Broken....But Not Destroyed

Chapter 4

"Well you do remember why you were fired from your previous job, right?", Felix questioned.

"Um, yes, I do. Sorry", Marinette replied looking down. 

This what she was going to be labelled as for the rest of her life.

"If you're done inspecting the ground, my driver would like to take us home", Felix said, breaking Marinette out of her thoughts.

"Yes, sorry", Marinette apologised getting in.

The first few days were a bit bumpy, but Marinette got used to working under Felix. She found out that he had rebranded the company as Felix after he inherited it from his mother. 

"Well, it seems that your sales are pretty steady. Everytime you release a new line, there seems to be a spike, but then it drops back down to the average rate", Marinette observed.

She shared his office, but had her own space. It was different from how she worked with Adrien. Back there, she had her own room, on the other end of the hall. Maybe it was to keep her away from his conversations and plans with Lila.

"What we need is our big break. To beat the Gabriel brand. But his designs are too extravagant. I don't even know where he gets these ideas from", Felix huffed, frustrated.

"Lila"

"Sorry?", Felix asked.

"Lila Rossi. She's his top designer", Marinette informed. 

"Lila Rossi? As in one of the top models in the fashion industry? The one engaged to my cousin?", Felix asked.

"Yep. That's the one", Marinette sighed.

"Someone recommended that we use her to model one of our previous lines. But unfortunately, our meeting did not go well", Felix recalled.

"Surprising", Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I have a feeling you don't like her too well", Felix observed.

"I've known her since high school. And every single word that come out of her mouth was a lie. She is manipulative and decieving", Marinette spat.

Felix was shocked. In the small time he had known Marinette, he had assumed she was a quiet, shy girl who was sweet to everyone. 

"Is that why you stole her designs?", Felix qeustioned. 

Marinette sighed. "Nothing I say is going to change anyone's mind. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a nobody. Lila is who everyone wants".

Felix didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected something like this. As much as he wanted to hear more, he knew it was none of his business. After all, they weren't friends. He was his boss and she was his employee. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burst like that", Marinette apologised.

"Don't worry about it. We don't have to speak about it", Felix assured her.

Meanwhile back in Paris, the Akuma Class were celebrating the engagement of their classmates.

"Congratulations Lila! I'm so glad you finally got Adrien. I know you've been crushing on him since highschool", Alya teased.

Lila blushed. "Well, I was shocked when he actually asked me out"

"Dude! Congratulations!", Nino congratulated his best friend, "You know to be honest, I didn't even see this coming. I always thought you were going to tie the knot with Marinette!"

Adrien started to panic. Did he know that he and Marinette used to be together?

"W-why would you think that?", Adrien nervously chuckled.