononono" Adrien stumbled away from the toilet, his tears now flowing down his cheeks. "This can't - I - No!"

"It's okay, Adrien" Nathalie quickly went over to him and wrapped her arms around him. He gripped her arm while shaking his head. "It's going to be alright. Shush now. You don't want to start another coughing fit, trust me. That would only cause more pain"

"How would you know?!" Adrien glanced over at her, not caring that he just yelled at her.

"Because I'm going through this too" She gave him a small smile. He stared at her with a confused gaze. She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a purple butterfly and black-and-white peacock feather. "My flowers were white camellias and coneflowers. I started coughing them up before I met your parents, and it suddenly stopped when I did. They were already married by then and already had you, of course. I thought I lost my soulmate until we realized that all three of us were..."

She trailed off to take a moment to gather herself. She was tearing up. Adrien suddenly realized what she was trying to say. It's the reason why his dad had two peacock feathers.

"You three were each other soulmates" Adrien spoke in a soft voice. She turned to him and nodded her head.

"We had planned on telling you and then getting married, but Emelie had fallen ill" Nathalie wiped a tear. "Her tattoo was identical to mine, you know. Except her peacock feather had my favorite colors and mine was a beautiful white, gold, and black feather. That was until she passed. My flowers returned right then, only this time the white camellias had turned pink"

"But I don't understand" Adrien shook his head. "How could you continue to experience this when you still have my dad?"

Her lips lifted into a forced smile. She brushed some strands of hair away from his face. She could tell that he was worried for her. He looked so much like his mother. "Gabriel spent more time with Emelie than I did. I still love her with my entire being, but Gabriel... He's more heartbroken than I am"

"But he should be thinking about how he is making you feel" Adrien's voice shook with slight anger. How can his father be so cruel? Adrien misses his mother just as much as his dad does but that doesn't excuse him for neglecting both his son and soulmate.

"That's enough, Adrien. Your father has his reasons. We have to understand that." Nathalie pulled him into another hug. Adrien closed his eyes and breathed in. She ran her hands through his hair in a soothing manner. She's always been like another mother to him, and now he realizes that she is his other mom. "This wasn't even about me to begin with. This was about you"