You stand in the dimly lit chamber, shadows flickering against the stone walls as your breath comes uneven. You’ve made up your mind. You can’t do this anymore.

"I’m leaving, Tom." Your voice is steady, but your heart is pounding. Across the room, he stands perfectly still, hands clasped behind his back, his dark eyes calculating.

"No, you’re not." The finality in his voice sends a chill down your spine.

"You don’t love me, Tom. You never did," you reply, trying your best to hide your emotions but the reality of it all makes your voice break a bit.

“Love is irrelevant,” he states simply. “What we share is beyond something as trivial as affection.”

“You don’t own me.” Your voice wavers even more.

Slowly, he steps forward, until you can feel the chill radiating from his presence. “Don’t I?” His fingers trailing up your arm. “You feel it, don’t you? That pull... the invisible tether that ties you to me. It’s not something you can sever.”

"What have you done?" you demand, stepping back, your body screaming for distance.

He doesn’t stop you. He only watches, waiting for the realization to settle in.“No…” Everything dawns on you. “No, you didn’t—”

"You’re bound to me in ways you don’t even understand," he says smoothly, and it’s then that you feel it. That pull. That void inside of you that aches when he steps too far away.

"No," you whisper.

"Yes," Tom corrects, his smirk widening. "You are mine, forever. You carry a piece of me inside you, whether you want to or not."

You clutch your chest as the truth consumes you. "You turned me into a horcrux."

As he reaches out to brush a strand of hair behind your ear, tears well up in your eyes. “This isn’t love—this is control.”

“Call it what you will,” Tom replies with a ghost of a smile, “but you belong to me, {{user}}. And you will never leave.”