"Sometimes, men are just too stubborn to realize that the woman they run after is far long gone, maybe gone after some other man, who makes her feel whole, not caring for the love someone else is so willing to give her. Or maybe, men are just too lovestruck to realize that. Either way, the only outcome is hurt."

~Nadia Boulé

Bellatrix froze in her place at the sound of the Dark Lord's voice, trying to figure out why he had ordered her and Rodolphus to stay back. He hadn't told her anything about holding them on later after the meeting, and therefore didn't know how to act. She straightened her back and watched at her master's expression carefully. For a second, she thought she saw something in his eyes when his gaze fixed on her, she thought she saw that beautiful glow she had seen in his eyes that night… But just when she was about to take another look, Voldemort turned his gaze on Rodolphus, who was now struggling to get on his feet.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, and awkwardly shifted her weight from one foot to another, waiting for her husband to stand up, refusing to watch his pathetic attempts. Finally, after a few seconds passed, Rodolphus stood on his feet, the pain from the previous cruciatus curses Voldemort had thrown to him still obvious on him.

The Dark Lord wasn't talking, and there was an awkward silence in the big room, that was only broken from Shawn Greggory's weak groans of pain as he still struggled to break free from the invisible chains that were holding him on the floor. Bellatrix found herself unable to take this any longer, so she decided to say something.

"My lord…?" she questioned quietly, hoping that her master would tell her why he had ordered her and Rodolphus to stay. She felt Rodolphus next to her tremble, as if waiting for more curses to hit him.

"Yes, Bella?" Voldemort hissed, his expression plain and unreadable.

"Umm…My lord…Why did you order us to stay?" Bellatrix asked, and then she realized she should try to hide the passion that filled her voice when she talked to her master, for she had forgotten Rodolphus was there, too. With the corner of her eye, she watched Rodolphus as he fixed his eyes on her, obviously being afraid. Yet, Bellatrix couldn't tell if he was afraid of his own life or hers.

"My Bella," Voldemort hissed, a cruel smile crossing his lips, "did you really think your worthless husband would get away with only a few curses?"

Bellatrix couldn't help but shudder at the sound of his voice and the cruel, threatening smile on his face. Was he going to torture Rodolphus again?

"Did you, Rodolphus?" Voldemort asked, his eyes piercing through Rodolphus.

"N-no, master," he said in a trembling voice, his gaze lowered to the floor.

"I was thinking, Rodolphus, that you still haven't thanked me properly for being so merciful and deciding to spare your life… In fact, you're only making me question that decision of mine…"

Bellatrix looked at her husband, who was now pulling a great effort to look Voldemort straight into his eyes, and she hoped that he wouldn't say anything to "defend" his precious wife or anything, if the Dark Lord decided to take this even further.

"I…I… Thank you, my lord," she heard him say weakly, and she silently thanked Merlin for the fact that he kept silent and obedient.

"But, I think, that maybe it isn't me that you should thank, after all," Voldemort hissed, and Bellatrix realized where he was going. "In fact, I believe that you will agree with me when I say that you should, first of all, thank your wife."

Bellatrix decided not to say anything and shot a quick glance at Rodolphus before locking her gaze on the floor, but this split second was enough to see the desperation and shock in his face. She hadn't expected that the Dark Lord would want to take things to a length like that, with both her and her husband present, but she knew better than to question him, and, whatever he did, she knew it was right. And, perhaps, her husband did deserve this. After all, he had acted like a fool, daring to disappoint her master like that.

"I-" she heard Rodolphus say, and she could tell that he had no idea of what to say. Probably because he still thought that all this was a sacrifice made by his beloved Bella. And, obviously, Voldemort had decided to play around with those feelings of Rodolphus, and Bellatrix would be more than glad to help her lord, as long as it meant that she would still get to be with him.

"Not you, Rodolphus, your wife," Voldemort said softly, and Bellatrix knew, without looking, that a cruel grin was spread across his face. She felt him coming closer to her from behind and she closed her eyes, fighting the urge to throw herself at him, reminding herself that Rodolphus was in the room, reminding herself of what her lord had told her. "You, Rodolphus, didn't do anything but fail me... Unlike Bella…" Bellatrix heard Voldemort's hissing voice from behind her, and then she suddenly felt his hands rest possessively on her shoulders. She immediately opened her eyes and stiffened under his touch, desperately screaming to herself that her husband was there, that she shouldn't show pleasure at this… And probably her lord wouldn't want her to seem pleased at what he was doing, either. After all, it was a punishment for Rodolphus. For the moment, at least.

Her eyes locked on Rodolphus's face, who was obviously trying to say something. He knew that objecting to the Dark Lord would only make things worse, but Bellatrix could clearly see a flash of anger in his eyes, and the sudden urge to scream something like "get away from my wife!". She took her eyes away and tried to focus on something else, trying not to snap at her husband and tell him that he was nothing compared to her lord, that her master would do whatever he wanted and Rodolphus was no one, no one to tell him what to do.

"Why are you remaining so silent, Rodolphus?" Voldemort hissed, his hands never leaving Bellatrix's shoulders, his voice sending shivers down the witch's spine. Bellatrix felt her lord's body press tighter against hers, and she had to bite her lower lip to hold back a moan, and also close her eyes so that she didn't have to meet Rodolphus's outraged and shocked eyes. Obviously, he couldn't believe that lord Voldemort was doing that in front of him. Then, Bellatrix felt her master's breath tingling the tender skin of her neck lightly, and she realized he had lowered his lips to her neck; it took all of her willpower to stop herself from turning around and kissing him.

She heard Rodolphus gasp from where he was standing, but she didn't bother with looking at him. She kept her eyes firmly closed, wanting to avoid showing any emotions, and she struggled to stay still and seemingly awkward for her husband to see that she was most definitely not enjoying this. But, at the same time, she didn't want to fake like that when being with her lord, for she wanted him to know how much she longed for him…

The Dark Lord held her firmly against him, ignoring Rodolphus's shocked expression. Bellatrix would swear that she heard Voldemort say "don't do anything", in a voice barely audible, just for her to hear, not louder than a whisper. And yet, his lips hadn't moved, but Bellatrix was sure she had heard him whisper those words to her. Then his cold lips brushed against her neck, and her hands grasped on her dress, as if trying to keep from wrapping around him. She didn't respond, as her master had told her, and she simply stood there, her eyes closed tightly, feeling Voldemort's possessive hold around her body.

"Don't touch her!" Rodolphus's angry voice snapped her out of the moment, and she opened her eyes to see her outraged husband looking at them with eyes wide open with disbelief. She felt the Dark Lord smirk against her skin, and then slightly away from her, but still not releasing his hold on her.

"And why shouldn't I?" Voldemort hissed, now pulling his wand out of the pocket of his long, black robes.

Rodolphus was silenced for a moment, but he soon seemed to gain some courage. "Because she's my wife!" he growled, shocking Bellatrix with his lack of respect. However, Voldemort only chuckled.

"And I am her master," he said softly, but threateningly.

"She hasn't done anything! It was me who failed!" Rodolphus yelled desperately.

"Exactly. You failed me, and your wife persuaded me not to kill you. And i should let you know, Rodolphus, she is very good at persuading," Voldemort hissed, his smirk never leaving his face.

"Don't touch her!"

"You mean like that?" Voldemort asked, and Bellatrix felt his left hand moving lower to her hip, and once again struggled to keep herself from sighing in pleasure.

In a sudden moment that took her breath away, Voldemort turned her around, grabbed her wrists and covered her mouth with his own, pulling her in a rough, violent kiss. Under other circumstances, she would have immediately responded into the kiss with more passion than she had ever kissed anyone else before, but she remembered of her husband's presence and her lord's order to remain unresponsive. She pulled back a little, more weakly than she had planned, and made a sound against his mouth, moving her wrists slightly, as if in an attempt to escape him. Obviously, he didn't like her reactions, so he toughened his hold on her wrists, bruising them, his mouth never leaving hers, his tongue probing through her lips. She didn't kiss back, but groaned from the pain he caused her by the way he twisted her arms by the wrists.

"Don't touch her!" she heard Rodolphus scream once again, and then she was free from the Dark Lord's violent hold. Everything happened within a second; she almost fell backwards as Voldemort released her completely without warning, while at the same time Rodolphus fell on the floor screaming under the pain of a cruciatus curse that Voldemort had just thrown at him.

She backed away a few steps and watched as the Dark Lord tortured her husband. This time, the punishment lasted almost half an hour. The room was filled with Rodolphus's desperate screams, which only ceased for a few seconds before they started again. She couldn't feel sorry for him; all she could think of was when his punishment would finally end, so he would leave her and her master alone.

Finally, Voldemort lifted the last curse and looked down at his servant with cold, unmerciful eyes. "Have you learned that you must never fail me, Rodolphus?" he asked coolly, his wand still aiming the man's chest. Rodolphus managed to nod, and after a few seconds, he was standing on his feet, mostly thanks to the shame he felt for being tortured like that in front of Bella and his willingness to show bravery. "Excellent," Voldemort hissed, and then added "you are permitted to leave, now."

Rodolphus struggled to make a few steps closer to Bella, and extended his arm to her. "Come, Bella," he whispered, wanting to leave that place as quickly as possible.

"No, Rodolphus, you will leave. Your wife will stay here, with me," Voldemort hissed.

Rodolphus looked straight into Bellatrix's eyes, as if begging her to disobey Voldemort and follow her husband, in the safety of their home. Bellatrix realized that it was her turn to do something. "Go," she whispered, "I'll be fine." Rodolphus looked at her, obviously not believing her, being afraid for her, not wanting to leave her.

"Leave, now!" Voldemort hissed, and Rodolphus realized that there was nothing else to do. Despite his obvious unwillingness, he bowed to Voldemort, trying to ignore the pain from the curses, and he was soon out of the room, away from the manor, leaving Bellatrix and Voldemort alone.

"My Bella, I must admit you are a wonderful actor," Voldemort smirked, and Bella imitated him.

"Thank you, my lord," she said, and took a step closer to him.

"I almost forgot," Voldemort said suddenly, before Bellatrix could reach him. He pointed his wand at the trembling form of Shawn Greggory, who was still struggling with the invisible chains on the cold stone floor. "I've taken everything I want to know from him," the Dark Lord said, and then said dismissively: "Avada Kedavra", and the ministry employ was hit by a flash of green light, and lied dead on the floor.

"Now, my Bella," Voldemort smirked, and hid his wand back in his robes. "Do you think that we should move somewhere else? One of the bedrooms, perhaps?"

Bellatrix didn't reply. She simply threw herself at him and kissed him, completely emptying her mind from any thoughts of Rodolphus.

A.N/ Hey everyone! First of all, I want to thank everyone who supports this story by reading, adding it to their alerts and favorites, and especially those who take the time and leave a review with their thoughts! You really make me want to coninue with this :)

So, I honestly don't know how the bloody socks of Dobby I came up with this chapter. This is nothing close to what I had planned to write. But, I suspect I may like hurting Rod, because I can't explain it in any other way... In the original plan, I was going to have Voldemort simply toture Rodolphus, then some kind of dialogue between them, and then Bella/Rod moments. But, it turned out to be this. Probably beacuse the idea of the dark lord doing this to Rodolphus intruiged me in such way, that I wouldn't find peace if I didn't write it. Oh well... I hope you liked it :)