A/N: Merope finally tells Tom the truth. Merope Gaunt/Tom Riddle Sr. I don't agree with Merope giving Tom the love potion, but it did happen. This is just my thoughts on what happened when she finally stopped and told him the truth. I do not own Harry Potter.

Submission for:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Arithmancy Assignment #5 - Write a story based on one of the events that can be foretold by the number Two - Conflict, Choice, Divorce

The "As Many As You Want" Competition: 'I don't know how else to tell you this', valley, completely worthless

Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge: Pan - Write about rejection

Merope paced in the small kitchen of her and her husband's little cottage. It was cute wooden house in the valley, out of the way of curious muggles. Not that there was much to see anyway. Merope kept the magic down to a minimum, wanting to just live a normal life without stress, and leaving her muggle husband none the wiser of her heritage.

Not that he would be concerned either way, and that was what was concerning her.

Her marriage was completely worthless, based on a lie influenced by the effects of a love potion. She had watched her husband from afar for so long but knowing he would never love her on his own. She was plain, could never be called a beauty, and was shy and timid. He was the squire's son and definitely the most attractive man in their old village. What would he have seen in her?

She had been alone in the house at that time, her father and brother taken away for their crimes, and she steadily grew more depressed every day as he would walk by without even a second glance. However, one day an opportunity presented itself. The young man was riding on his horse, one of the only people in the village who could afford to own one. He and his horse were tired and stopped to rest just a few metres from her home. She called out to him, braver than she normally was, and offered him something cool to drink. She almost fainted as he gave her a jaunty smile and thank her for her kindness. Lacing the water with the love potion, she handed it to him with a smile.

The effects were immediate and everything she could have hoped for. He professed his love her and demanded that they be together immediately. Merope knew however if anyone were to see him in this state, they would call him crazy and take him away from her life forever. So instead, she convinced him to elope with her and they started their lives together.

Now, she wanted the lies to end. She wanted to have a life without pretenses. She placed a soft hand on her abdomen. She wanted a normal life for her baby.

She had made the choice to end it last night and hadn't put any of the potion in his tea. Without the nightly dose, he should be waking out of his stupor this morning and she worried what this would mean for her. Maybe he could have developed actual feelings for her, even with the influence of the potion. Maybe his love ran deeper than she could even see. Maybe he would stay with her, with their child, and they could continue living in peace.

There were footsteps approaching and her head turned to the doorway. She saw her husband standing there in his night clothes and slowly rubbing his eyes. He looked about the kitchen, trying to understand where he was before his eyes landed in her, "Hey, you're that peasant girl."

"Tom?" she asked hesitantly as she reached out to him.

He eyed her hand warily and moved slightly out of reach.

She tried again but gestured to the dining chair. "Please have a seat."

He sat down slowly, his eyes focused only her. Before he went to sleep, those eyes were filled with love and compassion. Now they were filled with fear and suspicion.

"I don't know how else to tell you this. I'm pregnant," she said slowly while gauging his reaction.

He blinked before asking, "Why are you telling me this?"

Merope closed her eyes, a few tears leaking out of the corners, "Because it's our child."

Tom jumped out of the dining chair. He spat in disgust, "I would never have a child with someone like you."

"Tom, please, just listen to me," she pleaded as she walked towards him.

He backed away from her, "No, I see what you're trying to pull. You want my money for your bastard child, you harlot."

"No, Tom, please understand. You loved me at some point. This baby was made out of love," Merope pleaded.

"I never loved you. I don't even know your name," Tom said.

Merope bit her tongue, unsure of what to say now. What could you say to someone who realized the world around him was different than he remembered?

"I'm leaving before you tell me any more lies," Tom said as he walked towards the door.

She ran up to him and pulled on his sleeve. "Please stay, Tom. Even if you don't love me, and you don't know my name, please stay. Believe me when I say this is your son, this is our son."

He shrugged her off his arm and said, "You must have put me under some spell for me to ever have thought I loved you, enough to even have a child with you. That child is not mine." He walked out of the house without looking back.

Merope collapsed onto the floor of her small little cottage with her face in her hands. The tears poured from her eyes and over her fingers as the pain pierced her heart. All his feelings, the laughs, the kisses, everything was all lies. She had known this they weren't really there but she had hoped foolishly. She had done this to herself, she had known that something like this could happen, but that didn't make anything better. Tom was gone, out of her life for good.

She placed a hand on her belly, rubbing it softly. Maybe not for good, for a piece of him lived in her.