Marinette is assigned to be Felix's secretary at the Agreste Inc. against both of their preferences. He's rude, inconsiderate, and worst of all, trying to make her quit. Not only is Marinette dealing with the stress of her boss, but she also has to...
While my head had returned, my heart had not. I was just a corpse of knowledge, wondering what it felt like to have something beating in my empty chest cavity.
I had all the memories from the life I lived before: the girl I used to be. But was that girl still me? Was I different now? Did those things actually happen to me, or a different version of myself? Did Felix expect me to harbor the same feelings I did back then?
While I "knew" everything that happened to me, I didn't "feel" it. I knew I loved Felix, but why hadn't that loved returned to me? Where was my heart?
It was as if I was seeing clearly for the first time - when I loved him, I saw him through a lense fogged with my emotions. Now that there was literal space and time between me and him, I truly saw him and our relationship for what it was: me being disappointed over and over. Why would I want to inflict that on myself in this world? I hated that! I hated him!
I shivered in the cold, drawing my clear umbrella closer to my head. The snowflakes danced from the sky, powdering the ground with what reminded me of a thin icing on a vanilla cake. It was only October, yet it was snowing. I blankly stared out at the frozen canal beneath me. Felix and I once came to this spot when he asked me if I wanted to go to the gala with him. We sat on a bench overlooking this beauty. That was a lifetime ago.
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I sighed.
My mind was a much lonelier place now.
Felix and my mental bond had finally broken - it had been fading this entire time. Right before it disappeared completely, I saw something in his mind. It was the same thing I'd seen right after I died. Something that would change everything. Something that would fix every problem Paris ever had. Finally, I knew how to stop Hawk Moth, Natalie, and the Eel all at once. But I didn't think I was ready for it.
If I did it, would my feelings for Felix return? Either way, that wasn't important. Nor was this a decision about me. It was for Mom, Dad, friends, and everyone whose lives were endangered by the threat of akumas. It was my obligation as a hero.
This was sad. And dreary.
"God, I don't want to do this," I said, trying to hold back tears. If I cried, they'd freeze down my face like an ice sickle.
A grey sky and silence.
"Please let there be another way," I whispered.
More silence.
"I can't. I won't! Not unless I see him. If he walks right by me, then I'd listen. If not..."
I cautiously surveyed my surroundings - dim buildings lit with yellow lights, trees, icy walkways, and strangers carrying umbrellas and dressed in thick jackets. No sign of him. Now I was praying my prayer was unheard.
