76. A shocking confession
The guilt and worry gnawed at her stomach, making her feel ill with the need to confess. It had been three weeks, five days, eighteen hours, and fourty-six minutes. Her brain automatically counted down every minute, because that was every minute she lied to her husband. That was every second she hid this secret from him.
She made her way into the living room, where he was sitting on the couch. He looked up at her, affectionate eyes glowing into the light from the fire. "Did Nikki fall asleep alright?" he asked, holding out his arm to her.
She didn't move, didn't go near him. This set of the warning bells in his head and he stood up, looking down at her with worry. "What is it, love?" he asked, moving towards her.
She immediately took a step back. His worry was slowly seeping into anger. He hated being evaded and left in the dark. He also hated the terrified look in his wife's eyes and he wanted to rid her off it immediately. She wasn't helping that cause by walking away from him.
"Talk to me, Ginerva." he demanded, his old ways coming forward. Her fear spiked, because he hadn't acted like a Malfoy in years.
She shook her head, tears running down her face, and headed towards the staircase. "It's nothing." she said, climbing the stairs and going to their room, the tears falling faster. She knew exactly how this confession would end, and she wasn't ready for it.
"Ginerva Molly Malfoy, stop that." Draco hissed, following behind her and shoving open the door. She spun around, shocked as the door slammed into the wall. For the first time, she was afraid of her husband. "Talk to me. Tell me what you're so afraid of." he begged, his voice dropping into worry and sadness.
He made his way toward her, dropping to his knees in front of her. The image broke her, disolving her into a mess of sobs and tears. She crumpled and he caught her, holding her to him and murmuring sweet things to try and make her feel better.
The guilt grew. "Draco," she said between gasping breaths, her heart pounding and her ears ringing, "You're going to hate me." she whispered, freezing in the tense moment. He had the nerve to chuckle, not believing for a second that she could make him hate her. When he told her so, she shook her head viciously. She pulled out of his arms. "You are!" she cried, wiping her face with the back of her hand and moving away from him again.
"Ginny, what the hell can be so wrong that you feel it's necessary to keep running from me?" he hollered, finally losing his last shred of patience.
She flinched, grinding her teeth together as she braced herself for this moment. "I slept with Harry." she said, her eyes trained on the floor by her feet.
There was silence. A long, impenatrable moment of utter stillness encased the couple. Memories flashed before Ginny's eyes of the happier times in their relationship and she felt a whole new wave of guilt and mind numbing pain.
"I hope it was worth it." Draco whispered, taking off out of the room.