The common room was silent, save for the soft crackle of the fire. The tension was suffocating.

Draco stood with his arms crossed, his gaze locked onto you. Blaise leaned against the arm of a sofa, unreadable as ever, his usual smirk nowhere to be found. Theodore studied you with something akin to curiosity, while Regulus and Lorenzo exchanged uncertain glances.

They were Mattheo’s closest friends. His inner circle.

They had to have known.

And yet, none of them spoke.

"Call me what you want… or whatever label suits your story…" Your voice came out steadier than you expected, but the ache in your chest made it difficult to breathe. "But I thought I was his one true love."

The words echoed in the room, hanging in the air like a curse. No one refuted them. No one denied it.

You let out a bitter laugh, shaking your head. "And just when I thought his betrayal couldn’t be worse…" Your throat tightened, but you refused to let the emotion win. "I learned that his actual true love was someone very close to me."

Slowly, deliberately, you turned your gaze to Pansy.

Your best friend.

Her usually sharp eyes widened, guilt flickering in them for just a second before she masked it with indifference. She said nothing, but the slight twitch of her lips betrayed her.

Draco’s gaze snapped to Pansy, his expression unreadable. Blaise shifted, his eyes studying your face carefully, while Theodore exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.

A tense silence followed.

Then, from the corridor just beyond the common room, a breath hitched.

You didn’t notice it. Didn’t realize that Mattheo had been there the entire time, hidden in the shadows, his back pressed against the cold stone wall as he listened.

His heart pounded in his chest.

He wanted to step forward, to tell you it wasn’t what you thought. But what could he say?

You had already drawn your conclusions.

And looking at the shattered expression on your face, Mattheo realized that this time—there might not be any way to fix it.