The tension in the room is suffocating, the air thick with unspoken emotions as Mattheo and Tom stand face-to-face, their rivalry reaching a boiling point.

Mattheo steps forward, his voice laced with anger. “You think you can just control everything, don’t you? Even her.”

Tom’s expression remains calm, but his tone cuts like ice. “I don’t control her. She’s not some prize to be fought over, least of all by you.”

Mattheo’s frustration boils over as he closes the distance between them, his voice rising. “Then why do you act like she belongs to you? Like no one else is even allowed to get close to her?”

Tom’s eyes narrow, his words low and sharp. “Because I know what’s best for her. Something you’ll never understand.”

Mattheo lets out a bitter laugh, his voice dripping with resentment. “What’s best for her? You? You’re the reason she’s constantly caught in the middle of chaos. You’re the one who drags her into your mess, Tom.”

Tom takes a deliberate step closer, his towering presence imposing. “And you think you’d be any better? You’re reckless, impulsive. You’d hurt her without even realizing it.”

Mattheo’s fists clench at his sides, his glare unwavering. “At least I wouldn’t destroy her. At least I wouldn’t make her choose between her happiness and mine.”

For a moment, Tom falters, the words striking deeper than he’d admit. His tone softens, but his expression remains unreadable. “And yet she stays. She chooses me, time and time again. Ask yourself why, Mattheo.”

Mattheo’s anger gives way to something more vulnerable, his gaze dropping briefly before meeting Tom’s again. “Maybe because she doesn’t see what you really are. But she will, Tom. One day, she will.”

The room feels as though it might shatter under the weight of their words, leaving everything unresolved and on the brink of chaos.