Chapter Eleven: Squirm
At four in the morning, on the Wednesday that Lucius was supposed to be leaving, Regan was rudely shaken awake and awoke to see a half naked Lucius wearing only silk pajama bottoms standing over her. She blinked, rubbing her eyes as she tried to reason out what was going on.
"I need to speak with you," he said as he sat on the side of her bed. "I saw the article…I know that you went out with Oskar…you need to tell me what's going on between you two."
"Nothing is going on," Regan said before she lightly yawned. "He asked me to dinner, but we haven't spoken since."
It was a lie, but her exhaustion masked just how much she was deceiving him. Lucius sighed, slowly beginning to massage his temples. Regan furrowed her brow together as he watched various emotions flash through his eyes.
Was he having a mental breakdown?
"I've been such a fool to not bring you with me, but I wouldn't be able to focus." He explained.
"I understand," Regan said, fighting to stay awake.
God, she wanted him to just go away so that she could sleep, was that too much to ask for?
Lucius suddenly reached out and tightly grasped her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. He was suddenly very close and towered over her momentarily weak form.
"When I return from Sweden, I want to start formally courting you." He told her. With a rush of adrenaline, Regan was suddenly wide awake and yanked her chin out of his grasp.
"I've already told you that I have no intention of marrying you." She wasn't sure how much more she would need to say this to him to really convince him that she didn't want him. "Why are you so intent on having me?" She asked. The question had been plaguing her and she just needed to figure out why he was so interested in her.
"Because you're nothing," he said as if it was so obvious. "You have no ulterior motives and you want nothing from me."
"I wanted a job from you," she said, pulling away from him.
"Yes, but I wasn't in charge of hiring you…Regan, you want and need for nothing, but I want to give you everything."
Regan inwardly flinched when her back pressed against the headboard and Lucius continued to move towards her. His body was slowly pressed against hers and his skin felt like it was on fire. She tried to squirm away from him, but he had tightly grasped her wrists and had her pinned down to the bed. His desire was pressed against her inner thigh and he let out a low grunt as he rolled his hips against hers. Without a single word, his lips crashed against hers and he thrust his tongue into her mouth. The thought to bite him suddenly popped into her head, but Lucius would probably love it. She continued to struggle, though, because she refused to just let him do whatever he wanted.
"Stop moving," Lucius commanded when he pulled back from his very aggressive kiss. "I want you to enjoy this."
"Then get off of me!" She screamed into his face, again trying to yank her hands away from his tight grasp. His hands tightened around her wrist as his pale eyes began to darken.
"You are so difficult…"
"But that's why you like me, right?" She asked in a mocking tone with her eyes dangerously narrowed. Lucius looked absolutely infuriated as he glared down at her. Regan's face was hot from the rage that she felt and she wanted to kick him in the groin and go back to sleep.
"Marry me or else I'll make your life a living hell," he threatened in a low voice, still holding onto her wrists.
"I'll quit and leave," she shot back.
"You have nowhere to go; no one to take care of you." Regan bit the insides of her cheeks to keep herself from just screaming incoherently.
"I don't need anybody, I can take care of myself."
"I can keep you from ever getting another job."
Neither of them were willing to back down, that much was certain. So, for Regan to get him off of her, she had to say or do something that would send him over the edge.
"I would rather whore myself out than be your wife."
Judging by the shock on his face, that did it.
With a straight face, he let go of her wrists and got off of her with impossible grace. He walked back to his room with a stiff, straight back. At the door frame, he stopped and looked back at Regan over his shoulder.
"When I return from Sweden, I will announce our engagement. It will last six months and then you will become my wife and do everything that is expected of a wife. If you do not do as I say, I will be forced to…dispose of you."
Lucius shut the door quietly, leaving Regan alone with her now bruised wrists. She quietly whimpered, looking down at her abused skin that was slowly turning purple. There was no way that she would hide these with just a long sleeved sweater. People would see the bruises and assume that something had happened between them, something consensual.
Regan scowled as she rolled over and looked at her clock. It was half past four, almost four hours before she was supposed to get up, but her body was still pumping with adrenaline. She was sure that in twenty minutes, her body would once again be exhausted and she would fall back asleep, but right now she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. She also couldn't sleep because she couldn't hear Lucius snoring. She couldn't sleep until he was asleep, because only then would she be somewhat safe. Her heart finally began to slow as she lay on her back, but her thoughts were still racing.
There was no doubt in her mind; she had to get out of here. There was now the risk that Lucius would kill her, but her death was worth the risk of gaining her freedom. She sighed, pulling her blankets up to her chin and trying to ignore the painful pulsing of her wrists.
Regan made up her mind that she would allow Oskar to take her away, but if she had to, she would pick up and run for her life.
She would never allow Lucius to catch her.
…
The next morning, the entire household staff gathered in the foyer to watch Lucius apperate to Sweden. He appeared to be in a good mood, despite what had happened only hours earlier. Regan kept quiet, trying to hide her bruises with the longest sweater that she had. It didn't seem to hide them very well, which was apparent by the horrified look that Astoria gave her. She said nothing, thankfully, but Regan knew that she was going to question her extensively once Lucius had left. Oskar had also seen them, but he had remained calm and gave her a reassuring smile that told her that it would be the last time that Lucius would ever touch her.
"Draco, say goodbye to your wife and child, we need to leave." Lucius instructed him as he pulled on his black cloak. Draco did as he was told, gently hugging Astoria and placing a kiss on Scorpio's forehead. As he said goodbye to his small family, Lucius slowly walked towards Regan while pulling on a pair of leather gloves.
"While I am gone, I want you to move your things into my room." He told her quietly. "I need to begin…educating you on how to be a proper wife." Regan scowled at him, tempted to just defy him and tell him to go shove his "education" up his old, white ass, but that probably wasn't the best course of action at this particular moment. So she nodded, her eyes darting away from his smug smirk. "I'll bring you back something nice from Sweden." He told her, running his gloved hand across her exposed cheek. Regan flinched and was mentally thankful when he stepped away from her, heading over towards Oskar. They shook hands and said pleasant goodbyes, but anybody could see that both were equally eager to let go of the other's hands.
Within minutes, Draco and Lucius had apperated away, leaving Astoria in charge. She handed Scorpio to Regan before turning to the household staff.
"Sadly, my cousin is also leaving today. He has business to attend to, so he must cut his visit short. Also…my father has informed me that Regan has handed in her resignation. Her last day will be Friday and then she will leave to pursue another career opportunity. We thank her for her services and wish her the best of luck. That is all, you are dismissed."
They all bowed together before leaving in different directions to go do whatever work that they needed to do. Natalie lingered with a sad look on her face, but she quickly left with her head down. Astoria waited until everybody was gone before she turned back to Regan with her eyes focused.
"Tell me exactly what he did to you, and don't leave out any details." She demanded. Regan did just that, speaking despite the great shame and embarrassment that she felt.
"That bastard," Oskar muttered once Regan had finished her story. Astoria's face was set in a scowl when she gently took Scorpio back from Regan.
"I think it would be best if you two left as soon as possible. You need to get as much distance between you and the Manor as possible." Oskar nodded in agreement, his eyes turning to Regan.
"You should go upstairs and pack your things; I want to leave as soon as possible." Regan rushed upstairs, her heart pounding. She hadn't planned to leave so quickly. Maybe a couple of days, but not right now. Still, she was finally going to leave. It had only been a few months, but she didn't think she could stand another moment of torture from Lucius. She pulled out her faded green suitcase and packed exactly what she had brought and nothing more. She would not allow herself to wear anything that had been bought by Lucius. Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, Regan changed into the only dress that she owned, wearing tights and flats to try and keep herself warm. She put on her thin gray jacket and glanced around her room one last time. She had left everything behind that he had ever given her, except for her wand, of course. It was packed away, not to be pulled out for a very long time. She let out a little sigh before pulling out her key and leaving it on her vanity and walking out the door. It felt good to walk away from the third floor and know that she would never have to go there again. She allowed herself a small smile as she arrived back at the foyer to see that only Astoria remained, still holding Scorpio.
"Oskar's gone to fetch the car…did you pack everything you needed?" She asked, clearly questioning Regan's use of her small suitcase.
"I packed what I brought and left everything else in my closets." Astoria's eyes bugged out slightly.
"Everything?" She asked, only to get a nod in response. "Where you're going, the small coastal village, doesn't exactly have a shop where you can buy clothing…are you sure that you don't want to take a few things?" Regan shook her head.
"I have enough," she insisted.
"And she can always wear some of my things," Oskar said as he came back into the home, bringing the chill of the outside in. "Don't you think she would look cute running around in one of my sweaters?" Astoria rolled her eyes as Oskar took Regan's suitcase from her.
"Not until you two are married," she said with a playful smirk. Oskar held up his hand, giving her a scout's honor with a small chuckle. Astoria sighed, a sudden sadness coming over her. "I suppose it would be best if you two didn't write for a while…but could you send me something to let me know that you're safe?"
"I'll work something out." Oskar assured her. "And if something bad happens, you'll be the first one to know." Astoria nodded, opening one arm to have Oskar hug both her and Scorpio. She then hugged Regan, patting her back with a sad smile.
"I hope that you two live a good life…and maybe, once Lucius dies, we can all see each other again?" Regan nodded as the two women pulled away from each other.
"Thank you…for everything." Regan said quietly. "I don't know how I can ever repay you for doing all of this for me."
"You don't have to do anything for me." Astoria insisted. "Just be careful and don't get caught." Regan nodded, knowing that the advice was obvious, but clearly meant to help. "Now get going, get as much distance as you can from this place." Oskar took Regan's suitcase and gave his cousin one last hug.
"You be safe too," he told her before he and Regan walked out the front door and slipped into his car. Regan let out a heavy sigh as the car started and rolled away from the Manor. She looked out the window and watched the Manor slowly disappear into the distance. "Are you all right?" Oskar asked, noticing the spaced out look in Regan's eyes. She nodded, still looking to where the Manor had been.
"I'm fine," she promised him. "I just want to remember this moment."
...
A/N: I'm posting this at three in the morning to make sure that I don't forget to post the chapter! Also, I had to get up for work...I'm up anyway, so I figured why not?
ThePhantomismyLove: My darling, it's already been written...
Dragoon Dave: Lucius is quite devious...to be honest, it's gonna get darker from here on out...
