The library is quiet, peaceful — exactly like him. Theo sits across from you, his notes spread out in perfect order.
"You’re the brightest part of my day. I don’t know how I got so lucky," Theo says, reaching across the table to brush your hand with his fingertips.
You smile, and you want to feel the spark. You try. He’s everything a girl is supposed to want.
"I just like being with you," you say.
But your heart never beats faster. You never lose yourself in him. It’s comfort — not fire.
The castle feels different at night. You’re not supposed to be out this late, but somehow that makes it better. And he’s there — like he always is when you shouldn’t be.
Mattheo leans against the wall, his hair a mess, tie loose. "You look bored, princess. Want to do something about it?" Mattheo says, smirking like he already knows your answer.
You roll your eyes, but your lips curve anyway. You should walk away.
But you don’t.
Instead, you step closer, arms crossed. "You think you’re such a bad influence," you say.
"I am a bad influence," Mattheo says. "But I’m way more fun than he is."
And may Merlin help you — he’s right.
The doors swing open and every head turns. You step into the hall, hand in hand with Mattheo.
The whispers are immediate. People nudge each other, as if they can’t believe it.
"That’s Mattheo," someone mutters. "And she was just with Theo," another whispers.
Mattheo walks beside you like the world owes him space — like he doesn’t care who watches.
"You sure you want to be my girlfriend, sweetheart?" Mattheo says.
"I have never been more certain," you reply.
He grins. You can see the pride in his eyes — or maybe it’s something softer, something rarer. But it’s gone before you can name it.
You pass the Serpentine table, and there he is.
Theo.
He looks like someone punched the air out of him. His gaze meets yours, stunned.
"You said he wasn’t anything serious," Theo says, barely audible, like he’s trying to make sense of it.
Your chest tightens. You can’t hold his stare. "I thought he wasn’t," you whisper under your breath.
Mattheo leans in close.
"Told you. They’d lose their minds," Mattheo says with a quiet laugh.
"You live for this," you murmur.
"And you chose me anyway," he says.
And you did. Despite the chaos. Despite the rumors. Despite the fact that Theo was safe and Mattheo is everything but.
The heart wants what it wants.
And yours?
It never stood a chance.