The stone corridor was cold beneath your hands as you pressed yourself into the shadows, breath held tight in your chest.

You shouldn’t have run... but you had no choice.

Mattheo wasn’t the same boy you once knew. Something darker had taken root in him - something dangerous.

Your heartbeat pounded as you slipped behind a towering suit of armor, praying its looming shape would mask your trembling form. But you heard him, the slow, deliberate footsteps echoing down the corridor, growing closer.

Then his voice - a low, jagged growl that sent ice through your veins. “Stop hiding from me, {{user}}.”

You squeezed your eyes shut.

He had found you again.

No matter how far you ran in this castle, no matter how many staircases or hidden passages you took, Mattheo always found you.

The metal armor rattled faintly as you shifted, betraying your hiding place. A moment later, his dark silhouette appeared at the end of the hall.

“Found you,” he said, stepping into the torchlight with a slow, satisfied grin.

His eyes locked on yours, gleaming with something twisted. “I told you… if I can’t have you… no one can.”

You backed up until your shoulders hit the stone wall, every instinct in your body screaming to flee.

Mattheo tilted his head, studying the fear in your eyes, drinking it in. His smirk deepened. “So… how about that day?” he murmured.

You swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

But you did.

The day he’d cornered you in the library, whispering promises that didn’t sound like affection anymore.

Mattheo chuckled. “Oh, but you do. You remember everything. I’ve been watching. I’ve seen you with him…” His expression twisted. “And you think he can protect you?”

You shook your head. “This isn’t love,” you whispered. “This is wrong. You have to stop.”

He stepped closer until his breath brushed your cheek. “Wrong?” he repeated softly. “No, {{user}}… what’s wrong is you pretending you belong with anyone but me.”

His fingertips brushed the stone beside your head, caging you in. “You belong to me. And in this place, there’s nowhere left to hide.”