Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay and I appreciate you all waiting for an update. I've decided to just bold the words that are spoken in a different language because it's probably better if I don't write out the language than get it wrong … multiple times haha (I'll just bold which ones are spoken in either German or French).

Also, some of the reviews I've read have asked for a darker side of Landa – he'll be here soon. He's always been there, I just needed to incorporate him at the right time, in the right way. I know it's important to have who Landa really is, but I think it's equally important to establish the conflicts within a person who is entwined in his web. I believe that by building on how Jacqueline is affected by him, the reader can get an understanding of who Landa is without me having to explain why he does what he does and so and and so forth. Make sense? I hope so because I'm terrible at proper explanations haha.

Enjoy!

One week later.

Landa's boots tracked mud along the wooden floorboards as he walked circles around the area in which the Jewish family was hiding.

He stepped out the door and called in his men, each stomping into the tiny home, pointing their rifles at the floorboards.

Landa took out his luger and pressed it against the dairy farmer's temple, "Adieu,"

And with that, Landa and his men each fired their weapons. Blood sprayed onto Hans' uniform, blood that was the same color as his. Landa's men tore apart the floorboards, revealing a massacred family drenched in each other's flesh and blood. He saw an old man around the age of eighty holding on to what appears to be his grandson. Next to him was a little girl wrapped in her mother's arms. The mother had rich blonde hair, kind eyes, and wore a faint smile on her face.

She looked like Hans' mother.

"Standartenführer,"

"Ja?"

"The car is ready for your departure. Would you like to head home or to the office?"

"Home,"

"Jawohl, Standartenführer,"

Hans cleared his throat and walked to the car as his men disposed of the corpses.

Jacqueline was eating dinner with Gustave in the kitchen when she heard Hans come in. He neglected bidding them a good evening and instead marched straight to the washroom to take a bath.

She was about to get up to see what was wrong when Gustave took hold of her arm and gave her a look that said it would be better if she left him alone.

"What?"

"Trust me, Jacqueline,"

"He hasn't eaten anything,"

"He's a grown man, he'll eat when he can," he patted her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

She continued eating her fish but couldn't help but yearn to be with Hans. It had been a week since that night after she danced with Zoller, and everything changed. It was as if nothing would ever be the same. Everything Hans did that night had its own way of telling Jacqueline that he cared for her.

She had barely seen Hans that week, but when she did, they made passionate love and held each other afterwards. When he left for work, she didn't want to think about what he was doing. She would occupy her mind with books and long conversations with Gustave. She wondered how life would be like with Hans after the war ends, if they last that long. Although she wanted to be with him, she wasn't naïve. She knew Hans wouldn't change and that he wouldn't instantaneously be a better man because of her.

Half an hour later, Jacqueline walked into the room to find a bloodied uniform resting on an arm chair. Her throat felt dry and her heart raced at the sight of it. The blood had crusted over his medals and the scent was horrid. How a man can stand to be drenched in another's blood was beyond her, let alone watch that same person die before their very eyes.

Her hand shook as she attempted to touch the blood-coated medals, closing her eyes as she imagined Hans holding a gun to a man's head. The sight nearly brought her to tears as she heard Hans' voice from the washroom.

"Jacqueline?"

"Oui?"

"What are you doing out there?"

"Nothing,"

Silence.

"Come in here, please,"

"No, I can't. I have to return some books to Gustave," really, she didn't think she could stand the sight of Hans at that moment.

"You can return them later,"

She wiped a stray tear from her cheek and walked slowly towards the washroom door, cracking it open to see Hans in the bathtub with a glass of whiskey in one hand.

"Yes?"

"You don't look very happy to see me,"

"I am," she plastered a fake smile, even though she knew Hans would see right through it.

He frowned and held out his free hand, gesturing for her to sit on the edge of the tub.

She did as he wanted and sat there, hugging herself as she stared at the wall.

She felt his hand hold onto hers, his thumb gently stroking the inside of her wrist. He brought her hand up to his mouth and softly kissed it, his eyes never leaving hers. Jacqueline wanted very badly to caress his cheek with that hand, but she resisted. He sat up from the tub, knelt behind her, and started kissing her shoulders as both of his hands ran down her thighs. She let out a sigh as his lips met her neck and his wet body and prominent erection made contact with her back.

"I think we've both had a long day," he whispered

"No, just you," she replied colder than she had intended.

Jacqueline rose and walked out the bathroom as she closed the door behind her, leaving Hans furious and unsatisfied.

In one swift movement, she picked up his tainted uniform and placed them into a clothesbasket as she paced angrily down the stairway and into another washroom next to Gustave's room.

She filled the tub with steaming hot water and threw Hans' uniform into it after she took off each and every damned medal that was attached. She was on her knees as she worked furiously to scrub off the crusted blood from his medals, tears forming in her eyes. All she thought about what was Hans had to do to achieve each award. In her eyes, each medal represented a massacred family. The blood was proving to be a hassle and all she wanted to do was flush each and every one of them down the toilet.

"Fuck," she muttered as the medal slipped from her hands.

Suddenly, the door opened and Gustave nearly ran to her and knelt beside her in his robe. He grabbed hold of her hands and made her put down the medal and sponge until she collapsed into his arms. He held her head next to her chest, stroking her hair as she cried and cried and cried. She tried to kick and punch him away, but Gustave only held her tighter and rocked her in his arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely

"You can't fix him, Jacqueline,"

"I know,"

"Hush now,"

"I don't want to go back up there. I can't look at him,"

"That's okay, I'll prepare a room for you to sleep in. If you'd like, you can sleep in my room and I'll sleep somewhere else,"

Jacqueline nodded and stood back up with Gustave's help.

"What about the uniform?" she asked with a quivering voice

"I'll take care of that. Don't you worry. Just sleep now,"

Within a minute, Jacqueline was sleeping softly under his bed sheets, letting the sound of silence lull her to sleep.

Gustave was finished cleaning the uniform when Hans marched down the stairs and found him hanging up his now clean uniform.

"Have you seen Jacqueline?"

"She's in my bedroom,"

Hans gave him a look, one that bordered between raging mad and infinitely curious.

"Not like that, Monsieur. She wasn't doing too well so I suggested that she retire in my room."

"Why not in our bedroom?"

"She insisted otherwise, Monsieur."

"I didn't hear you coming in to take my uniform,"

"I didn't, Jacqueline tried to clean them. And quite desperately so,"

"Hm," Hans murmured as he made his way towards Gustave's room.

He proceeded to open the door. He knelt next to the bed and looked at the dried tears on Jacqueline's cheeks. He wiped away a stray hair from her face and kissed her temple.

"Sleep well, my love."

Hans looked up to see Gustave eyeing him intently. He stood up and walked past him and back up the stairs.

"Goodnight, Gustave."

"Goodnight, Hans."

Sorry if this chapter was short, by the way.