Wildflowers

The Truth Will Do

As they stumbled into her cottage, hands everywhere, lips meeting in a frenzy of desire, neither Severus nor Kat could focus on anything but each other.

They barely made it through the door before they were already tugging at each other's clothes, breaths ragged as they navigated the short path to her bedroom. But the second they entered the room, something stopped Kat in her tracks.

The mood shifted as her eyes flicked to the nightstand. There, sitting neatly beside an unopened condom, was her pack of birth control pills.

Kat froze, pulling back from Severus as her heart raced for an entirely different reason now. "I didn't leave this here," she whispered, her voice suddenly tight.

Severus immediately followed her gaze, his expression darkening as he took in the unsettling scene.

His body went rigid, every instinct telling him something was off. "You're certain?" he asked, his voice low, calm but laced with concern.

Kat's face was pale as she looked from the nightstand to Severus, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger. "Of course I'm certain," she said, her breath shaky. "I keep my birth control in the bathroom, next to my toothbrush. The condoms... they're in a drawer."

She pulled the drawer open and revealed the box, still sitting exactly where she'd left it, untouched. "See? Somebody moved them. Someone knows we're sleeping together, and they don't like it."

Severus's jaw tightened, his eyes darkening with a dangerous glint. "This isn't a coincidence," he said, his voice low but firm. "Whoever's been in here wanted you to know they were watching."

Kat ran a hand through her hair, visibly unsettled. "My father admitted to sending Cypress over," she muttered, her eyes flashing with frustration. "But he was only supposed to put the phone back on the hook. That's it. He wasn't supposed to... go through my things."

Severus's expression darkened, his annoyance palpable. His jaw clenched as he processed what Kat had just said, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "So he was sent to put the phone back on the hook," he muttered, his voice low and dangerous. "And decided to go through your things instead?"

Kat nodded, her frustration growing as she saw the anger flicker in Severus's eyes. "Exactly. He overstepped—again."

Severus exhaled sharply through his nose, pacing the small space of her bedroom as his mind raced. "This is more than overstepping, Kat. It's a violation of your privacy, your life. And it's not going to stop unless we make it stop."

She watched him, her own nerves on edge. "I know. He's been pushing boundaries for a while, but this? This feels... different."

Severus stopped pacing and turned to face her, his eyes hard and unyielding. "He's testing the limits. Seeing how far he can go without consequence." His voice was cold, filled with barely-contained fury. "He's not going to stop until someone puts him in his place."

Kat ran a hand through her hair, sighing in frustration. "I don't know how to get through to him. My father brushes it off like it's not a big deal, and Cypress—" She hesitated, biting her lip. "He always finds a way to make me feel like I'm overreacting. He does things and then dies them, says I'm imagining it."

Severus's eyes narrowed. "You're not overreacting. And you shouldn't have to tolerate this. He's manipulating you—using your father's influence to keep himself involved in your life." His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "But that ends now."

Kat swallowed, feeling the weight of his determination. "What are you thinking?"

Severus stepped closer, his hand resting on her arm, his voice steady but filled with cold resolve. "We confront him directly. No games, no subtlety. We make it clear that this behavior will not be tolerated, and if he doesn't back off, we escalate it further. Your father may not care, but Cypress will listen if we make him."