HIDDEN FATES [Mattheo Riddle]

ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN
—
Plans for Christmas

"Dean's not coming this year?" My older sister, Selena, asked through the phone, her voice tinged with surprise and something suspiciously close to amusement.

I grimaced, pulling at a loose thread on my shirt as I lay sprawled across my bed, my stomach pressed into the mattress. "No, he had... other plans," I lied, not wanting to admit the truth—that Dean and I hadn't really spoken in weeks, not since everything had changed between us. Not since Mattheo.

It had been nearly three months since the juice incident—the messy beginning of whatever this was between Mattheo and me. Time had moved quickly, blurring into one long stretch of days filled with whispered conversations and stolen moments. To everyone else, we were a couple. That's what the whole school assumed, and the rumors had long since died down. But no one knew the truth. No one knew about the arrangement that loomed over us like an invisible weight, tying us together in a way neither of us had asked for.

"Other plans?" Selena echoed, sounding far too entertained by the idea.

Selena was seven years older than me, but sometimes it felt like we were the same age. Out of my six siblings, she was the one I was closest to, even if that wasn't saying much. We were three sisters and four brothers, and I was the youngest, the odd one out in both age and temperament. They had grown up together, close in a way I'd never quite been able to replicate.

"Is someone else coming home with you?" Selena asked, her voice turning sing-song, and I could practically see the teasing smile spread across her face.

I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn't see me. "Who exactly are you suggesting?"

"Oh, I don't know," she drawled. "Maybe your boyfriend?" She giggled, the sound light and teasing.

"I don't know why I answered your call," I muttered, flipping onto my back and staring at the ceiling. My heart thudded a little too hard at the word "boyfriend." It still felt strange. The truth—that we were in an arranged marriage neither of us had agreed to—was too bizarre to explain. It wasn't something I wanted to talk about, even with Selena. Especially with Selena.

She chuckled, clearly amused by my discomfort. "Come on, Eline. My little sister finally gets a boyfriend, and you won't even let me meet him? That's criminal."

I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond. I didn't even know if my siblings were aware of the arrangement. It wouldn't surprise me if our parents had kept it quiet. The thought of bringing Mattheo home for Christmas, with all my chaotic siblings and their relentless questions, made my stomach twist.

"I'm sure he has other plans," I mumbled, hoping to brush it off.

"Like what?" Selena scoffed. "Sitting alone in some enormous mansion?"

Her words hit me harder than I expected, guilt blooming in my chest. I had briefly considered staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, avoiding the chaos at home, but now I couldn't help but picture Mattheo, alone in that cold, empty manor. A place that probably felt more like a prison than a home.

"I'm not bringing him home to meet our crazy family," I said, trying to sound nonchalant, but the guilt lingered.

Selena was quiet for a second before she dropped her bombshell. "Too late. Mum sent him an owl days ago. Should've reached him by now."

I shot upright in bed, panic flooding my veins. "What? No, she didn't."

"Yep. Invited him to Christmas personally. Didn't you know?" Selena sounded far too smug for my liking.