The Deal

14

Sorry for the long wait!

Enjoy!

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"E-Emma, I don't think t-this is a good idea," Charlotte said, watching her crush scheming and eating french fries. Joly sat on Emma's other side, silently agreeing with Charlotte.

The three were hanging out at the Cat and Bug Cafe. They decided to meet up over the weekend since they didn't have anything else to do. Yet, Emma wanted to share with her friends her plan to get her parents back together again.

"You're right," Emma sighed before happily saying, "This is the best idea I've ever come up with!"

Joly and Charlotte looked passed Emma to eye each other worriedly. The two couldn't see this going in a good direction. Not only would it hurt her parents, but Emma as well if things didn't go in the right direction.

   Joly doesn't know the pain of parent separation, but Charlotte knew all too well what it felt like. Her mother was never the kindest person in the world, even to her own flesh and blood.

   There were nights she stayed up, wondering why she wasn't good enough for her mother. There were the days she counted down until her mother came to visit only to be disappointed when she never arrived. There were even times she thought about doing something bad just to get some sort of attention from her mom.

   Luckily, her father and step-father were around to anchor her in those times or the blonde would have been a totally different person. That is why Charlotte needs to stop Emma from meddling with her parent's lives...before she falls in despair.

   Before Charlotte could say anything, the door to the cafe opened and Enzo walked in. The male looked around until spotting his best friend at the bar. He walked over, not noticing the other two girls she sat with.

   "There you are Charlotte! Sheesh, you could have been a little bit more specific with what cafe you were going to—eep!" Enzo froze when seeing Emma and his crush turn in their seats to face him. Enzo suddenly became very shy and weak in the knees.

   "O-Oh, s-sorry. I wasn't p-paying attention," Charlotte stuttered her answer, sheepishly, "I-I'll be more pacific—specific next time."

Enzo nodded before taking a seat next to the blonde.

"Trust me guys," Emma said, smiling, "This plan is full proof!"

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Adrien had a long day at work and was ready to fall asleep on the first comfy thing he saw. Yet, he wasn't able to do that without putting food in his stomach and taking a shower first. The model let out a giant yawn as he rummaged through his fridge for any leftovers to quickly warm-up.

   While eating his food, the blonde was about to check his phone for any new messages when a knock came from the door. Tired green eyes wandered over to the front door dreadfully wondering who was visiting him at this hour at night. Adrien sighed, sliding off his seat and stumbled towards the door. He opened it to see a happy Chloe on the other side.

   "Adrikins!" She chirped, walking by him and invading his home "I thought I should visit and keep you company for a bit. Everyone kept bothering me at my penthouse and being utterly ridiculous."

   Chloe made herself at home, sitting on Adrien's house and checking her social media. Adrien blinked, processing everything that just happened before begrudgingly shutting the door.

   "How was work today?" She asked, not looking up from her phone.

   "Long and tiring," Adrien said, hoping Chloe would get the message to leave him be. Of course, she only hummed in acknowledgment before continuing to rant about everything that annoyed her. Adrien zoned out, humming when necessary while he finished his supper.

   Then, something began to bug him when the thought popped into his head.

   "Hey, Chloe," Adrien began, cleaning his dishes.

   "Ugh, Adrikins! You don't interrupt a girl when she is ranting. That's like law!" Chloe said.

   "When was the last time that you've seen your daughter?" Adrien asked, staring mindlessly at the wall. The room grew very still and the running water filled the silence. Once the model finished cleaning his dishes, he turned to see Chloe looking at the floor in deep thought. Her phone sat on her lap, turned off.

   Finally, the blonde woman huffed and crossed her arms, "Why does that matter? I don't care."

   Adrien could tell that she was lying by the crack in her voice. He walked over and sat next to her on the couch.

   "Funny thing is..." Adrien began, trailing off, "...I found out that I have a daughter just a day ago."

   Chloe froze, letting out a small gasp of surprise before asking, "Do you really believe that?! They're probably just lying or something to get your money!"

   "I wasn't sure myself either until I asked Alya if it was true or not. She doesn't have a reason to lie to me about something like this so I trusted her to confirm it. And she did, in vivid detail how Marinette struggled to raise Emma all by herself," Adrien explained, guiltily.

"I couldn't help but think how rough they both had it over the years," he continued, "I missed out on watching my first and only daughter grow up. I left Marinette to raise her all on her own and keep them stable. I abandoned Marinette—them both before I gave them a chance. I feel absolutely terrible for it all."

The tension between the two friends blossomed. Adrien let out a shaky sigh, rubbing the sleep off his face with his hands. He had been tormented by the fact that he just found out that he was a father merely a day ago.

   Adrien promised himself that he would never be like his own father when he became one himself. Yet, he did just that by keeping distancing from the ones he loved and gave them the cold shoulder. When he looked in the mirror, Adrien saw a complete replica of his father. He felt so...despicable.

   "About nine years ago..." Chloe finally spoke, "I left for New York and married a rich jerk that I don't even like. I just hitched up with him for his money. Over the years, I started to slowly realize how unhappy and alone I was. So, I divorced the idiot and came back here on my private jet as soon as possible."

   She continued, "I realized that I didn't really love Nathaniel about a month after marriage. Shortly after that, I found out that I was pregnant. I decided I would keep trying and force myself to love Nath but it only grew tiresome. After I had Charlotte, I...I was afraid. I took care of her until she was eligible to go to a boarding school. Then, sent her off to Nath."

   Adrien gawked at Chloe's confession.

   Well, he can safely say that he wasn't expecting all that.

   Eventually, Chloe left after things became awkward. Adrien continued to think as he showered and laid in his bed. The blonde tiredly logged onto his phone to see a whole bunch of notifications. Yet, the one that stuck out the most was from Emma.

   "Can we meet up on Saturday around 6 at the Cat and Bug Cafe?"

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