Chapter 75
368words
Let me be clear: I had no intention of ‘cheating' on Nicholas. None whatsoever. It wasn't just because my social life was nonexistent (leaving no one to cheat with), but because cheating had never been in my nature, under any circumstance.
Yet, I pondered, could one technically ‘cheat' on someone when not in a formal ‘relationship'?
Moreover, I couldn't fathom why Nicholas would care either way.
True, I had posed the same question to him not long ago—it was one of my conditions before we left Barcelona. But for me, there was a strategic rationale. The whole purpose of this fling was to maintain a positive image of Mitchell Huntington's son until his company's big reveal in three months. Every action Nicholas took would be under intense scrutiny. The paparazzi's already intrusive gaze would intensify, turning his life into a fishbowl under a microscopic lens.
But those constraints didn't apply to me.
I wasn't a Huntington, nor an heir to anything. Even on my best days, I doubted the world saw me as an international celebrity. However, I excelled in manipulating the perceptions of the press. Even if I were to have a secret boyfriend, I knew I could keep it discreet. Managing such matters was my forte.
Nicholas understood this better than anyone in Manhattan.
Yet, despite this understanding, he had explicitly forbidden it.
...why?
You don't cheat on me either.
As if the words weren't enough, then there was the look on his face. It was a look I had seen many, many times before. He might have been smiling, but there wasn't an ounce of compromise anywhere in those twinkling blue yes.
It was not a request. It was a command. As simple as that.
I was still mulling it over a few minutes later, when there was a quiet knock on my door.
What the hell is going on today? Am I having an open house I don't know about?
