Astoria awakes before Draco the morning after the office party. He had come home late, smelling of firewhisky and saying, "those Muggles really can party," before drunkenly dragging himself to their bed.

She ignores the fact that his tie is loose. She ignores that his shirt, which is always tucked, is slightly askew, the fly partially up, but not all the way. Solemnly, as if cleaning the bed of a dying patient, she grabs his crumbled suit jacket from the floor, along with his socks and belt, and takes them to the laundry room.

A sob escapes her mouth as the clothes swirl around the washer, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. A late tapping comes from the laundry room window and she spins around, sighing heavily at her owl hovering outside the window. She feels her eyes pricking as she opens the window, allowing the bird to perch on the sil, a cream colored envelope in its beak.

"Thank you," she murmurs, but her voice is so tight it barely comes out, and she opens the seal of the Greengrass family.

Dearest sister,

It's been quite a time since you've graced me with your presence. I hope you can join me later today for some sisterly catch up. Pretty please?

I'll be waiting,

D.G.

"Tori? Do we have any hangover potions?" Draco calls, to which Astoria stands straight with a start.

Daphne had always been one for the dramatics and random calls. While Astoria had very little patience for her older sister, she was unsure if she could be in the presence of her husband any longer. Dragging herself into their room, Draco is sitting up on their bed, his head in his hands, and he looks up at her between his fingers.

"I'm going out,'' Astoria announces, Accioing her coat to herself and wrapping it around her frame. She feels her hands shake as she tucks them in the pocket of her coat.

"Where?" Draco moans, rubbing his forehead. "I didn't know you had plans."

"I got a letter from Daph, so I'm going out," she repeats, and turns her back to him, walking to their Apparating point in their living room.

When she exits and enters the fireplace of her sister's home, she bursts into tears. But before entering the bedroom of the oldest Greengrass, Astoria numbly wipes her eyes, taking several deep breaths

Draco loved her. He married her, not Granger, for Merlin's sake.

She was being ridiculous.

"Good afternoon!" Daphne calls when Astoria enters, and the two girls embrace. With long blonde hair, seaglass eyes, and petite nose, Daphne is easily the more appealing of the two, at least Astoria believed so. "I'm glad you could come at such short notice."

Grabbing her by the hands, Daphne pulls Astoria to sit beside her, intertwining their fingers. Astoria can't help but smile, the movement feeling forgeign to her. Daphne gives her palm a squeeze, looking at their intertwined fingers for a moment and silence falls between them.

"Tori," Daphne says, her voice low. "I'm telling you this, because you're my sister and I only want what's best for you."

Astoria raises a brow, but can't ignore the way her heart begins to thump faster. "What is it?"

"You've probably heard that I started dating Blaise," Daphne says, letting go of her hands. "He works with Harry, Draco, and Pansy.'' Astoria nods, biting the inside of her cheek softly. "Well, we were all surprised to not see you last night at the party. Everyone brought their partners, so I figured you'd come with Draco."

"Oh, well..." Astoria replies, looking away from her sister. "He believed I would be bored."

Daphne's jaw drops slightly, and Astoria blinks at her helplessly. The older Greengrass goes to speak, but Astoria holds up a hand. She can feel the tears begin to form, the fragile gate of lying to herself beginning to crumble around her, already knowing what's coming next.

"Tori..."

"Wait, Daph."

"But--"

"I said wait," Astoria snaps, and Daphne closes her mouth. "Please just- Just wait.'' She cranes her neck, squeezing her eyes shut so hard she can picture his beautiful face in her mind's eye and it nearly makes her split right there. "Just...just give me a few more minutes of believing that he loves me."

Astoria feels Daphne intertwine their fingers once more, then hangs her head, the sobs shaking her chest so tightly she forgets to breathe.

"Was it you that saw them?" she asks, and Daphne gives her hand a squeeze.

"No, not at first," Daphne replies, pausing, waiting for permission to continue, and Astoria gives a short nod. "Blaise walked in on them in an empty office. He came and told me right away."

"Do they know he saw them?"

"No," Daphne replies, and Astoria bites her cheek again, hard enough that copper leaks around her teeth.

They settle into a cloud of darkness, and when Astoria finally calms her tears, Daphne wraps her into a hug, her thin fingers stroking Astoria's head. "Tori, I'm so sorry," Daphne whispers. "I wanted you to hear it from me before...before they got too reckless."

Reckless. What a word. But it did not describe Draco and Hermione's affair. It was too intent, too thoughtful. Reckless was Astoria's love for him. Reckless was how her heart felt as it sunk to the bottom of her chest.

-

When Astoria Apparates back to their home, she silently removes her coat, unties her hair, and kicks off her shoes. Quietly, she passes Draco sitting in their living room with a book in hand as she enters her closet. Her lavish belongings run the length of the room, and she begins to remove their hangers, folding the clothing and organizing the clothing on their bed.

"How is Daphne?" Draco asks, entering the door frame, a warm smile on his face.

The expression slips like ice as he spots her clothing, and Astoria doesn't pause her actions as she begins to speak. "How long, Draco?"

"How long what?" he sputters, reaching for her. "What the hell are you doing?" He grasps her wrist and she wretches herself free, her sorrow now burning into rage.

"How long have you been fucking Hermione Granger?"

The question takes him aback, his hand still in mid air and his grey eyes grow wide. "Tori, what are you fucking tallking aout?"

"Don't," she hisses, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Don't you dare lie. Don't insult me more than you already have." She turns her back to him, a guttural gasp clinging to her lungs and she angrily swipes at a stray tear. "Answer me."

She senses him before she feels him as he wraps his arms around her waist tightly, dragging her against him, his chin on the top of her head. She feels so small in his grasp, so safe, and the relitation that it was all a lie tears at her heart.

"Tori, I love you," he whispers into her hair, his voice shaking, and she turns in his arms, burying her face into his chest as she cries. "I never...I-I love you."

"Draco, how could you?" she screams, pulling away from him, attempting to wriggle herself free from his grasp. "How long?"

She steps away from him, her vision blurred by her tears, and her heart aches as she sees him crying, too, his brows furrowed in confusion and guilt.

"Someone saw you. You said there was nobody else. You said I would be bored at that party, but that wasn't it, was it?" she cries, holding her arms to herself. "Somebody saw you with her last night. You gave me your word, Draco."

Draco sits with a huff on the edge of their bed, his head in their hands. "I never meant...it wasn't supposed to be like this," he whispers, and the sentence is so mundane, so preposterous, that Astoria laughs. Laughter at the audacity of the man in front of her, laughter at herself that she could be so foolishly blind.

"What was it supposed to be?" she says, her laughter cracking in pain. "You said, 'don't worry about her,' but I guess that was just another lie." She pauses, breathing in through her nose, contemplating if she really wants to know the answer to her next statement. "Do you love her?"

The air is cold and stale in their bedroom, and Draco looks up at her, fully in the face, and it's like a punch to the stomach, because he does. Somewhere along the line, she can't pinpoint when, but the love of her life fell in love with someone else.

The pain is unbearable.

"Y-you love her," Astoria chokes, walking backwards until her back presses against the wall, and she slides down it, knees curled to her chest as she stares blankly ahead.

"Tori, I never me--"

"You love her now, but you loved me first," Astoria interrupts, glancing at him. "You said you'd never hurt me."

"I never wanted to hurt you," Draco mutters, dropping to his knees and crawling to where she sits. He grabs her hands, the hands she loved so much, running his thumbs over her knuckles. "I-I didn't...I never wanted to hurt you, believe me."

"Yet here we are," Astoria retorts, in a voice so unlike her own, and she stares at him, the tears flowing freely now. Draco stares at her, his eyes wet, and it causes the anger to become boiling. "Get out."

"What?"

"Leave. I-I want you gone," she tells him again, pulling her hands from his grasp. "Get out of here." When he doesn't move, she throws her head back against the wall, the impact causing her momentary dizziness with a moan. "Draco, get out."

He drops her hands, cradling her face and she tries to shake him off, pushing at his fingers but he holds his grip. "Look at me."

"Fuck you."

"I love you."

"Fuck your love," she snaps, voice raw. "I deserve better."

He blinks, stray tears running down his slanted jaw as he releases her, sitting back on his haunches and burying his hands into his hair, pulling hard. She takes the opportunity of space and stands quickly, her head still dizzy, searching for her wand.

"Actually, you stay. I'm going to Daphne's," she states, hoping he'll try to stop her. She hopes he'll beg her to stay, beg for forgiveness, beg for a second chance. Casting a slight charm, she sets for her bags to be sent to her location at a later time, her lip raw from chewing as she moves. She reaches their Apparation point, turning to look at the man of her dreams, and can feel her hands shake against her sides.

"I love you, Tori," Draco whispers, grey eyes wet as he drags his hand through his hair, wedding band glinting.

She Apparates without a reply.

The End