One Way or Another

A Restaurant and A Park

The day arrived.

The day where Marinette Agreste would come face-to-face with her untimely end. Meet her maker. Get her comeuppance.

And waking up that morning, Lila couldn't be more thrilled.

She had hated Marinette ever since they met in lycée. Her hatred only grew stronger when she and Adrien started dating. Then it grew stronger when they got engaged. Then it really intensified when they got married.

But no matter how much Lila hated Marinette, she still hated Ladybug more.

Ladybug was the reason that Adrien never liked her. If it hadn't been for her interference, she and Adrien would have started dating way back in school, and they'd be living happily ever after now.

Ladybug. She was the real enemy. Marinette was nothing compared to her.

If she wanted to end up with Adrien, however, Marinette would still have to be eliminated.

So she agreed to Gabriel's proposition.

Gabriel. The disgusting low-life who stabbed her in the back.

She hated him too, but that didn't change the fact that he had a great idea. Getting rid of Marinette would be a necessity. Not to mention, it would be a nice little practice round. Then, after she was eliminated, Lila would move on to the next problem.

Ladybug.

Gabriel was wrong; Ladybug wasn't untouchable. With her being injured, it was the ideal time to attack. And Lila couldn't let this prime opportunity slip through her fingers.

After she took care of Marinette, she would take care of Ladybug. Then she could finally focus on Adrien. It would certainly take him a while to get past the trauma of losing his despicable, unfaithful wife, but eventually he would be ready to move on.

And when that happened, Lila would be there for him. With Gabriel's help, she would be at every one of his photoshoots. She would always be around, offering a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to cry on.

Sure enough, with time, she and Adrien would end up together.

And when Gabriel stopped being useful, Lila would finally go on that interview and expose him as Hawk Moth. She, of course, would insist that Adrien knew nothing about the whole situation, thereby sparing him any more turmoil.

Then when that was all done, she would finally relax, knowing that she got the revenge that she so rightfully deserved.

Lila felt giddy as she stretched and climbed out of bed. Today would be a great day. It was the first day of the rest of her life.

************************************

Adrien was literally attached to Marinette that morning, not letting her out of his grasp.

Not when she transformed to make a call on her yo-yo. And not when she detransformed to make a call on her regular phone.

No, he wouldn't let her go. Not for any reason.

He also kept telling her the same thing over and over. "If anything goes wrong, just get out of there. It's not worth you getting hurt."

"I will, I will," she kept telling him.

Even with her affirmation, Adrien still took every chance he could get to remind her.

And before they knew it, it was time.

The car ride to the Pavillon LeDoyen Restaurant was tense. Everyone was a little nervous about what would happen that evening.

Adrien was a lot nervous. He kept clasping and reclasping Marinette's hand, and readjusting his place in his seat. He also looked like he would burst out crying any second.