Unbroken

Chapter 12

Marinette was seriously starting to question some of her life choices. Not about Adrien though. Despite the challenges they were now facing, marrying her partner and the love of her life was not a decision she regretted at all. She was however questioning the wisdom of the contract she had signed with his father, or more specifically, choosing the fashion industry as a career path.

While the commissions and the MDC online shop had been a way for Marinette to keep her toes in the water so to speak, working for a major fashion house like Gabriel had always been the ultimate dream. Before she had even met Adrien, Gabriel Agreste had been her fashion icon and someone she had aspired to. Now she wasn't so sure this was something that she wanted anymore, only she was stuck here now for the next eleven odd months.

Marinette had been quite clear that she didn't want special treatment at Gabriel. She was well aware that being married to the boss's son would put her at odds with some of the interns and she didn't want it to look like she was receiving favouritism. Well, wish granted because she was pretty sure Gabriel was going out of his way to lump as much work on her as possible.

Gabriel himself was not always at the Gabriel headquarters, preferring to work on his own, so Marinette was introduced to his head designer, Athena. She was a tall, thin woman in her mid fifties with short silver hair with pink tips. At first Marinette was terrified. She had heard stories about Athena before, and not always in a nice way. The woman had a harsh reputation with quick judgement of the designers and a no nonsense attitude. When they were introduced Marinette felt about two foot tall under Athena's watchful eye. Gabriel had given instructions that Marientte was to be shown no preference and her work portfolio was to be completed before fashion week.

After Gabriel left, Athena turned back to Marinette with a mischievous grin. "You know, I think he forgets sometimes that he was a junior designer himself once, and not under the pressure of being judged for who he happened to be married to." Marinette could have hugged her.

For six weeks solid, she worked alongside Athena preparing the Gabriel line for Paris Fashion Week. If she was being honest, the clothes on offer left a lot to be desired. Having been used to working for herself, she had always had full control over everything she had done in the creative process. While Athena was the creative director, Gabriel still had final say on the designs that went into production, and even Athena had to admit that his style tastes had been slipping in recent years. Sales were clearly down, and Marinette didn't have the confidence to challenge her father in law on his artistic choices.

She also understood why Amelie had been so happy to exchange that 20% of her sisters for full control of the London branch. If sales slipped much more, that 20% is hardly going to be worth anything.

In between Shadow Moths attacks, long hours in the office would also spill into long hours cooped up in her old bedroom at the bakery working on the designs. Not only had Marinette been charged with recreating Gabriel's unique garnets for the Fashion Week models, but she also had a portfolio that needed to be completed for her ESMOD assessment. More than once, Marinette's parents had fed Adrien dinner while she continued to work. She would often hear her husband and father laughing downstairs as they ate or played video games together. On one hand she wished she could just go down and join them, but on the other she loved that fact that Adrien was getting the chance to bond with her parents, and be well fed. If it was one thing that Marientte had learnt quickly after they were married, it was that Adrien was a walking disaster in the kitchen.

That was how she found herself at this moment, standing at the entry of their apartment staring at the kitchen which looked as though a bomb had just hit it. It was Friday night and Athena had insisted everyone go home and have a decent rest over the weekend so they would be fresh for the onslaught on Monday when Fashion Week started. Marinette was beyond exhausted and Adrien sent her a text offering to head home early and make something simple for them to have for dinner. She had reservations about it, especially since he had burned toast the other morning, but he insisted. Now all she could do was stand and stare.