::: Chapter 10 :::

Bella was pacing back and forth outside the hall where she had just been asked to leave. She couldn't understand why she should wit outside while the Dark Lord is sharing something that is definitely important with Rodolphus.

This is so unfair! Who was it that had wanted to find him all these years?

ME!

Who was it that had always been pushing those two idiots to find the Dark Lord?

ME!

Who was it that the Dark Lord says he'll hold above all the rest of the Death Eaters?

ME!

SO what the FUCK am I doing out HERE?!

This is SO UNFAIR!!!

Bella was stamping her feet as she paced to and fro across the hallway.

What are they talking about anyway that could take so fucking long?

After a few minutes, she almost ran into Rodolphus who appeared before her.

"So? So what did he say?" Bella asked him excitedly.

"He said…he said that I gotta…" Rod tried to say but he stopped himself. "Look, I'm kinda hungry. Can we get something to eat first?" He took her hand and led her to the kitchen.

She gaped at him. "How can you think about food at a time like this? Obviously the Dark Lord had something important to tell you that's why he wanted to tell you in private. I would have taken this more seriously if he had told me instead!"

"Well it is dinner time and I'm hungry!"

::::: In the Kitchen ::::

[Rod's POV]

Bella just stared at him as he ate, not even touching her own sandwich.

"Aren't you going to eat that?' Rod asked her pointing at her untouched sandwich. When she didn't reply, he said. 'Alright, I'll eat it then…wouldn't want good food to go to waste."

He could tell that she was terribly annoyed by his blasé behavior. She has been staring at him not saying a word or touching her food for the past 15 minutes.

How am I supposed to tell her? What am I going to do?

He smiled at her. She didn't smile back.

We've been so great together. It has always been Rod and Bella…or the LeStranges. Now…this could be it….this could be the one that could make it or break it.

"Stop staring at me Bella. You won't be able to read my mind. I blocked it from you," he said to her. Still, she did not say a word.

I wonder how her reaction's going to be like. Maybe she'll be happy for us to get a divorce…. Maybe she'll go against it…..well that's one fat hope LeStrange! Oh come now! Why am I being such a baby about this? What difference does it make if we're married or not? We haven't been acting like a married couple anyway….it will all be the same. I'll still love her the way I do and she would too….this is for the Death Eaters…for our cause. For our Dark Lord!

Suddenly, without warning, Rodolphus stood up and raised his glass. "To the Dark Lord! To our purpose!"

Bella was surprised at the way Rodolphus is suddenly acting but how could she skip a toast like that? So like the loyal Death Eater that she is, she too raised her glass.

"To the Dark Lord." She said and finally took a sip of her drink. She glanced suspiciously at Rodolphus as he sat back down on his seat. He took a final bite of his sandwich. Bella clasped her hands together and leaned forward as she waited for him to gulp down the last piece of his sandwich. And at long last after what seemed an eternity for Bella, Rodolphus finally let out.

"Lord Voldemort wants me to divorce you."

Bella's eyes widened though her lips are sealed tightly together and she suddenly forgot to breathe. She reached out for her glass, gulping down every bit of that brandy right to the last bit. Placing a hand across her chest, she let out a heavy sigh and said, "What did you just say?"

"I have to divorce you. It's…obvious that the Lord wants you for himself and we all know what the Dark Lord wants, he gets." Rodolphus said as he too took his glass and gulped down the remaining of his brandy also letting out a heavy sigh.

Is she happy? Is that a smile?

Rodolphus looked at her pale face, drained of any color after hearing the news. She wasn't smiling, neither is she crying. He couldn't tell what she was feeling at that moment.

"Wh—what are you going to do?" she asked him quietly, looking up at his huge brown eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked her back, his eyes matching hers.

They were silent for a while, both staring into nothing, not knowing what to say. Bella couldn't believe how long it had been since they had first shared an awkward moment like this. He was like her soul mate as he is to her. They had understood each other so well, laughed at each other's infidelities and wrongs that conventional married couples would definitely have frowned upon. It was Rodolphus who broke silence after a while.

"I'm going to divorce you. I'm sure you'll like that." He said as he reached out for her hand to hold in his.

Bella still didn't say a word. She just stared at their hands held together.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked her with a smile despite the very awkward moment.

Finally, she said, "I was just thinking….I'm going to miss you."

He laughed at her. "I'm not going anywhere you know. I'm still going to be here and…anytime you wanna talk I'll be here. Anytime you need someone to argue with I'll be here."

"That's exactly what I'm going to miss. We are such great dueling partners. And I was just thinking….you were right." She said still not letting her gaze away from their clasped hands.

"That I know you'll like being divorced?" he frowned at her.

"No…about us not being able to do it anymore once he's here,' she smiled at him. 'Like I said…we are pretty good 'dueling' partners."

"Yes we are, I gotta agree.' He smiled back. 'Let's celebrate." He said as he let go of her hand and got the brandy out of the kitchen cupboard.

"Celebrate our divorce? We sure are weird people." She laughed.

"No. Celebrate the fact that the Dark Lord finally admits that he wants to fuck you." He said as he poured out the bronze liquid into their glasses. They clinked their glasses together and drank to the future.

"Are you gonna be alright once I'm not your wife anymore?"

"I don't think its going to be any different. I'll just go on and sleep around, come back home drunk…the only difference is, my sleep won't be disturbed anymore by the sound of you coming back home drunk." He chuckled.

She slapped him playfully on his arm. "Do you think he's going to marry me?" she asked him.

"Well….don't take this the wrong way but….I don't think so. Saying out loud that he wants you is already a big step for him. I don't think he'll marry you…you don't really expect him to do you?"

"Well…no."

"Well, there you go." He said bringing the glass to his lips once more.

THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE THIS IS A LINE

Thanks everyone for your kind reviews. I appreciate it. =) Thanks a lot.