Chapter Text
“You don’t remember at all?” Nino, Adrien’s best friend since high school, then bursts into a loud fit of laughter in the VIP booth of the club he owns and works as a DJ.
Adrien scowls deeply at his friend while drinking his third shot for the night.
At least there are not too many people around the VIP area, so it makes him feel at ease to gloat and whine as his current problems are getting the best of him. Even his best friend is adding to his problems. Nino would not stop laughing.
"Woah, Woah, calm down or else you're going to get wasted and marry another woman!" Nino cackles even louder, having to wipe away a few tears pooling in the corner of his eyes. "Kagami is going to find ways to kill you all the more!"
"Shut up," Adrien growls through gritted teeth then rolls his eyes. Out of spite, he grabs Nino's share of tequila and downs it before he could even react.
"Dude!" Nino exclaims, instantly turning all serious as he grabs the empty shot bottle from his best friend's hand. "Okay, you really are messed up. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Everything! Everything is wrong with me!"
"You're overexaggerating. I bet that black-haired woman you're married to is not that bad."
"Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
"That's...that's a mouthful," Nino utters, trying to whisper the name under his breath for a few tries.
Adrien then drawls, "You think that's the only mouthful thing about her?" He chuckles ruefully. "That woman is completely incomprehensible. She's absolutely nothing but a nutcase."
"How so?"
"Oh, God," he drawls, again, "The way she talks so bluntly, the way she carries herself like a man in disguise, and the worst of them all - her laugh! Who the heck snorts when they laugh?"
Nino curls an eyebrow at him. "Her description sounds like every woman out there...are you sure this is not your personal bias clouding your judgment?"
"Nino, Kagami is definitely different from that woman," Adrien argues.
"Again, that's a personal bias," his friend grumbles under his breath. Thankfully, Adrien is starting to feel tipsy to even hear him well. He clears his throat and carefully leans close to his friend. "You should at least give her the benefit of the doubt. This woman did not even know that she was married to you!"
"There is this idea that runs in my head, thinking that she purposely made me wasted and took advantage of such a state to get married for my money." Adrien sarcastically chuckles, mostly out of mockery in himself.
"Benefit of the doubt, dude."
" Benefit of the doubt ?" Adrien spits out derisively. "Nino, she does not want the divorce!!" He announces out loud, growing angrier than usual. Huffing out a deep breath, he runs his hands through his disheveled hair while his eyes are tightly squeezed shut. He is clearly on the brink of breaking down whereas Nino is trying to get a peek outside their booth to see if there is anyone wondering why there’s someone shouting in here.
“Woah, dude, are you trying to scare my customers away?” Nino asks, widening his eyes. “If you keep this up, people are going to start wondering that there’s someone wailing and whining about in here.”
Adrien scoffs, playing with another empty shot glass between his fingers, “Let them hear me. Let them know that I am miserable and that I am such a huge mess and that I can’t understand myself anymore.” He groans loudly, “What the hell am I going to do? You remember that night, right? Do you remember anything else that happened that I might use as blackmail or some sort to make that woman say yes to divorce?”
“The heck? Dude, come on, that’s a low blow.”
“I’m desperate , Nino,” He exclaims. “Kagami still talks to me, but there is this air of uncertainty that I always sense from her and it’s driving me crazy!”
“Give them space.”
Adrien spits out as a frown forms on his face, “ Them ? What do you mean by them?”
“Kagami and...uh, the other one,” Nino answers after a bit of hesitation, seeming that he forgot the name of his best friend’s wife. He shudders a bit. Just now the reality of Adrien being married to a stranger is odd, yet still downright amusing for him.
Nino does remember that night, especially when he danced with this woman throughout. He was not as wasted as Adrien who was constantly all over his now-wife, so his memories of what occurred that night are not that hazy. Still, Nino had a few drinks but stopped when Adrien told him something.
Something which Adrien made Nino promise that he will never tell him again. Adrien wanted to keep a secret he knew from himself and now that he does not remember it at all, it leaves Nino as the only person that knows the secret. And being the best friend, Nino will keep his mouth shut for everyone's sake.
"I don't want to see that other woman ever again," Adrien mutters, averting his gaze. "I'm going to force her to agree to a divorce."
"Well, and I'm serious here, I think you should talk to her again but this time, nicely ," Nino emphasizes.
“Nicely…” Adrien mutters under his breath. “Yeah, right. I swear that’s going to be hard. Not only for me but definitely for her as well.”
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“What is this I hear of a marriage certificate with your name on it?”
Adrien stills in his place, his hand stays on top of the knob of the backdoor of his house. Oh, God, why now?
His father, Gabriel, has been waiting for him to arrive home and to apparently confront his only son regarding the surprise marriage. What Adrien hoped for was that his father would never know. He’s now proven wrong.
He huffs out a deep breath before turning to his father, standing before him in the dimly lit room with arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. “Father-” he starts but is immediately interrupted.
“I know that being an adult you have your own say on things. But when I find out that my son is apparently married to someone I don’t know, that raises a million questions that all need to be answered and I’m not going to sleep until I’m made aware of everything.”
The disappointment was clearly laced in his father’s voice and Adrien hates it when it is evident in the tone. He starts feeling like a failure in front of his father and that he does not amount to anything.
He was hoping to break the marriage without the knowledge of his father, but such an idea and perhaps, a want, is merely too good to be true.
Damn...just seeing his father before him made Adrien instantly sober up. “Who told you?” He asks him in a quiet voice.
“Nathalie informed me.”
Adrien sighs tiredly, closing his eyes as he does so. Leaning his head on the wall behind him, he murmurs, “And I'm sure Kagami informed her.”
Gabriel scoffs, “Who else would inform her? I bet Kagami is as confused as I am.” Shaking his head in dismay, he takes another step closer and with furrowed brows, continues, “Adrien, when did you know about all this? And how long were you planning to keep it from me?”
He flashes his eyes open, instantly shaking his head. "Father, it never meant to happen-"
"I bet it was," Gabriel interjects before letting out a rueful chuckle. "Because if it was meant to happen, there would be no reason for you to hide."
Adrien grimaces. "It went out of control for a moment that night. It was a huge shock for me to know, but it doesn’t mean that I should be blamed or something along those lines!” He argues. “I wanted to keep this from you because I didn’t want you to react the way you’re acting right now and make you worry.”
"Yet you should not be too petulant about it,” Gabriel states sternly. “Tell me about the woman you’re married to. Is she a friend of yours? A friend of Kagami’s?”
“She is neither, father,” Adrien utters out of exasperation, almost on the verge of walking away from this conversation and wanting to save it for the next day. But his father is not the kind of man who would not face problems right away. Once a challenge or a difficult situation arises, he is one of the first to immediately get into action.
“So, in short, you married a stranger?” Gabriel is in absolute disbelief. “I would still understand a bit if I did not know the woman, but you’re meaning to say that you also do not know who she is?” Bewildered, he widens his eyes at his son. “I-I,” he stammers, “I am speechless. Adrien, this is an absurd situation for you to be very careless with!”
Adrien couldn’t help himself anymore. He rolls his eyes and furiously huffs out, “Father, wouldn’t you think that I’m aware of that already? I’ve talked to that woman already. Her name is Marinette and she does not want a divorce even if she is completely aware of my status as an engaged man! I swear,” Adrien growls, “I could bring Kagami with me and leave the country. With our connections, I could pull a few strings and I can finally get married to the woman I want.”
Adrien’s sudden declaration made Gabriel appalled. “No,” he exclaims, “don’t think that way, young man.” Gabriel raises a finger at him. Clenching his jaw, he continues, this time levelly, “You did this to yourself and my son is not one to back away or bury his problems.”
“What?” Adrien sputters derisively, “Burying my problems? Father, it’s that woman who is the nuisance! She does not want a divorce!” He declares heatedly, pointing a finger to the ground.
Gabriel breathes out a calm and collected sigh as his son, standing before him, is breathing heavily out of growing rage. He purses his lips before nonchalantly uttering, what he finds, the most obvious and civilized decision to make, “Then talk to that Marinette again.”
Groaning out loud, Adrien runs his hands down his face. “How many times do I have to tell you that she doesn’t want a divorce? She wouldn’t even listen to me!”
“Then perhaps you’re made for each other. You’re both stubborn,” Gabriel states while Adrien scowls at him. “Remember that marriage is not a one-sided agreement,” he continues, this time in a stricter manner, “Whether you were both drunk or not when you chose to get married, whatever affects you affects her. It’s high time you stop being selfish and think of the people around you, too,” he finishes, holding his head high before silently turning the other away to leave his son alone as he walks back to his room to rest for the night.
As his father leaves, all the more the scowl on Adrien’s face deepens. “ Selfish ?” He repeats almost disgusted with the mere thought that his father thinks that way of him. Adrien knows he is not selfish. Selfish is given to those who would not accept a simple divorce- oh, wait. He specifically knows which person he’s internally referring to. The new and utter bane of his existence.
He forces himself to inhale and exhale a few breaths to calm the raging fire in him, but the attempt has been proved to be futile. Whatever, he thought in dismissal, I’m going to sleep and I’m going to worry about this tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and the day after that-
Oh, God. Just knowing that this problem is becoming something is completely life-changing is infuriating! He did not ask for this; he never asked for it!
Suddenly, he feels his phone ring from his pocket. He pulls it out to see Nino’s name on the screen. Without any hesitation, he swipes the phone symbol on the screen and brings the phone to his ear. “What now?” he mutters, clearly exhausted from what has been happening tonight. Ah, no, scratch that. He has been exhausted since the moment he found out he was married.
“ You really need to schedule another talk with your wife, ” Nino utters almost immediately on the other side of the call. His voice sounded like he was in a hurry.
“Ugh, can I ever get a break?” Adrien grumbles under his breath. “And why is that, Nino?” he asks him in a louder voice.
“ I just received a text a few minutes ago from a certain Alya Cesaire...her name is part of my contact list with a few heart emojis but my memory is hazy. Anyway, her text read that Marinette will not agree to your divorce unless you fulfill one wish of hers. ”
“What the heck?” Adrien breathes out in a mix of confusion and anger. What does this woman want now? Why does she love to torment him in everything?
“ Same thoughts, I swear. Dude, trust me when I say that your life is getting more complicated and weirder by the second. And honestly, I’m getting a bit more confused yet undeniably intrigued.”