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Lila stood on display to the world. Her rehearsed acceptance speech flowed out of her mouth, with fake tears and calculated spontaneity to make her seem all that more human. She had won an award for her recent blockbuster. She didn’t much care for the movie herself, but it was a means to an end, a vehicle for her talent.
Her outfit was an orange, princess cut gown that shimmered and shouted; bringing all the attention to her, as she deserved. She was an actress, one of the best at her craft. A household name above any other. Every genre, every emotion, and every role was at her fingertips.
Smiling faces looked at her, and she basked in her own radiance. She rested a hand on her chest, just above her brooch, and smiled. “This is truly the highlight of my life so far. Thank you, everyone!”
The world now saw her for who she truly was: elegant, showstopping, and charming. Every sacrifice had been worth it, every decision justified. Nothing bad could befall her, she couldn’t be touched.
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Lila huffed into her cocktail. The afterparty was nice, but boring. The guest list was both high-status and eager to gush about their admiration for her, so why didn’t she care for any of them? The champagne was nice, and the venue was elaborately designed and ‘oh so charming’, as Lila’s intern would say on her Instagram. But she had been to plenty of these events, and frankly, they didn’t have the same spark anymore. But isn’t all this what she wanted? She had spent the past fifteen minutes talking to three identical men with identical compliments for her portrayal of Ms Sayr. She was already married, she didn’t need another bland blond clamouring for her attention. Where was her husband, anyway?
She looked around the room, and almost choked on her drink.
“Adrien?”, she whispered, barely recognising the tall, bearded man.
Adrien was standing with a stranger, before his eye’s flicked over to hers, accidentally. He startled, before giving a short wave and downing the rest of his drink..
She put down her drink and made her way over. The meeting was unexpected, but maybe it was an opportunity. She forced a smile and spoke up.
“I didn’t expect to find an old classmate here,” she said, fake warmth in her voice. She puzzled over why he was even here. She hadn’t seen him win an award, and she knew he wasn’t notable anymore.
“I’m not surprised. We don’t all have the media presence you have,” he said, giving a fake bow, and laughed. “Your arrival photos have how many tweets, again? At least 12k by now, surely?”
Lila pursed her lips. “So! You just have to tell me how you’ve been since we graduated!” she said, redirecting the focus to him. Without Gabriel around, Adrien kept his private life hidden. So it could be useful to know about him. Maybe to bait the press with, if needed.
She continued, “After I got accepted to the Le Cours Florent, it was just too hard to keep in contact. I’m sure you of all people understand.”
“Oh, I stayed in contact with the class, actually. I was at Marc’s newest book launch just last week. And I’m actually wearing a Marinette Dupain-Cheng original right now!” He turned around, glinting under the lights, showing off his iridescent jacket. “Marinette really thought of some great ideas when she heard about me attending.”
Marinette Dupain-Cheng? There was a name Lila hadn’t thought about since she was 15. Marinette’s success was…annoying to consider but it hardly held a flame to Lila’s influence. She didn’t know why she cared so much. Marinette was essentially a nobody. And with how Adrien dropped off the map after his father was revealed to be Hawkmoth, Adrien might as well be a nobody too.
“And your father, with that whole Hawkmoth business!” Lila said. “That must’ve been so hard for you!” she exclaimed, twisting the metaphorical knife in further.
Lila noticed Adrien’s smile tighten an almost unnoticeable amount. Jackpot.
“Oh, well, after that, I stuck around Paris. Making sure to do right by those who loved me.” He held up a hand, and Lila stared at a gold banded ring, just above a silver ring. “Turns out I loved one of them back a bit too much. Marinette and I got engaged 2 months ago.”
Lila smile almost slipped.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll be happy together,” she said, thinking of an excuse to leave. After this exchange, she urgently needed a week or two by herself in one of her villas. Maybe Fiji, or Canada. Somewhere as far away from France as possible.
“Oh yes, definitely. I best get going though, but I have to say, Lila—” he nodded down towards Lila’s brooch, “that’s quite a unique brooch. Reminds me of my father’s.”
Lila stiffened, her mask slipping as her eyebrow twitched. “I am sure you are not implying what I think you are.” she snarled
He shrugged with a fake smile, but his eyes were full of cold precision.“My warning is still true, Lila. I know it’s been a long time, but hurting those I care about is still off-limits.”
Adrien pats her on the shoulder, returning Lila to the cold reality of the event, and walked off into the crowd.
Lila, anxiety coursing, ran to the bathroom, ignoring the concerned looks from the crowd. She locked the door behind her, and almost collapsed onto the sink. “It’s okay, it’s alright. He has no proof, none at all,” she said, breathing heavily as she stared into the mirror. She saw a shaken woman before her. A sweaty brow and shaking hands. She recognised the fearful expression before her, but it quickly shifted to a smirk. She was angry and scared, the perfect emotions for an akuma; what better way to throw Adrien off her trail than to borrow a move from her mentor?
She took a deep breath and stood up, “Nooroo! Dark wings rise!”