You sit curled up on the sofa with your phone in your hand, your heart pounding so hard that you can't think straight. You finally press send on the message you’ve been holding onto for hours.

You: I heard what you said to Mattheo. 'She was just a bet'? You played me.

Seconds later, your screen lights up.

Tom: You were useful.

Your throat tightens. With trembling hands, you tap out a reply.

You: You don’t even deny it.

He responds almost immediately.

Tom: Denial would be an insult to your intelligence.

You stare at the words. Cold. As always.

Your breath catches in your throat as you type out the final message.

You: Then I am done.

You throw the phone aside. And with it, everything you thought you had with him.

One weak later...

You’ve done everything to erase him from your life: deleted texts, burned notes and charmed your dorm so that his cologne won't linger in the air anymore.

But things aren’t right.

You notice your textbook isn’t where you left it. It’s open to the exact page you’d been struggling with.

Your favorite mug is warm. Tea. Just the way you like it.

You check your robes as you put them on and freeze.

A folded piece of parchment falls out of your pocket. You unfold it with shaking fingers and see Tom's handwriting.

The bet was real. My mistake was letting you matter beyond it.

Your knees buckle and you sit down slowly. Your heart is a storm.

That night, you notice faint carvings around your dorm room door. Protective runes. Only someone with Tom’s magical abilities could have etched them.

The next day, you see Tom brush past the boy who tried to flirt with you in the library. A whispered hex. The boy stumbles, retreating in confusion. Tom never looks back at you.

He never speaks to you. Just guards you from a distance.

When the corridor is empty, you corner him.

You stand your ground. “Why are you still doing this?”

Tom leans against the wall, his expression unreadable.

“I didn’t ask you to protect me. Or brew me tea. Or—” You cut off. “You don’t get to care now.”

His voice is soft when he speaks. “You were supposed to be temporary... You became necessary.”

For the first time, his mask cracks.

And you finally understand.

He didn’t fall in love on purpose.

But he did.