The Serpent & Hawke | Mattheo Riddle | Enemies to lovers

Part 44 - Demons

Mattheo's POV

Lyanna wouldn't even look at me, let alone speak to me.

Every glimpse I caught of her, she seemed wound tight as a spring, like she might pop at any moment.

The few times our eyes accidentally met in corridors or the common room, the hurt and anger in her gaze made my stomach turn.

I'd tried calling at her room an hour after our fight, hoping she'd cooled down, but I was met with silence.

The flowers I sent ended up in the common room fireplace — I watched the card that read 'I'm sorry' curl and blacken in the flames, a fitting metaphor for how badly I'd fucked up.

A week later, I still felt awful, the guilt eating away at me like acid.

What demon had possessed me to accuse her of being with Potter?

The words had spilled out before I could stop them, fed by Enzo's suspicious comments and Pansy's thoughtless jokes about "sleeping with the enemy."

We used to wait until late at night to see each other, she'd sneak to my room with that mischievous smile I loved so much.

Now the nights stretched empty and cold.

Maybe we would've been fine if I hadn't let my jealousy take over when she mentioned Potter.

Something ugly had snapped inside me, and I'd taken it out on the one person I'd sworn to protect.

The week had been hell even before our fight.

I landed a detention for threatening a student who'd deliberately sabotaged my coursework.

The cruel chant from the Great Hall followed me everywhere, whispered by passing students like a curse.

Coursework piled up, demanding attention I couldn't give while drowning in my own thoughts.

A stack of unopened letters from Narcissa sat on my desk, their presence a constant reminder of everything I was trying to escape.

I was too afraid to read them, too guilty about ignoring her previous attempts to contact me.

I hadn't been back to the Manor, hadn't responded to any of her worried messages.

Sometimes I wondered why she hadn't just shipped me off across the country as a baby, let me be raised by a normal family without ever knowing who my father was.

Maybe then I wouldn't be so fucked up, so quick to hurt the people I loved.

When I spotted Lyanna's distinctive copper hair in the crowded corridor, I pushed through the mass of students to reach her.

"Lyanna, please just give me five minutes." I pleaded, grabbing her arm gently.

She didn't even turn her head, just yanked her arm away and continued walking, her hair bouncing with the fury of her steps.

The rejection burned me again.

I sighed in frustration, following slowly behind her toward Defence Against the Dark Arts.

What if she never forgave me?

The thought made my chest ache.

Inside the classroom, my eyes immediately found her, sitting rigidly in the seat in front.

Theo looked half-dead as I slumped into the seat beside him, his skin waxy and eyes dark with withdrawal.

"You should really see the nurse, mate."