Picture of Victor McNemara

5 years ago, Chicago

"I will take two pieces of this one, please." I motioned towards a chocolate cheesecake with caramel frosting and smiled at the female behind the counter. I couldn't wait to see Vic's face when I arrived home. I was supposed to stay at work until morning, but my boss let me go early because his brother came to help out.

I worked at a night club as a bartender. It was a great job. I loved meeting new people and talking to them about their problems, but the hours were crazy. Sometimes, we had to stay until 5 a.m. because our customers refused to leave, and the cleaning afterward took a lot of time. The money was good, though, and I had time to study as I got two days off after every shift. Thanks to that, I was able to attend my classes regularly and was slowly moving my way towards a degree in business. There were just a few months left until my graduation. Only a few more months of lack of sleep due to my excess studying and working on my papers.

I was counting every day, and I couldn't wait until it was all over. I didn't mind studying, and I loved my friends and the campus life in general, but it was already enough. I wanted to be free and get rid of the student loans as soon as possible. And that was doable only if I could get myself a great-paying full-time job, which was impossible while studying.

"Anything else, sir?" The voice of the female worker woke me up from my thinking, bringing me back to reality. I smiled at her and shook my head.

"That will be all. Thank you." I paid for the desserts and started my way home. Hopefully, Vic would be still awake and ready to spend a nice and steamy night with me. It had been a while since we had some real quality time for each other, and I missed him.

*****

It took me around 10 minutes to get to the building where our apartment was, and another two minutes to take an elevator to get to our floor. We lived in one of the fancy apartment building in the center of Chicago, and while I didn't pay as much as Vic, we did share the rent. I didn't want him to pay it alone; I didn't want to be a freeloader.

Searching my pockets for a key, I unlocked the door, happy I was finally home.

The darkness and silence that met me upon entering the entrance hall made my excitement die down a little. Sighing, I put the keys to its place, disappointed. I didn't make it in time, and Vic was most likely sleeping. He returned from a business trip this morning, so it was understandable. His father made him work like a dog at times.

Victor's father, Graham McNemara, was the owner of Nemara Inc., one of the most successful conglomerates in the US. I had no idea what they were dealing with and, to be honest, I didn't really care. I wasn't dating Victor because of his wealth and the future inheritance of the company. We met during one of my shifts in the bar. He was there with his friend, Nelson, and they were messing around with women. Thinking back, I couldn't help but chuckle at the memories of our first meeting. I couldn't stand him. He was an arrogant prick who thought he was the best thing in the world, and no one could compare to him. It took him a lot to persuade me to even consider going on a date with him. I had a boyfriend just like him in the past and was terribly burned, so I didn't want to risk anything. But Victor was so sweet and persuasive, I wasn't able to resist him and got involved with him against my better judgment. Now, after two years, I couldn't be happier.

Walking to the kitchen, I put the cakes into the fridge and went straight for the bedroom after taking off my jacket. I could hear soft sounds of music coming from the room, which told me he was really home, and I couldn't help the smile breaking on my face. It had been three days since we saw each other, and I couldn't wait to see his beautiful sleeping face. Opening the door, my smile disappeared in a split second.

"What's one thing you would never forgive your lover?" Victor asked, smiling and drinking from his wine glass. We were on our fourth date in a fancy looking restaurant, and I was slowly realizing I started to fall in love with Vic.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I took a sip as well and thought for a second.

"Cheating. If I caught my lover cheating, I'd leave him without a second thought. It's physically impossible for me to sleep with a man who was sleeping with someone else while having me. It disgusts me," I said, my face serious and without any trace of uncertainty.

His smile widened.

I expected some kind of a puzzled expression, which I always got when I talked about this with my previous love interests. But there was no trace of insincerity on his face. Shocked, I waited for his response.

"That's great. In that case, you don't have to worry about anything with me. I'm not a cheater. For me, it's the same, just the imagination of it is extremely repulsive."

And at that, I smiled. It was hard to find someone with the same opinion on this matter, and I felt blessed, in a weird kind of way.

I was thinking about the conversation we had on that day while looking at my boyfriend of two and a half year, laying on our bed with a stranger. Their naked bodies were still sweaty and the hickeys on Victor's body were still too fresh to be mine.

My heart stopped for a second. I could feel coldness spreading throughout my whole body, filling me from head to toes. I felt numb, empty even. All the warmth and love I was full of a minute ago was gone.

"Well," I said, not really knowing how to react at the moment, too confused and shocked at the horrendous discovery. To my surprise, Vic's eyes shot open. I gasped at that. He had always been a post-sex heavy sleeper. I couldn't remember a moment when he would stay awake for longer than a few minutes.

At least after sex with me.

His guilt was probably making him jumpy, and his sleep wasn't deep enough thanks to that. Served him right.

I waited for him to turn and look straight at me and spoke up again.

"I guess there's nothing to say. I'll pack my things tomorrow after that," I motioned towards the second naked body, "is gone. Just send me a text or something," I mumbled, turning on my heel. I needed to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. I was starting to feel sick.

Unfortunately, Victor had a different idea.

"Oliver, wait!" he yelled and jumped out of the bed, running after me and grabbing my arm. I couldn't suppress the painful hiss that escaped my lips. His grip was too strong.

I turned around and looked into his green eyes I loved so much. They were this mix of pale green and grey with touches of hazel brown in their midst. They were like artwork and the way the colors deepened whenever he felt any kind of strong emotion was making them look even more sensual. When I was looking in them now, though, all I felt was disgust and repulsion. He was detestable.

"Let go of me, your touch is making me sick," I growled and tried to break away. If he kept touching me for another minute, I would get a terrible case of itchy rash.

"It's not what it looks like!" His voice was trembling, sounding almost on the verge of tears. If I didn't know him better, I would think that was exactly the case. But it was a completely different matter. The only occasion Victor's voice trembled like this was when he was lying. And based on the situation, there was no other option. The sight I walked in on said it all.

"Oh, really? Then humor me, Victor. Tell me what is that young boy, obviously still sweaty and exhausted from sex, covered in hickeys, which are on your neck as well, doing in our bed? I'm really confused right now because I can't seem to think of any other reason than you having sex with him." I was starting to get pissed off. I couldn't even think of being sad and disappointed. This was ridiculous.

Victor was just about to say something when the rustling of sheets and quiet sigh drew our attention to the third person in the room.

"Vicky, honey, what are you doing out of the bed? Are you on a phone again?" asked a hoarse voice. I couldn't stop the snort that came out of my mouth. The boy – yes, it was a boy, not more than 18 years old – sat up rapidly and looked at me, face full of fear.

"Who are you? What are you doing in our flat?"

Any trace of amusement that seemed to make its way into my emotions died down when I heard those words. I turned to Victor, my face growing hot and heartbeat speeding up.

"Did I hear that right, Victor? Did that kid just say that? What the actual fuck? How long are you cheating on me that he thinks this apartment is his? I pay part of the rent, dammit! When the hell did you find the time to bring him over anyway? I'm home almost every night!" I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I couldn't help myself. I was so fucking mad and hurt! The kid just basically told me that my supposedly faithful boyfriend had been cheating on me long enough for his lover to get an idea that the apartment was also his.

That was just great.

The boy got out of the bed and, totally naked without any sign of embarrassment, came over to Victor, wrapping his hand around his upper arm.

"Is this your crazy ex? The one refusing to move away? I told you to change your lock and call the police!" My jaw dropped at that, and I was finally able to break free from Victor's grip. I was starting to think I should visit a specialist in hearing problems. There was no other way to explain the words I was hearing than me having a problem with my ears.

"Did he just-," I paused and took a deep breath - not that it helped. My body started to tremble and tears were falling down from my eyes.

"I can't believe you. How could you do this to me? I fucking trusted you!" I yelled, taking the nearest thing – a vase we bought on our holiday in Europe last year – and threw it at him. I didn't care if I hurt him in the process. He didn't deserve anything else. Nothing could hurt more than what I was feeling at the moment.

"You fucker! I hope you are happy because if you wanted me out, you succeeded. Enjoy your life with whoever you want to be with. I'm done."

I stormed out of the bedroom right into the kitchen to take my things again, as well as the cakes because I wouldn't let them eat it together like a happy couple! I was bitter as fuck, but I had a right to be at that moment.

Putting on my jacket and readying myself to leave, Vic came in with his lover trailing after him and blocked my way out.

"I'm not letting you leave before we talk about it. You can't just leave, Oliver," he said, voice full of fake remorse.

I laughed at that.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't stop me from leaving. I have nothing else to tell you. You know how I feel about cheaters. We talked about it when we started going out. Looks like I was the only one who actually meant it." I put all of my things to my pockets and took the bag with the cakes.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I need to make an appointment with my doctor, so he can examine me. And let me tell you one thing, you piece of shit. If you gave me an STD, I'm going to kill you and sue you! Imagine it, the heir of Nemara Inc. giving another man STD. What a great headline, don't you think?" I growled and, before leaving, looked at the boy.

"You should probably do the exact same thing. A week ago, he fucked me raw because I trusted him. Who knows if we are the only ones who he has been deceiving and sleeping with."

His eyes widened and traveled towards Victor, who looked almost broken, but I didn't care. He was the only one who was responsible for this mess. There was no reason for me to feel bad for him.

I pushed Vic out of the way and yelled one last thing.

"I hope I'll never see you again, you disgusting pig."