A New Partner | #MLWattysAwards | ✔️

Anagnorisis

Mirielle felt horrible. She knew she hurt Adrien way too much.

Even though the relief from confessing helped calm her nerves, she hated the way he looked at her now. Those soft green eyes, once filled with love for her, now looked to her with a look of betrayal and disgust.

That moment at the carnival, that boat ride they went on, had become an unforgettable memory. Mirielle hated the way she couldn't stop thinking about him. She just couldn't stand how she loved him, but had to stay away.

No matter how much she wanted his love, she knew it would be impossible to gain. With every fiber of love she had in her body, she desired someone to give her love to.

Mirielle, at the same time, wished Marinette was alive instead of her so this never would've happened. She wished the boat ride and carnival date never happened with her. She wished Marinette could have the experience.

Mirielle felt undeserving of that memory, but she couldn't stop replaying it. Every time she thought about it, she still had the same speedup in her heartbeat like the moment it occurred.

There she sat in her room, at the foot of her bed. Not even Tikki sat by her side at this moment of loneliness and dread.

She wanted a friend of her very own, a boyfriend of her very own. Mirielle felt like the memory she experienced from the date was Marinette's and she had stolen it.

All the moments she had as Ladybug felt like stolen memories from Marinette. She felt as if she had stolen her place, her memories, her life. She wished Marinette could've lived instead of her. With every cell of desire in her body, she wished Marinette's life back.

She couldn't stand being Ladybug anymore. She didn't deserve Marinette's miraculous. Someone else was more deserving of it: Marinette.

She hated that there was nothing she could do to bring back her deceased cousin's life. If she could trade places with her, she would do it in an instant.

Marinette did nothing wrong to deserve such a horrific punishment: the theft of her life.

Mirielle decided she would do the right thing. She quickly transformed and took to the streets.

As she walked to Alya's house, her stomach churned nervously.

When she knocked at her door, she knew that what she was about to do would truly devastate all of Paris and ruin her life, but she was ready.

"Hello? Oh, hello Marinette!" Alya greeted her and opened the door.

"Alya, please, can I borrow your cell phone?" Mirielle begged.

"Sure thing, girl. Just don't delete anything important again," she laughed, handing her the cell phone.

"Thanks," she replied seriously.

"May I use your restroom?" She asked her.

"Sure," Alya said.

Mirielle gave her a weak smile and took the phone. Alya smiled at her in return, only making Mirielle even more guilty about what she was going to do.

"Girl, are you okay?" Alya asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," her voice nearly broke as she choked back her tears.

Mirielle quickly walked to the bathroom and took a deep breath.

You can do this, she thought to herself as she wiped away a tear quickly.

Mirielle, what are you doing?

"The right thing, Tikki," Mirielle said with a sad smile as a tear ran down her cheek.

Wait! Are you sure you want to do this?!

"Don't worry, Tikki. I know exactly what I'm doing this time," she whispered, wiping away the fallen tear.

She went to the camera on Alya's phone and started recording as more tears unintentionally slipped from her eyes:

"Hello, Paris. This is Ladybug reporting to you with the truth..." Mirielle spoke to the camera, tears evident in her glassy eyes.

She took a deep breath and said, "The Ladybug you once knew, is truly gone. I am nothing, but a mere replacement."

She started sobbing on camera and tried to continue, "There are no words that can express h-how sorry I am for doing this. I-I'm so sorry!" She whimpered. She tried to wipe her tears as they kept streaming.

"I've hurt you all by pretending to be Marinette. You see, from the very beginning I knew this was a bad idea. If I had the real bravery of a superhero, I wouldn't have been so scared to tell the truth and clear things up. I should never have tried to replace her, and I know what I've done is crazy. I'm not Marinette, but I'm my own person. I will not let this define me as a person. I will not carry these mistakes on with me to repeat, but I will leave them right here, right now."

"I will..." Mirielle took a deep shuddering breath,"I will no longer continue Marinette's duty as Ladybug. I never deserved her miraculous. Everything I've done, every person I've betrayed, to all I've hurt; I'm so sorry."

"Goodbye Paris," she spoke directly as she shut off the camera.

Mirielle wiped her tears with her arm and took another deep breath. With one click of a button, she exposed Paris to the real truth she had hidden for so long and published the video to Alya's LadyBlog.