♧Bonnie & Clyde || Tom Riddle♧

Chapter 33

The night was draped in an ethereal silence, broken only by the soft rustle of silky curtains dancing in the breeze. Felicity's room, bathed in the silvery glow of the moon, held an otherworldly charm.
Unbeknownst to its occupants, a shadowy figure glided through the parted curtains of the balcony, moving with an almost ghostly grace.

As the intruder materialized in the dimly lit chamber, the moonlight revealed a masked silhouette, cloaked in darkness. The figure approached the bed where Felicity and Tom lay naked with only the sheets to cover them, their backs turned to each other in the stillness of the night.

With a wand held deftly in gloved hands, the masked assailant stood over Felicity, a silent specter casting a chilling aura. The gentle rise and fall of their breaths were the only signs of life in the room.

Felicity stirred, a subtle awareness of an intruder unsettling her sleep. Her eyes flickered open, and the moonlit scene unfolded before her. The figure, masked and ominous, towered over her with a wand pointed at her throat.

A hushed voice cut through the quietude. "Make a single sound, and your fate will be sealed."

Felicity's heart quickened as she comprehended the danger that hovered above her. She spared a glance at Tom, still immersed in oblivious slumber. The weight of the masked figure's presence bore down on her, and she navigated the delicate balance between fear and composure.

"Your loyalty wavers in the wrong hands," the figure whispered, the masked expression inscrutable.

The room hung heavy with tension as Felicity's desperate attempt to reach her wand was thwarted by the masked assailant's imminent incantation. Panic tightened its grip around her, and she found herself on the precipice of an unfathomable fate.

In the critical moment, an invisible force intervened, a sudden and powerful surge that sent the intruder sprawling against the wall. The whispered words of death were silenced before they could fully manifest, leaving Felicity in stunned disbelief.

As the figure struggled to regain composure, Tom rose from the bed with a nonchalant grace, a portrait of unruffled poise. Completely indifferent to his state of undress, completely nude, he approached the would-be assailant, his eyes gleaming with a chilling certainty.

"Did you really think this pheasant was going to kill you?" Tom's voice, laced with icy amusement, cut through the lingering fear. "I sleep with one eye open, dear."

With a wave of his hand Tom and Felicity were both fully clothed and decent.

As Tom towered over the masked assailant, a malevolent grin played on his lips. With a swift and deliberate motion, he reached for the concealed mask, unraveling the mystery that veiled the intruder's identity. As the mask fell away, revealing the face beneath, Felicity's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Cressida?" Felicity gasped, the name escaping her lips in a breathless revelation.

Indeed, it was her friend, someone she had shared secrets and laughter with, now standing unmasked and exposed in the dimly lit room. Cressida's expression, once a mask of determination, now wore a mixture of shame and desperation.

Tom, undeterred by the revelation, regarded Cressida with a calculated coldness. "A friend, Felicity? Seems loyalty is a fragile thing."

Cressida's voice wavered, a mixture of resentment and desperation. "Felicity, you betrayed our friendship when you chose Tom over me. I felt abandoned, and this was the only way to make you understand the pain I felt."

Felicity met Cressida's gaze with a mixture of disbelief and sorrow. "You gave me an ultimatum. You wanted me to choose between our years of friendship. The blame is not on me,"

Cressida's eyes flashed with frustration. "I expected you to stand by me, to prioritize our bond over some fleeting friendship with that brute."

Tom's grin didn't falter, instead, he put a hand on his chest and exclaimed sarcastically, "You wound me, Cressida."

Felicity shook her head, her tone earnest. "You were willing to throw away our friendship just because I chose to be friends with Tom. I can't be blamed for making a choice that prioritized my autonomy. I never wanted to lose you as a friend, but I couldn't let you control my life."

Cressida's words cut through the air like a chilling breeze. "I should've expected this from someone with so little loyalty. Where is your darling fiancé? Is he alright with this affair?" Her grin disappeared as insanity started forming in her eyes. "You whore!"

Felicity glanced at Tom, his smirk fueling her sense of regret. "Cressida, my engagement to Abraxas is strictly business, I will not have you talk to me like this."

Cressida's scowl turned into an evil grin. "I'm not so sure Abraxas would agree with you," she said "Perhaps I'll scream to lure him here. I'm just dying to see his face when he finds his beloved fiancée was in bed with his best fr-"

"Enough!" Felicity said sternly. "I wish not to see you again, Cressida."

Tom, satisfied with her statement raised his wand to kill Cressida.

Felicity's voice was calm, yet resolute. "I did not mean it like that, Tom. I want her locked up, not killed."

Tom tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "You're not really in a position to make orders," he remarked. "But I'll allow you your fun, doll. I will take care of her for you. Have a good night, Felicity."

As Tom left, the room regained a semblance of tranquillity, though the echoes of the night's tumultuous events lingered, and whether she would admit it or not, her bed felt a tiny bit colder.