One Way or Another

An Unlocked Door and A Boutique

The same group met up in the study the next morning for round two.

"How did Lila even get inside of the house?" Adrien asked incredulously. "This place is like a fortress."

"Nathalie checked the cameras. She walked in through the front door," Gabriel replied.

"You left the gate and the door unlocked?"

He shook his head. "Annabelle opened them both after dinner last night."

"That makes no sense. Why would she do that?"

"I asked her this morning," Emilie answered. "She said that she thought you were coming to visit. Did you tell her you were planning on coming over?"

"No, of course not."

She put her hands up in the air in confusion.

Marinette looked at Gabriel. "So what happened? Did Lila try something?"

"She just wanted to talk."

"Talk about what?" Adrien asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

"About her revenge," Gabriel said. "But we were wrong, she's not after me. She only wants revenge on Ladybug."

Marinette tilted her head. "Just Ladybug? What about Chat Noir?"

"She didn't even mention him."

"I guess that kind of makes sense," Marinette sighed. "He wasn't there when we defeated her. Plus, she's always hated Ladybug, even before she became Hawk Moth."

"Why is that?" Emilie asked.

"She blames Ladybug for ruining her chances with Adrien. I kind of... called her out on her lies and embarrassed her in front of Adrien back when we were in school. So she thinks that I'm the reason that they never ended up together," Marinette explained. "Ugh, I never should have done that. I was being so childish."

Adrien grabbed her hand. "You were just trying to protect me."

"No," she argued, lowering her gaze down to the floor. "I was jealous. Because I knew that she liked you too."

Placing his other hand under her chin, he tilted her head back up so she would look at him. "Even if you hadn't done that, I never would have ended up with her." He paused. "I was way too in love with a silly jealous girl instead."

And a grateful smile slowly crossed Marinette's lips.

"So what does Lila want you to do?" Emilie asked her husband.

"She wants me to help her," Gabriel said. "By getting her a Miraculous."

Plagg burst out laughing. "She expects you to get her a Miraculous? You don't exactly have the best track record, do you?"

"Plagg!" Tikki chastised him.

"What? It's true."

Marinette groaned. "Which one does she want? The Butterfly again?"

"She said that she doesn't care. I think she just wants to be strong enough to fight you."

"And she wants you to fight alongside her?"

"No, she only wants me to get a Miraculous for her to use. She's under the assumption that Ladybug and I are friends now."

Adrien furrowed his brow. "Why would she assume that?"

"Well there's the fact that Ladybug never turned me in to the authorities," Gabriel started. After a brief pause, he continued. "And she saw the photo of Ladybug and Annabelle taken at the birthday party."