Your relationship with Mattheo had been strained lately, tangled with tense silences, heated arguments, and broken promises. It felt like the two of you were drifting in opposite directions, each attempt to reach out only widening the gap. The spark that had once kept you so close seemed dimmer, weighed down by something unspoken, something dark that he refused to share.

But then, it all began to make sense. The late-night disappearances, the way he’d flinch when you asked where he’d been, the haunted look in his eyes. You discovered the truth—he’d been forced to become a Death Eater. He would have fought it with everything he had if he’d been given a choice; this was something he would have despised.

After days of avoiding you, sidestepping your questions, and slipping away when you tried to get close, you finally managed to corner him. He looked exhausted, shadows darkening his eyes as he met your gaze. You took a shaky breath, summoning the courage to face him.

“You’re a Death Eater,” you said softly, the words thick on your tongue as you reached up to cup his face, feeling the tension in his jaw. Your voice trembled. “I don’t… love that.” His eyes went wide, a flicker of panic crossing his face, and he began to pull back, but you held him steady.

“But I love Mattheo Riddle,” you continued, finding strength in your own words. “And that won’t change. I know what they’re making you do—it’s not you. You’re still the same person who makes me laugh, who I trust, who I… care about more than anything.”

His eyes softened, but the shadows remained. “I don’t want this for us,” he murmured, voice raw. “I never wanted to be this...”

You traced a thumb gently along his cheek. “Then let’s carry it together,” you whispered. “You don’t have to hide this from me. I’m not going anywhere.”

His forehead presses against yours, "Do you promise?"