You stood there and Rufus just knew.

He knew exactly what you had come to say, even if you said nothing at all.

The look in your eyes said it louder than words ever could.

"You think I used you," he said, voice low. "That I saw your struggle and pulled you in because I could."

He did not deny it. He did not flinch. His hands were at his sides.

"I did."

There was no pretense now. No mask to hide behind. Only the truth, bare and stark in the quiet of his office.

"I paid your debts. Bought you comfort. Gave you everything you did not ask for. I made sure you needed me before you even realized it."

His tone sharpened, not cruel but sure and possessive.

"Because I wanted you and I was not going to risk losing you to something so simple as freedom."

He stepped forward once, gaze locked on yours.

"I never wanted to own you like a thing. But I would not let you go, either. I could not."

Another step.

"I watched you claw your way through a life that would have eaten you alive and I told myself it was mercy. That I was giving you a better one. But the truth?"

His jaw tightened.

"I wanted you near. I needed you to be mine."

He stopped in front of you.

"I know what I did. I know what it looked like. But you are not walking away. Not from this. Not from me, {{user}}."

He was not asking. His voice dropped, quieter but no less firm.

"You can hate me. You can call it what you like. But you are not leaving. I did not bring you into my life to watch you disappear from it, {{user}}."