The apartment was quieter now, a soft hum of sadness that echoed through the walls. The ughter, the chatter, the busy buzz that had once filled the space was repced with a heavy, suffocating silence. Marinette stood by the window, looking out at the city she had once dreamed of leaving but had now become tied to in ways she never anticipated. Her heart ached, torn between the life she was leaving behind and the one she was about to step into.

  Her parents, Tom and Sabine, were busy gathering the st of her things. The farewell was bittersweet, but Marinette knew they supported her decision, even if it broke their hearts to see their daughter go.

  The door opened, and her friends started to trickle in—Alya, Nino, Luka, Rose, and Juleka. Each of them wearing a mask of smiles that didn't quite hide the sadness behind their eyes. They were all there to say goodbye, to show their support, but there was an unspoken heaviness in the air. The one person who hadn't yet arrived, the one person who made her heart ache even more than leaving Paris, was Adrien.

  Her heart skipped when she heard a knock on the door. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

  When the door opened, Adrien stood there, his posture stiff, his eyes searching for something in her face, but only finding the coldness that she tried to project. The moment their eyes met, her pulse quickened, the familiar ache in her chest making it hard to breathe.

  "Marinette..." Adrien's voice faltered, his hand almost lifting as if to touch her, but stopping just shy of her shoulder. His usual warm smile was gone, repced with a sadness that seemed to have aged him in a single moment.

  She took a deep breath, forcing herself to meet his gaze, to keep the lie intact. "Hey, Adrien," she replied, a fake brightness in her voice. "I'm going abroad to study fashion. I'm excited, you know?"

  Adrien's gaze softened, but there was an underlying doubt in his eyes. He stepped closer, a slight frown tugging at his lips. "Is that really all there is to it, Marinette?" he asked quietly. "I've been thinking about you a lot, and... I feel like there's something you're not telling me."

  Her chest tightened. The weight of his words pressed on her, threatening to crack the fragile wall she had built between them. She had to lie. She couldn't tell him now. She couldn't burden him with the truth when it would only make everything worse.

  She shook her head, offering a weak smile that barely reached her eyes. "It's just the right time, Adrien. I need to go. I need this for myself."

  His eyes softened, but the pain in them lingered, like he was silently begging for something more—something she couldn't give. "But you're not just going to study, are you? There's something else, isn't there? I can feel it, Marinette. You've been distant, and I don't know why."

  Her stomach churned with guilt. She wanted to tell him everything, to confess that she was carrying his child, that she couldn't stay because it would only hurt them both. But the truth was a weight she wasn't ready to share. Not now. Not when everything felt so fragile.

  Marinette took a shaky breath, forcing a smile as she spoke. "I just need to move on, Adrien. That's all."

  The words felt like a lie in her mouth, but she had no choice but to let them spill out.

  Adrien's face fell, the sadness deepening in his eyes. "Marinette..." he started, his voice cracking. "I... I want you to know that you're the best friend I could ever ask for. You've always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it."

  Her heart shattered at his words. The truth hung in the air, and yet, she remained silent. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him that it was always her, that it was always Ladybug who had been there for him. But instead, she stood frozen, her emotions tearing her apart.

  Adrien took a step back, clearly trying to hold himself together. "I... I just don't understand why you're going, Marinette. But I want you to be happy. I want you to do whatever makes you happy."

  A tear slid down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, determined to keep her composure. She forced a smile, the kind of smile she knew would break her heart in the end. "Thank you, Adrien. I'll miss you."

  Adrien looked as though he was about to say something more, but instead, he turned and walked out of the apartment. His back was straight, his face unreadable, and Marinette felt the sting of his absence even before the door clicked shut.

  Her friends gathered around her, each of them offering their own quiet farewell. Alya was the first to wrap her arms around Marinette, her voice shaky as she whispered, "You've got this. I believe in you. You'll do amazing things."

  Luka smiled, his usual quiet demeanor a comfort. "We'll be here when you come back. Always."

  Rose and Juleka echoed simir sentiments, their voices full of support.

  But it was Adrien's words that kept echoing in her mind. The best friend I could ever ask for.

  It felt like a sp to her soul. She had been the one who saved Paris, the one who had always been by his side, the one who had always loved him. But none of it mattered now. She wasn't the girl he had been waiting for. She wasn't the girl he had ever seen beyond friendship.

  As the taxi arrived and her parents bid her goodbye one st time, Marinette felt the weight of it all. This wasn't just a goodbye to Paris. This was a goodbye to everything she had ever known, to the love she had never been able to fully have. It was a goodbye to Adrien, the boy she had loved in silence, the boy who would never know the truth.

  And as the taxi drove away from the apartment, leaving the city behind, Marinette's heart shattered into a thousand pieces, each one carried away with the wind.