Marinette didn't say another word for the rest of the day. Students had flowed into the room the second the bell stopped ringing, and Adrien was 100% sure he didn't want to tell her his secret in front of their peers.

After handing over two bags of her bakery's delicacies to Chloe (hers and Chloe's), Marinette had spent all of lunch in the library, with a book open in front of her. But from a niche across the room, Adrien noticed she didn't turn a single page the entire time. The library wasn't an ideal place for the identity reveal either.

In lessons, she was silent, and didn't make eye contact once. Adrien briefly considered writing it down, but this didn't seem like the sort of thing one would put on paper.

Marinette was allowed to leave the classroom five minutes before the end of class so she could get down the stairs slowly and safely, so she'd likely be halfway home before he was out of the classroom. He had no chance to say anything else to her all day.

Thoroughly frustrated and miserable, Adrien listened to the clacking of her crutches fading as she limped away, and leaned back in his chair. Neither he nor his neighbour had gotten much work done today, and his worksheet remained almost blank. He knew he'd pay for his inattention in the test next week, but right now he didn't care.

There was a maelstrom of turmoil churning in his insides and a myriad of emotions buzzing in his head; not exactly the recipe for concentration.

Seeing someone miserable was always awful, and now Adrien knew how much he loved that someone, he was distraught. He was furious at himself for both his interference with Chloe earlier (which would undoubtedly bring yet more punishment and torture upon Marinette) and his inability to see what was now so blatantly obvious. He was thoroughly embarrassed- he claimed to be in love first with Ladybug, then was definitely on the way there with Marinette, and only worked out they were the same person when he noticed they'r both broken their leg? He was pathetic.

Adrien's anguish over his outburst at Chloe earlier was eating away at him, too. Honestly, he didn't give a damn about what impact he'd had on Chloe, hurting her feelings was not something he cared much about anymore. He was just so upset with himself for undoubtedly making life harder for Marinette. Chloe was seemingly convinced that Marinette had forced or influenced him into saying those things, and in order to placate her, there would have to be more torture and punishment.

Ladybug was already so frail and exhausted, and he didn't want to find out what would happen if her condition was to worsen. The way Chloe had made it sound, meant that Marinette was going to be forced into more duties and have to be even more enslaved to Chloe in order to keep her secret (and therefore everyone she loved) safe.

What had he done?

The jangling of the bell jolted him out of his self-loathing, and he gave a start. He shovelled his belongings into his school bag, deciding to go over to the bakery immediately, to apologize and try to make up for his blunder. Maybe knowing that she had Chat and Adrien's support would make this just a tad bit easier on her…

He had barely gotten outside the school building when his phone rang. He groaned and looked longingly in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He glanced back and forth between his phone and the bakery a couple of times before sighing and answering the call.

"Yes, Nathalie?" Adrien asked dully as he pressed it to his ear.

"Adrien, your father has re-scheduled your Teen Vogue picnic shoot from tomorrow to today. Your driver will take you to the site. Apologies for any inconveniences." With that, Nathalie hung up, and Adrien growled as he stuffed his mobile back into his bag. Though she'd apologised, she hadn't exactly sounded remorseful. He knew she just did whatever Gabriel told her to, with only seldom moments of actual intuition or initiative.

Seeing his driver and car waiting for him, he considered just running off to the bakery anyway- what was more important? Marinette, or some stupid photo shoot? The answer was obvious, but he knew which one he'd get into more trouble for not doing. Probably. If he ditched the shoot, his father would be furious and would make it that much harder for him to find a way to be Chat Noir. If he didn't go to Marinette, he ran the risk of something drastic happening between her and Chloe, and the increased risk that Ladybug would be revealed might be his fault.

Almost as if sensing Adrien's indecisiveness, his driver got out of the car to hold open the boy's door for him. It was almost a challenge- are you going to get in like a good boy, or am I going to have to chase after you? Adrien knew that the driver would catch him in seconds, and also knew it would be less painful and humiliating to just get in the damn car. So he did.

Maybe, if he was a good little model and the shoot finished quickly, he'd have time to talk to Marinette before she went to Chloe's.

oOo

Marinette was having a panic attack, and couldn't calm herself down. She was glad she hadn't knocked on Chloe's door yet, as seeing her so terrified and flustered would doubtless have made the other girl very happy. Leaning back against the wall of the hotel, she placed a hand on her forehead and tried to hold back the tears and gasps.

Usually she walked to the hotel, but her parents decided to drive her as it would have taken her about an hour to get there on foot. This meant Marinette had been forced to freeze a smile on her face for the whole ten-minute drive so they wouldn't see the terror in her eyes and get intrusive. She nearly broke down and told them not to take her, but she managed to hold herself together. The risk of being revealed was already skyrocketing, and she knew that tonight would be make-or-break with Chloe. But, as awful as tonight was going to be, if she didn't go then the entirety of Paris would doubtless know her secret by tomorrow morning.

Marinette managed to calm her breathing, and steadied herself. She raised her fist, and knocked gently on the door. It was thrown open a moment later by a disgustingly exuberant Chloe.

"Ah, Maritrash, you're here! I have to be honest, I did think you weren't going to show up, and then I'd have had no excuse not to reveal your pathetic little secret to the entire city, but… here you are. Get in, get in, come on! You've a lot to do tonight, little Litter Bug."

Marinette hopped in cautiously, and gasped at the mess Chloe had made in the luxurious but gaudy apartment. Clothes were strewn everywhere, with plates scattered across the room. As she passed Chloe's personal bathroom, she saw the amount of spilled water on the floor, and knew Chloe had made the mess just for her. How nice.

"Well, Maritrash, you've been here enough to know the ropes. Get going." Chloe flounced away, gesturing at the bucket of cleaning supplies Marinette was all-too familiar with. She frowned.

That was it? No ultimatum? No threats, no begging, no teasing?

As Mari stood unsure, Chloe glanced round and smirked. She knew exactly what was going on, and was thoroughly going to enjoy tonight.

"Ah. I bet you're wondering why I haven't initiated that little chat we were going to have earlier before you got my darling Adrikins all riled up."

Marinette stiffened.

"Well, I decided that I liked having you as my servant too much to simply out you. So, I'm going to let you do one last job for me," (Marinette's heart stopped) "and then we shall… discuss the terms of our agreement. Capiche? Well, chop chop." Chloe flung herself onto her bed and flicked through a magazine, evidently smug and very proud of herself.

Marinette stood frozen for another minute, then looked down at Chloe's bucket of cleaning things. She felt sick. Chloe was taunting her, teasing her. She had no idea whether Chloe was going to reveal her tonight or not, and if the blonde was going to do it anyway then she didn't want to spend her last night scrubbing a bathroom that had been made purposefully dirty, and cleaning clothes that probably hadn't even been worn. But if Chloe wasn't planning on revealing her, and then she gave her a reason to… she'd be shooting herself in the foot.

What was she going to do?

Chloe, of course, knew exactly what was going through Marinette's head again, and called out from her position on the bed.

"Better get going, Litter Bug. This room won't clean itself, and you wouldn't want to give my finger a reason to slip and accidentally press send, would you?" She waved her phone in the air, and Marinette knew what she had to do.

As much as she detested bowing to Chloe's will, if she behaved then there was a chance she'd make it out of there with her secrets intact.

So she swallowed her pain, anger, humiliation and fear, and got to work.

oOo

"Uhh, Chloe? I- I've finished." Announced Marinette nervously, some two and a half hours later. Chloe's apartment was spotless, her clothes folded and hung up and her shoes neatly stacked. Her bathroom had been thoroughly mopped and dusted, and her dirty crockery had been painstakingly hobbled down to the kitchens.

"Very good, Litter Bug. You've improved, I must say." Commented Chloe, surveying her room smugly. She saw Marinette looking at her fearfully and held back a gleeful chuckle. She was going to enjoy this.

"So… now I think it's time for our little chat, don't you?" She said sweetly, and led the way over to her bed. She lay on it and stretched luxuriously, while Marinette stood awkwardly, her leg screaming in pain. She didn't dare say anything, though.

"So Maritrash. How are you going to buy my silence this time?"

Marinette's mouth moved up and down blankly, no words coming out. She had no idea. What more could she do? She was already working herself to death.

"Um, I… C-Chloe, I don't th-think there's anything more I c-can do…" She stammered weakly.

Chloe tutted.

"Well, that just won't do, will it? After what you put my poor little Adrikins and I through today, there's no way I can let you get off scot-free. So come up with something good, or you might find a miraculous amount of photographers outside your house tomorrow morning."

Marinette whimpered, tears pooling in her eyes.

"C-Chloe, please… don't reveal me. Everyone I l-love will be put in danger from Hawkmoth, I'll n-never be able to look anyone in th-the eye again…"

Chloe laughed and it was a shrill, cruel sound. "Yes… not to mention how disappointed everyone will be to find out that their amazing heroine is none other than a pathetic baker's girl… I can just imagine Alya's betrayal, Chat Noir's despondence... you've lied to everyone, Marinette. You're not amazing at all, you're no heroine. You're nothing without your mask, so you'd better give me a really good reason not to rip that mask right off." Chloe stood as she talked, a feverish excitement growing in her sadistic face as she watched Marinette crumble.

"Chloe, p-please… there's nothing m-more I can do. I- I'm working myself to death, everyone in the city was p-put in danger yesterday because I was s-so tired I let myself g-get injured. P-please, I promise I'll never t-talk to Adrien again, I'll make sure you get g-good grades on all your homework, but p-please don't make me d-do anything else, I can't, please..."

Marinette saw the satisfaction grow on the loathsome blonde's face as she watched her enemy beg and sob. Her hands shook on her crutches as she realised there was nothing she could do.

"That's very disappointing, I must say. I quite enjoyed having a servant around the place who did my homework as well as my cleaning. But then again, it will be just as nice knowing I've ruined your life." Chloe stood up from her bed and approached Marinette as she spoke, evil glee glinting in her pale eyes. Marinette sobbed again as she watched Chloe take her phone out of her pocket, leering at her in satisfaction.

A panic took hold of Marinette as she watched her doom come nearer. Chloe cackled, selecting the photo she wanted to upload to all of her social media- which were followed by the majority of Paris. Soon, that photo would be everywhere, and Marinette and Ladybug's life would, indeed, be over.

She had to do something.

Before she could stop herself, Marinette made a desperate lunge towards Chloe, her hands reaching out to grab the phone. Chloe saw her coming and sidestepped, planting her hand on Marinette's back as she did so. Without her crutches and with the added force of Chloe's shove, Marinette's broken leg gave way, and she crumpled, crying out in pain and despair as she did so. Chloe laughed openly as the broken girl gasped through her tears to clutch at her leg.

"You're so pathetic." Chloe told her, raising her voice to be heard over the agonised cries. She crouched down to Marinette's eye level, a safe distance away. "I can't believe I ever looked up to you… I can't believe anyone ever did. But that's all about to change, isn't it?" Chloe sat cross legged as Marinette sobbed on her floor.

"Chloe… no…please."

"Too late, Maritrash. Welcome to ruin." Chloe's eyes glittered as her finger swooped towards the send button, and one of her feet snaking out to kick Marinette's broken leg in a last-ditch attempt to make the girl feel any more pain.

Marinette screamed once more, and the girls were showered in broken glass as the window behind them exploded.