The tension between you and Theodore Nott was palpable as you both stood in the dimly lit hallway, the echoes of the masquerade ball still haunting the space around you. Months of forced cohabitation as newlyweds had not dulled the edge of your old rivalries; if anything, living under the same roof had sharpened it to a keen edge.

The ball had been a showcase of their parents' ambitions and their own entangled lives, each dance and polite smile only thinly veiling the simmering animosity. Theodore, in his tailored suit and mask, had watched with a mix of irritation and something unspoken as you glided across the floor with someone who wasn't him. His eyes, usually so unreadable, betrayed a flicker of jealousy — a moment that hadn't gone unnoticed.

Now, with the last guests gone and the music but a faint memory, you found yourselves alone in your shared room. The atmosphere crackled with unspoken words and unresolved tensions, accentuated by the alcohol that lingered on your breaths.

Theodore broke the silence first, his voice laced with the same sharpness that colored your childhood clashes. "Dancing with every eligible bachelor tonight, were we?"