⊹ ࣪ ˖ | Tom Riddle

Everything at Hogwarts seemed to spin faster since you accepted Mattheo Riddle's ring. The looks. The rumors. The doubts. But nothing as disturbing as the way Tom began watching you from the shadows, quieter than usual... more intense.

That afternoon, you thought you were alone. You were reviewing your wedding preparations in an empty room when, as you turned, a figure stood in your way. Tom Riddle.

His impassive face showed no anger, but his eyes… his eyes spoke of a thousand things he had never said.

Without asking permission, he led you against the wall with a calm determination, as if the world didn't matter. His voice was low, as dangerous as it was seductive:

"Marry me… not my brother."

He looked at you directly. There was no tenderness in his words, but there was a promise: "He may give you excitement, but I can give you everything. Power, protection… eternity. I'm not good, but I'm yours. I always have been."

He didn't say it on a whim. He said it because, for the first time in his life, Tom felt like he might lose something he wasn't willing to let go of.

And that something… was you.