A Marriage of Convenience
written by: albe-chan
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, and any coincidence with real life is purely coincidental. This work may contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (mentions of sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!
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Lily frowned at her reflection as she sat before her looking glass, hair styled and with her evening gown on, and she had to admit, the reddish purple creation with its very fashionable scooped neck and fitted waist, looked quite good. But the diamonds around her throat felt heavy, and almost cumbersome, and not at all to her taste. It was beautiful, certainly, but it was an heirloom of her husband's house, not her own, and Lily didn't enjoy the reminder. The redhead sighed, but got up anyway, swallowing convulsively, then took the necklace that dripped diamonds and rubies off. She would rather go with nothing, but instead, looked through her jewelry for something better, or at least less restrictive. Just as she lifted the long double strand of pearls her mother had once owned from her case, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she said softly, assuming it was her maid. Instead her husband walked in and her expression cooled as her back straightened, and she regarded him, looking handsome as ever and all but oozing that animal magnetism that crumbled her resolve every time, through the looking glass.
"Are you ready to go, darling?" he asked in his deep voice and she swallowed past the ache of arousal as she stood and turned to face him.
"Almost," Lily replied. She made to fasten the pearls around her neck, but then he moved into her dressing room, toward her, and stayed her hands. "Scorpius, I do not wish to play games, or be tardy." She made to lift the pearls again, but he stayed her movement again, making her temper flare.
"Wear this instead," he murmured, and pulled a fine silver chain from inside his pocket. Before she could protest, he'd slipped the necklace around her, fastened it, and laid it gently about her neck. His silvery eyes traced the line it made on her skin, and while Lily felt the chain, it didn't feel at all restrictive, or heavy. She glanced down at the pendant, which was rather small, and nestled deep into her breasts. It was a key. A tiny silver key with a diamond handle. He lifted the little key gently from her hands and tucked it back into her cleavage, teasing the swell of her left breast and making goosebumps erupt down her spine. "It looks quite good on you," Scorpius murmured, and Lily sucked in a breath as his mouth brushed hers temptingly.
"Thank you," she said softly, and pulled back, trying to remind herself she hated him. Even if there was a part of her that was secretly glad she had come to London. "I am ready now, so let us depart, or we shall be past merely fashionably late."
"Very well," Scorpius said, and Lily licked her lips as she brushed past him, preceding him from her dressing room, because even the brush of her gown against him made her unbearably aware of his proximity.
And then, when they at last arrived at the ball being thrown for Lady Collingwood's daughter's engagement soiree, Lily almost cried. Because she would be on her husband's arm for the evening, and it would be torture to be so close while maintaining a proper and demure ladylike facade. To feel the way he warmed the very air around himself and smell his delectable smell, and most of all, be unable to resist thinking about the absolute, gut wrenching passion he could fire within her. And all while her guilty secret burned her consciousness. But as she alighted from the carriage, the redhead grit her teeth into a smile and kept up her flawless mask of newlywed bliss. "Forgive me for not mentioning it earlier," Scorpius said as they went in and joined the receiving line, then bent down toward her, "but you look positively stunning tonight, Lady Remington." His rough low voice, whispering over her ears, made her nipples harden with delight, but she squashed down the urge to sigh.
"Thank you for noticing," she said softly, and glanced up at him through her lashes, smiling a bit. "I admit, I was beginning to wonder if you ever would."
They moved slowly along the receiving line, and when at last they greeted the hostess and offered her daughter congratulations, Lily barely contained her frown at Lady Collingwood's raised brows that seemed surprised her husband had brought her. And she wondered privately and not for the first time precisely what he had been up to in the short time he'd been in London without her. Once free of their duties to the hostess, Lily moved on Scorpius's arm with him into the ballroom. There was music and dancing and dozens, if not hundreds, of Society members all milling and drinking and chatting.
Lily clicked her fan open, trying to maintain her poised, indifferent facade, and yet could feel all eyes she passed staring her down, and saw from the very corners of her eyes, the way some moved to talk behind hands, no doubt about her. "Relax, Lily," Scorpius breathed and she sent him an icy smile.
"Forgive me, dearest husband. It appears I am still rather out of practice pretending to enjoy being gossiped about," she murmured in honeyed tones, moving an infinitesimal bit closer, looking up at him properly. Although she'd been in London for more than a month, there was still speculation Scorpius would send her away again, and that nettled Lily, because she would love nothing more than that, save only her husband joining her.
He grinned, but before he could reply, a familiar voice said from behind them, "Lily?" The redhead turned, giving her brother a real, genuine smile, and released Scorpius to hug him.
"Albus! I did not know you would be attending tonight," she said, beaming, and glanced at his accompaniment, a rather pretty blonde woman with blue-grey eyes and a decidedly low cut gown, similar in fashion to Lily's. "You must introduce me to your acquaintance," she said at once. The redhead almost jumped when Scorpius flattened a hand against her lower back.
"You are looking awfully well, dear sister," Albus said, giving her a significant look, as if to remind her of the one thing she could never forget. The redhead smiled brighter, and her eyes flicked to his escort.
"I am quite well, thank you," Lily said, hazel eyes going back to Albus, and she lifted a brow, as if unimpressed by his lack of manners.
Albus looked as if he'd rather have his tea made with dirt forever more. "Lily, may I introduce Arabella Crouch, Marchioness of Gravenhurst. Arabella, my sister, Lily Malfoy, Duchess of Remington. And the cad who calls himself my friend and yet married my little sister, Scorpius Malfoy, Duke of Remington.
The redhead beamed. "An absolute pleasure, madam," Lily said with flawless manners, dipping into a curtsy. "I must ask how you have come to be acquainted with my dear brother," she added. "It is, most regrettably, not often I find him out with a beautiful woman, so I must ask how it is you have charmed him into being your accompaniment."
The marchioness laughed, and cast Albus a calculating look. "I told him no one too many times, it seems, and your brother confessed he would be subjected to his sister's attempts to find him a date for the evening should I do so again. I merely took pity on him."
Lily smirked as Albus rolled his eyes, and said firmly, "You must come to tea on Friday afternoon. I would be positively delighted, if you are free, of course." The redhead felt her husband stiffen at her side, because she knew he absolutely loathed her being one of the gracious ladies of the ton who hosted a weekly tea to catch up with friends and acquaintances, turning their parlour into a veritable salon and an absolute hotbed for gossip.
The redhead also, personally, didn't much relish the weekly affair, but did it to prove she was capable of being the perfect high society wife, and because she knew he hated it. "Oh I would be utterly pleased," Arabella said, smiling, then looked up at Albus. "You were quite maligned in the assumption your sister would be certain to dislike me, Lord Hastings."
Lily fixed her brother with a raised eyebrow look. "Albus," she chided.
The dark haired man, feeling mutinous, looked at his sister darkly. "You are reminding me forcibly of our mother, Lily," he said quietly, but with feeling.
The redhead sucked in a breath, glancing up at Scorpius, who looked as patently bored as ever when they went out, but she knew he'd caught some kind of undertone when he looked back at her and lifted a brow in question. "I should hope that was meant as a compliment," Lily said, smiling too bright as her gaze went guiltily back to her brother. "For I intend to take it as one."
Albus didn't smile as she had expected he would, and the redhead felt something akin to dread as her brother's emerald gaze assessed her. "It was. You know, I remember ever so well, despite the years, when she told me she was expecting you." Lily shot her brother a pleading look, even as Scorpius stiffened beside her, and Albus's lady friend looked between Lily and Albus curiously. "Perhaps that is why you are reminding me so very much of her tonight," he added, and Lily felt her heart and stomach both drop, her breath catching, and strove to remain placid, even as the smile slipped from her face.
Lily couldn't bear looking at Scorpius, so she instead forced a rigid smile. "Albus," she said quietly, "I do not wish to speak of that particular subject right now." Her brother looked irritated, and Lily bit her tongue against telling him off. "Forgive me," she murmured to the blonde marchioness, who looked equally shocked and delighted.
"We shall speak no more of it," Arabella said lightly, and she looked at Scorpius. It seemed to go unspoken that everyone realized the duke was just finding out something new, when obviously his best friend and wife had known much longer.
"Thank you," the young duchess murmured, and swallowed thickly, finally glancing up at Scorpius. "I believe I should like to go home," she said, moving closer against his arm, trying to tamp down on her unruly emotions to maintain her dignified facade, while he didn't move his arm in the slightest, face looking as if it had been carved of stone, and without emotion.
"It appears that is the best course of action," he said, and they made stiff goodbyes until they could escape to the drive, waiting for the carriage to come round. Lily bit her lip when Scorpius broke free of her grasp, and said darkly, "I should hope that was not how you intended me to find out." Lily could hear the accusation and see it in his eyes.
"It was not," she breathed, biting her lip to stay the tears. She wanted to tell him the truth but the words stuck in her throat, and the silence stretched.
"Does anyone else know?" the duke finally asked. The redhead could only shake her head no, and at last, the carriage pulled up, and she let Scorpius hand her up, feeling equally sad and angry.
When they got home, Lily was in a towering temper. She was furious that Albus had outed her like that, in front of his lady friend, too, and knowing that the dark silence her husband kept only boded ill for how he had taken the news. She wasn't entirely sure what he expected, privately. The redhead, in the entire thirty four days she'd been in London, had slept in Scorpius's bed every single night. And without fail, every single night, he made love to her. At least once. Not to mention the many times they'd partaken in the marital act in the morning, or the few times her husband had pleasured her during the day, if the weather was poor, or they chose to remain home for an afternoon.
The redhead had enjoyed all of it, immensely, and greedily took what she could, because the moment she realized she was expecting, a week previous, she'd known if Scorpius found out, he'd certainly send her back to the country. But Lily couldn't bring herself to do it and actually come clean, no matter how badly she wanted to return, to see Sunshine, and be free of Society's rigid rules of behaviour, and maybe even see Astoria again. Because Lily wasn't at all sure Scorpius would come with her, out of wanting or loyalty, and she couldn't fathom never having another drop of pleasure from her husband. Not until she had filled herself full of enough memories to sustain forever, at least.
So she hadn't said a word, to anyone, and yet Albus had still figured it out when she'd taken a ride in his barouche with him the morning she'd realized. He'd simply looked at her, sighed, and said, "You're having his baby." And all Lily could do was nod weakly, neither speaking further of it since, until that night. While Lily knew, at some point, the sickness would begin, and that would be almost impossible to hide, she'd wanted to wait longer, and definitely tell her own husband herself.
But her stupid older brother had ruined it, and now Scorpius had eyes the colour of thunderclouds. "When were you planning to tell me, Lily?" he asked as he escorted her into the drawing room, closing the door behind them, in a well controlled voice that barely hinted at the fury she saw in his gaze. Her hazel eyes dropped to the large, colourful Persian rug.
"When I was sure it was safe and that it would not be lost." Her reply was spoken barely above a whisper.
There was a long pause. "Lost," Scorpius repeated without inflection, and she looked up at him, and bit her lower lip, swallowing thickly.
"Yes," she said softly. "My mother… She lost six babies before their time, between Albus and myself. I am not sure how, or why, but apparently some women cannot bear their children to term, or the Lord sees fit to take the infant before it can sustain life outside its mother." The blond frowned, and Lily felt a wriggle of guilt. "I should probably have told you that before," she murmured, "yet… It is an uncomfortable subject."
Scorpius frowned, and Lily looked at the carpet again, absently admiring its designs, and the tall blond said slowly, "And you are afraid the same affliction lies upon you?"
The redhead forced a shrug. "I do not know," she said softly, then boldly met his eyes, looking suddenly stern. "However, I can assure you, Lord Remington, I will take every conceivable precaution to ensure it is of no fault of my own you might not succeed in your wish for an heir in the nursery of your beloved country home."
Scorpius looked as though she'd slapped him for the briefest of moments, then schooled his face back into a mask of bland disinterest. "Of that I am certain, Lady Remington," he replied with cool indifference. "I do not doubt you would love nothing more than to retire in the country raising our children."
Lily swallowed, because if that didn't sound like him saying he would not be present with her should she retire once more to country life, she didn't know what would. "I would," she agreed, and bit her tongue against the urge to add she would prefer he come with her.
"Very well," he said lightly. "I shall send word of your return on the morrow, and you may set out at your leisure."
Lily could only stare for a beat, feeling as if she'd been struck in return, and then nodded, swallowing the urge to demand to know why he felt no need to join her, and fought a sigh. This was the precise thing she wanted, had always wanted, from marriage. A life of freedom, away from London, to raise her children and do as she pleased. Only now that she'd gotten a taste of passion, she felt as starved for it as her husband had confessed himself being the morning after their wedding night, and the thought of going without made her heart beat uncomfortably and her stomach drop past her toes. "As you wish," she said blandly, and turned to quit the room.
"Lily," Scorpius said as she reached the door, and the redhead deigned to look back at him over her shoulder. "Thank you," he said simply, and Lily blinked, trying to understand what that meant.
Her husband's face looked happy, if a tad reserved about it, but his eyes were still dark and angry looking. "You are welcome," she replied, and moved out of the drawing room, toward the stairs.
Scorpius watched her go, feeling a potent mix of churning emotions that made him crave a stiff brandy and the solitude of his study. So, with casual grace, he carried himself to his study, poured himself a stiff drink, and sat at his desk. Lily was with child. And she was going away. No matter how much he tried to go beyond that, he couldn't.
He should've known it. He'd taken her, frequently and in excess, since he'd forced her to come to London, and while he didn't regret a second of it, because she was so bloody tempting he could hardly contain himself, Scorpius still felt bad in that moment. He told himself he should be pleased he'd gotten her with child, but while that was a decidedly pleasant thought, the blond duke couldn't help but feel nettled still. Certainly, that had been the intended end of his association with Lily, but goddamn it, he couldn't help but want her still. She was all tempting woman encased in flawless creamy flesh, his alone to devour and savour, and he didn't relish the thought of her leaving him.
A snide voice in his head told him to go with her, but he shunted that traitorous thought aside. Scorpius had fun in London. He liked being a prominent member of Society, and going to whatever function he desired, but the thought of doing it all now, without Lily, made it seem dull. There would be no one beside him to show up incompetent players of the pianoforte, when he could persuade her to play, and she had such a way with words that anything sharp she might've said seemed utterly polite with her delivery to those who displeased her. Scorpius couldn't help it. He was well and truly in like with his young wife, and while he wanted to bend to her wishes, especially now that she was expecting his child, the Duke of Remington couldn't bring himself to feel okay with Lily going back to the country, all alone, to live in his manor house with his mother.
The blond downed his brandy noisily, in a way that would have made his father shout, and got up to pour another. He didn't want to feel this way. The inability to resist Lily's creamy, feminine figure, the desire to have her near him, and most of all, the way he couldn't seem to stop thinking if she did go back to the country, he would have no choice but to follow. As much as the blond duke hated to admit it, even privately, to himself, he was well and truly addicted to Lily, and the light she seemed to lend to his existence.
He sat down in his chair again and lifted his brandy to his mouth, then paused. He couldn't resist her, he had to have her with him, and he was all but addicted to the lusciousness of her body and the passionate bright soul within? That sounded an awful lot like… He shook his head, putting his drink down. No, it simply couldn't be. He couldn't - didn't - love Lily. The thought in and of itself was enough to make him laugh. She was his wife, and there was no way he could ever feel something so deep and all consuming as love for his wife, simply because Malfoy men never loved their wives.
But then he pictured watching her trundle away, bearing his babe, in a carriage bound for his estates, left without a single protection, save his driver, along the way. He cringed, and downed half his drink. No, that wouldn't do at all. He would have to go with her, at least to ensure she arrived safely. And as for the silly love business… Scorpius shook his head. He was just feeling lusty, certainly. After he'd sated himself with Lily's feminine assets, he'd certainly see reason.
He drank the last of his brandy respectably, if only to make up for earlier insults to good drink, and stood up once more. Yes, after he satisfied the lust that made his blood boil and skin prickle, he'd definitely see that there was absolutely no way he was in love with Lily. Scorpius hurried up to his bedchamber, hoping to find Lily already in bed.
When he got to his bedchamber, after disrobing in his dressing room with almost undignified haste, he felt a jolt of disappointment. Because when he entered the bedchamber, excited and anticipating a long night of lovemaking to drown his traitorous thoughts, there was no Lily in his bed. He made to go into her dressing room and found the door locked. Anger reared, sharp and unexpected, but Scorpius tamped down on the urge to break the door down. Instead he went around and through her ladies' bedroom, and smirked a little when the door opened easily.
"What are you doing?" Lily demanded, covering herself at his intrusion, and Scorpius almost resisted the urge to smirk, because she was in a steaming bath, looking far too edible and deliciously naked.
"Coming to find you," Scorpius replied huskily. "I should hope you are not hiding, Lily."
"No," she said, looking down, and the blond fought the impatient urge to tell her to look at him. "I am simply taking a bath." Silvery eyes traced over the creamy swells of her breasts, the smooth lines of her collarbones, her dainty shoulders, and without thought, Scorpius moved forward into her dressing room. Lily's head snapped up hazel eyes hard and angry. "And I would prefer to do so in peace."
"I would prefer you come to bed," he replied lightly, moving to sit on the tufted stool before her vanity, and Lily swallowed thickly.
The candlelight made his hair glimmer, and the bath was making her feel calm and loose. She'd had a small sip of sherry just before her bath had been ready, to calm her temper and distraught nerves, and she felt the alcohol relaxing her. "I am most certain you would, Scorpius, but I have not yet finished. And I do not require supervision."
The blond watched her begin to undo her hair and felt his cock stirring to life in his hastily donned drawers. He undid the sash on his dressing gown, smiling a little as he watched his wife's eyes drop to peek at his bared flesh. "Would you require assistance?" he drawled as she lifted her sponge. A dark red eyebrow lifted and she abandoned the sight of his chest peeking out from the parted robe to stare him down coolly once more.
"To bathe myself? Not for many years, Scorpius," she said haughtily, trying to tell herself she was immune to his blatant sexuality, and was untroubled by the knowledge he could have her begging for him with embarrassing ease. It didn't work. She still wanted, and craved him, even though she knew, in a woefully short amount of time, she would be leaving for the country again. Only this time, she went alone.
Lily started slightly when she felt warm, large hands smoothing over her shoulders, the slightly rough palms creating a sensual friction that caressed her nerve endings pleasurably. Scorpius smoothed his thumbs along the inside of her shoulder blades, and Lily bit her lip against a groan of relaxation, feeling warmth tingling through her veins, making her far warmer than the bath could dream. "Do you require assistance relaxing then, my darling?" he murmured, and she sighed when his mouth brushed the side of her neck.
"Scorpius," she breathed. Lily didn't want this, didn't want to keep falling for his unmitigated sexual prowess and the stupid belief that had taken seed inside her, when she'd found out she was expecting, that they would ever be a proper, loving family. She knew in her heart it was naive and foolish and she'd only wind up brokenhearted in the end. And that fear kept her clinging desperately to her resolve to loathe Scorpius.
"Mmm, yes," the duke rumbled, and Lily felt herself melting when his lips brushed up the column of her neck, kissing and sucking and taking her to blissful euphoria like a draught of sherry. "Just relax, darling," he continued, his soothing, rough voice making her relax further still into the tub, and her head lolled to the side, giving her husband better access to the porcelain flesh as he massaged her slowly and kissed her with humble devotion.
Needless to say, her damnable body betrayed her, and once Scorpius had massaged her into a limp ragdoll that groaned and sighed with pleasure after every brush of his hands and mouth over her flesh, he lifted her from the tub, wrapped her in her dressing gown, and carried her, bridal style, into his bedchamber.
To her surprise, though, after Scorpius deposited her in bed, he simply snuffed the lantern and climbed in beside her, pulling the coverlet over them both. She merely laid there for a long moment as silence descended between them, and then turned her head to look at Scorpius, who was stretched beside her, one arm under his head, the other resting casually on his stomach, regarding her. "Go to sleep, Lily," he said, one corner of his mouth lifting as he watched her hazel eyes rove down his body, pausing on the rather obvious line of his arousal that the bed linens did little to hide.
"I am not feeling restful," she replied, more than ready to enjoy whatever activities her husband wished to partake in. She knew, rather soon at that, she would be without them, and the weakest part of her wanted the chance to soak up enough intimacy to last a lifetime from the man she hated she was falling for. She licked her lips and turned to face Scorpius, boldly putting a hand over his, admiring the handsome lines of his face and the way the lantern light glinted on his hair.
Heat waved through Lily, pooling between her thighs and making her heart pound as Scorpius, still staring at her and smirking with that irresistible little half smile, gently slid his hand out from under hers to rest atop it and guided her fingers just the tiniest bit lower. "Lily," he murmured, and the redhead inhaled shakily, trying her very best to exercise self control, and not do something that would undoubtedly spoil the moment, even as her hand slid lower down his abdomen still. Teeth sank into her plush lower lip as she felt the warmth radiating out from her husband's arousal, and hazel eyes, pupils blown wide with desire, locked on Scorpius's silver ones.
"Do you wish for me to stop?" the redhead whispered, even as she boldly slid her hand lower still, with his much larger one atop it, and over the very tip of the raised line of his erection. Her heart was pounding so loud she was certain her husband could hear it, even as she shifted her thighs together, trying to relieve the aching pressure of wanting and needing him inside her, bringing her to blissful oblivion.
"Lily," he said again, impossibly rougher, and she licked her lips, even as his eyes shut briefly before he grasped her hand, removing it from himself. "Darling," he breathed, and Lily was pleased, if surprised, to see he was on the verge of losing control. She felt inherently powerful that she could have such a profound effect on the man who'd all but ruined her for any other since she'd tied herself to him. But then her heart sank as he opened his eyes, looking at her in the semi-dark, the moon and a few streetlamps shining through a gap in the curtains illuminating his face and the resigned expression upon it. "You are in a delicate state," he murmured, and the redhead swallowed past the instant urge to cry.
She was so incredibly foolish to have even hoped, let alone assumed with confidence as she'd done, that things might not be wholly and irreparably changed by the news of her being with child. Instinctively she pulled her hand away, trying to keep herself composed, and forced a nod. "Of course," she said, hardly recognizing her own voice as her entire self reeled at the rejection. She made to roll back over, to at least pretend to sleep while she tried in vain to stop loving the man she'd married for all the right reasons and yet none that mattered anymore. "My apologies, my lord, I did not-"
Scorpius cut her off before she could finish, one arm hooked delicately around her waist, gently restraining her from shutting him out, as his lips found hers easily, kissing her soundly and making everything even more muddled and confused inside Lily's heart and head. "Do not misunderstand, my darling," he murmured, between kisses that peppered her lips and jaw and throat.
"Then what-?" she asked, trying to hold back a sob as her voice wobbled dangerously.
That wicked half-smile overtook his features again, and she hated that her damnably foolish heart kept on hoping she could find at least the solace of passion within her marriage still, especially when she felt the tip of Scorpius's tongue tracing the inside of her lower lip as he kissed her once more. "You are in a delicate state," he repeated, gently laying her back and kissing down her throat again to her clavicles, brushing his lips tenderly over her flesh before roaming lower, to the neckline of her dressing gown, tongue darting out hungrily. "And as such, it does not feel at all right that you should be exerting yourself, in any way, by attempting to seduce me." Lily's brows pulled together, still confused as to just what Scorpius was implying, even as he shifted lower in bed and she felt one of his hands tracing up the inside of her thigh. She made to push up onto an elbow, but then her hips lifted as a teasing finger caressed her slick folds, and her back arched as Scorpius's questing mouth nudged aside her dressing gown to lay claim to her nipple.
"Scorpius," she whispered, biting back a low moan as she felt him smirking against her flesh, unable to hold in a second sound of pleasure as his finger entered her, curling deliciously as his thumb grazed the straining hub of her excitement.
"All I wish for you to do right now, Lily," he murmured as he kissed across her chest to bare her other breast, "is allow me to seduce you instead." She moaned louder still as another finger slid inside her, beside the first, and Scorpius tugged at her nipple with his teeth. Then he shifted once more, and the sound of his voice, rough and husky and right against her ear, pushed her right to the edge. His words all but shoved her over it. "For I am still a rake, darling, and your pleasure is more than enough to satisfy me. For now, anyway."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just want to say thank you, again, for all the love and positivity this fic has received in the last few chapters. It honestly means a great deal to me, like all writers, that there are people who enjoy reading my stuff. And I know a few of you are upset with the speed (or lack thereof) of updates, but just know I am trying to diligently keep up on writing this, as well as my other WIPs, but I'm not a machine. Writing is a hobby, and one that takes a backseat to work, family, and life in general. I wish I could pump out a chapter every week, but that's just not in the cards right now, so it's probably going to keep being roughly a month between updates. Thanks for your understanding, and patience, and all the love and reviews; you guys honestly rock. :)
