Chapter Thirty Five: Spring

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That Tuesday, the story had officially broken that Regan had lost her baby. Thankfully they didn't go into tremendous detail, saying only that she had suffered a miscarriage early Sunday morning, but was otherwise fine. Lucius had even released a statement, saying that they were in mourning and wanted to thank people for respecting their privacy during this terrible time. The picture they ran on the front page was from their wedding, their portrait together as a couple. Regan had tossed the paper aside, her stomach churning. She couldn't stand to look at Lucius, especially now. In a way, she blamed him, but logically she knew that it wasn't completely his fault. This scheme had been her idea, and she was pleased to say that it was working.

While the doctor had insisted that she needed constant rest, Lucius had yet to allow that to happen. He continued to share a bed with her and would often wake her to make sure that she was okay. They ate every meal together; Regan would remain in bed while Lucius sat at her side, a table and chair conveniently set up for him. He rubbed her back whenever she would let him and Regan was surprised to see that Lucius was actually being a good husband. It was difficult to comprehend, but it was something that Regan couldn't deny.

On the eve of her final appointment with Doctor Lowell, when he would attempt to fix her pelvis, Lucius was being particularly attentive. They ate dinner together as usual, but then he wanted to give her a massage. Regan refused him gently, saying that he was being too kind, but he insisted and ultimately won. She rested on her stomach on the bed while Lucius got on top of her, straddling right under ass. He slowly pushed up her shirt and unhooked her bra, allowing himself total access to the smooth plane of skin. He easily smoothed down her tense muscles, allowing her to relax for the moment.

"Doctor Lowell says that if your procedure goes well, we can start trying again in August." Lucius told her, his cool fingertips brushing against her shoulder blades. "A spring baby, wouldn't that be appropriate?" He asked with a small chuckle.

Regan smiled too, but only because she knew that she wouldn't be here. By August, she would either be gone or dead.

"Have you given thoughts to names?" Lucius asked, pressing down against her tightly. She doubted that baby names were all that he had in mind.

"I hadn't given it any thought," she answered. "But don't you think we should get pregnant before we start planning again?" She asked, unable to hide the irritation in her voice. Lucius seemed unaffected by her comments, bending down to gently kiss her shoulder.

"You will conceive again, there is no question about that." He said against her skin. "You just need time…and then we will try again."

"What if I don't want to try again?" Regan suddenly asked, the words tumbling from her lips. This time, Lucius did still and Regan could feel his eyes grow cold.

"Why wouldn't you want to try?" He asked, his hands sliding up to grip her shoulders. Regan whimpered when his fingers began to painfully dig into her skin.

"I've never really wanted children."

"That matters very little to me because I do desire more children. You will be the one to give them to me; nobody else can do this for me but you." Regan shut her eyes tightly, mentally cursing. She should have just kept her mouth shut.

"Lucius…you're hurting me…" She said, trying to struggle out of his grasp. He held her down firmly, causing Regan to cry out.

"Do I need to remind you that you are my wife? If I want something from you, then I will get it." Regan was sure that he was going to throttle her or find some other way to assert his authority. She fought back her cries, still wriggling under his grasp.

"Please let me up?" She quietly pleaded, trying to sound as innocent as possible. She knew that he was still glaring at her, but he finally did get off of her only to pull her against his chest in a crushing embrace.

"I do not wish to harm you, but if I must be forced to remind you of your place, then I will do it. Now, we will get you taken care of and get you well enough so that we can try to have a baby." He said sternly, leaving no room for argument. "Do you know the kind of image we'll present if we have a baby?" Regan shook her head, too scared to actually speak. "It means that we're strong and growing, an image that needs to be projected for all of us…it will help destroy whatever hope that remains for the rebels." Regan's eyes widened as soon as he said the word.

Did he know that she was involved?

No, that wasn't possible.

If he knew, he would have killed her a long time ago.

"How can you be sure that there are any rebels left?" Regan asked. This was the first time that he had spoken to her about any sort of rebellion; the information that she learned today could be extremely valuable.

"They are fools for thinking that they could ever rise up against me." He said, slowly stroking her hair. "A number of captives managed to escape somewhere, I am not sure of their specific location. I do know that a Weasley leads them, probably that bastard that was so close with Potter." A dark chuckle escaped Lucius. "He will be the first to die."

The majority of Regan's days were spent in solitude as she remained confined to her bed. The procedure that Doctor Lowell had performed had apparently gone well and he claimed that it would only be a matter of time before Regan was pregnant again. Regan rolled her eyes every time she played the conversation back in her head. Never would she ever be pregnant with Lucius's baby again, but they could think whatever they wanted as long as she didn't have to have sex with Lucius.

Speaking of which, Regan's night life had drastically improved.

Lucius would sleep near her and often forced her to cuddle, but he had surprisingly refrained from any sexual behavior. She thought that perhaps she would be forced to give him a blow job or a hand job, but his dick remained in his pants and Regan couldn't be more pleased.

Now, her attentions had to turn to getting Lucius to throw some sort of party for her, but he appeared to be taking an overprotective stance when it came to Regan. Only family was allowed into her room, servants having been banned from the third floor all together. Regan didn't mind it, but she wasn't sure how she was going to get him to allow her to be around other people. For now, she spent her days enjoying the company of Draco. It seemed that the two of them had a lot in common. Whenever he would come to see her, he wouldn't say much; he usually just sat with her and read or did some paper work. They very rarely spoke, but having him there was nice. And it seemed to ease whatever guilt that he was holding onto, so Regan didn't protest when he chose to sit with her all day. The silent company was welcome, especially in this time of uncertainty.

On a pale day, three weeks from Regan's birthday, the Manor was practically silent. It was a Sunday and the Manor was enjoying an unusually humid day with clouds covering the sky. The sun was setting and a breeze was finally blowing through the windows that had been open all day. Lucius was busy in his office while Astoria was treating Scorpio to a little swim time. Draco was with Regan, silent as usual. As night descended and the clock struck six, Lucius arrived right on schedule, a tray carrying their dinner floating at his hips.

"Draco, shouldn't you be with Astoria?" He asked, striding into the room with the tray staying at his side. Draco never acknowledged his father as he packed away his papers along with his quill and ink, tucking the worn leather satchel under his arm.

"I'll see you later," he told Regan before striding out of the room and never even glancing at his father. Lucius didn't seem to even notice; all of his attention was focused on Regan.

"I trust you had a good day?" He asked, putting a tray across her lap and pulling off the dome that was keeping the food warm. Tonight was pasta, and Regan loved pasta. It was one of the few things in the world that she could genuinely claim to love.

In her twenty five years of life, pasta had never let her down.

Regan instantly began to eat before Lucius had ever sat down, causing him to chuckle.

"If I had known that you were so hungry, I would have come sooner." He commented as he set up his own table for dinner. Regan shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat. Lucius settled in, watching her with bright eyes. "You seem to have regained your strength." He observed as he poured himself a glass of wine. "Perhaps we should call Doctor Lowell and have him examine you to see if you're ready to try again?" Regan nervously cleared her throat, swallowing a large gulp of water.

"Actually, I had another idea." She said. "Remember our conversation about showing strength and growth?" Lucius nodded, seemingly engaged in her words. "Well, what if we threw a party and invited the whole Ministry? You know…for my birthday?" Lucius's eyes instantly softened at the suggestion and Regan knew that he was hooked.

"That's a marvelous idea. Invite the press and show them that you've recovered and that you're stronger than ever." He leaned forward with a smile. "And since it's your birthday, we should do something fun, like a themed party." Regan inwardly cringed at the thought of a costume party, but quickly reasoned that it might be easy to sneak more people into the party if costumes were involved.

"What theme did you have in mind?" She asked. Lucius leaned back with a determined look on his face. His eyes traced across the room as if he were searching for inspiration. He suddenly smiled when his eyes landed on the book resting at Regan's side.

"When did you start reading The Great Gatsby?" He asked. Regan shrugged her shoulders, her fingers mindlessly running across the hard cover.

"Yesterday afternoon, Draco said that I would enjoy it." She answered.

"Well, what if we had a 1920's party? We could have it outside in the gardens, would you like that?" Regan quickly nodded, not allowing herself a moment to think about it. Besides, it seemed to please Lucius to give her a party idea. He leaned in and kissed her, though Regan could tell that he was holding back, knowing that he could not go further. He groaned lightly as he pulled away from her lips, offering her a small smirk.

"I do believe that I am the most patient man on the planet." Regan lightly giggled, the urge to throw up her yummy pasta extremely strong. She managed to keep it down, though she wasn't quite sure how she had done it. "I'll hire a party planner and get things going. We'll have something made for you to wear, yes?" Regan nodded, squirming slightly when he kissed her again. "You will be absolutely beautiful; the crowning gem of our empire."

Lucius thoughtfully smoothed down her hair while Regan just smiled. She could not wait to see Lucius's empire crumble.

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A/N: Yeah...can you tell which movie I was half watching when I was editing this? Yeah, changed some stuff around...hope it works out :) Well, I've been here a full week, and I have to say...LA is not exactly my favorite place in the world. But I'm happy this morning because it's super foggy this morning! I know that it will go away in like an hour, but it still makes me happy :)

Dragoon Dave: lol what is it with you and dark/depressing?