𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘙𝘎𝘐𝘙𝘓, 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝙀𝙉𝙕𝙊 𝘽𝙀𝙍𝙆𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙀

poison

while she starts to cry, mascara running down
her little bambi eyes
"lana how I hate those guys."

CLEODORA SINCLAIR

"I want something in return," Mattheo begins, his voice dripping with malice.

"Return? I'm doing you a favor," I quip, my confusion mounting as to what he might demand.

Mattheo's irritation simmers just beneath the surface as he inquires, "What makes you so special?" His curiosity now driving him to probe further.

I jest, "I mean, look at me," maintaining a teasing tone.

"That's not what I meant," Mattheo interjects, cutting me off. "Why is my father so keen on finding you? To me, you're just an ordinary girl." His words laced with a sinister implication that I may be hiding more than meets the eye.

I shrug.

"I don't know," I begin, a sly smile playing onto my pink lips, "but your father seems to occupy your thoughts quite a bit."

Mattheo's temper flares, and his voice turns dangerously low as he warns, "Don't talk about my father."

"Didn't realise you were his bitch," I taunt, goading him further.

Mattheo's patience snaps, and he shoves me forcefully against the wall, a searing pain throbbing in my head.

"Say one more word about my father, and I'll make you regret it," he hisses, his nails digging into my neck.

I stay silent, swallowing hard as fear courses through me.

We stayed in this position for a while, I looked up into Mattheo's brown eyes, pleading with him.

Riddle finally releases me, issuing a chilling warning, "Next time, watch your words."

I exhale slowly, cautiously touching the tender cuts on my neck, wincing as I trace my fingers over them.

As I cautiously touch the tender cuts on my neck, I wince in pain. The realization that I may have forgotten just who I was talking to.

"I want to know more about you." Was the last thing Riddle said before walking away.

❦

"I can't believe Lorenzo," Onyx muttered, jotting down any information Snape provided that she deemed relevant.

"I bet it was Theodore's idea," Blaise chimed in. Lorenzo sat next to him, sporting a fresh bruise and selectively tuning out unwanted conversations.

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was, Blaise. Lorenzo doesn't need more money. Why would he do some stupid bet?" Lucille interjected.

I contemplated whether I should reveal the truth about my fake dating arrangement with Mattheo, conveniently leaving out the "fake" part, of course.

"It's alright; I honestly don't care about it anymore," I said, flashing a smile. "I'm seeing someone. In fact, we've been planning on making it official."

"What?" Onyx exclaimed. "Why is this the first I've heard of it?"

I braced myself to fabricate a story.