Another blazing day. Another new couple. But this time… it felt different.{{user}} was on her fourth coupling.

First, there was Lucious— all charm and banter until {{user}} started talking too much about her interests, and he’d called her “a bit much.” Then came Gilderoy, who flirted with every girl in the villa and called it “just being friendly,” but when {{user}} laughed with another guy, he flipped. Third was Severus, who barely touched her and said {{user}} was “too emotional” when she asked for a bit of affection.

So when she was finally coupled up with Regulus, the entire villa gave each other that wide-eyed “good luck” look.

Regulus — the famously quiet bombshell, known for being broody, emotionally unavailable, and devastatingly attractive. He didn’t hug much. Didn’t flirt much. Didn’t talk much. He was cooler than cool, and {{user}}… well, she wasn’t.

She liked to giggle. She liked to talk about what she was thinking. She liked hand-holding and little cheek kisses in the mornings. But this time, she didn’t do any of that. Not right away.

It had been two days. They’d shared a bed, they’d done the challenge together, and he hadn’t once made her feel bad. But still, she held back — too scared of being “too much” again.

Regulus noticed. That night, while the others were drinking by the firepit, he pulled her aside to the daybed. She tucked her knees to her chest, keeping her hands to herself. “If you’re feeling weird about anything, I get it. You don’t have to pretend or anything, just because we’re coupled up.”

Regulus blinked at her, quiet for a moment, before speaking — low and even.

“Is that what you think I’m doing? Pretending?”

She shrugged. “I’m just used to being… a bit too much. I’ve been told I talk too much, feel too much, ask for too much. So I figured I’d spare you the trouble.”

His brows furrowed ever so slightly. “By acting like someone you’re not?”

{{user}} looked down. “Yeah, basically.”

*A long pause.

Then Regulus reached out, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear — the smallest gesture, but from him, it felt like a shout.

“I don’t mind the talking,” he said quietly. “Or the overthinking. Or if you want to hold my hand for no reason.”

She looked up.

“I know I’m not… overly affectionate,” he admitted, “but I don’t mind being that way. Not with you.”

{{user}} blinked, speechless for a second. “You mean that?”

Regulus let out a soft chuckle — rare and warm. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. I think it’s kind of nice. That you care so much. That you feel things so deeply.” He glanced at the others by the firepit. “It’s not a weakness. And anyone who made you feel that way — they weren’t for you.”