Living a fairytale: Permitted to cheat on my billionaire husband?

"You should sleep in another room."

Moira heard her husband's firm voice from behind her and slowly turned around to look at him. She had been standing in the front of the mirror in the room, working to wipe off her make-up.

"No, I didn't hear that right." She mumbled under her breath and smiled at him as she took in his wet appearance.

He had been in the bathroom before she entered the room and had on only a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey, Honey..." Moira called out with a sweet smile trying to wave off the words she had heard earlier.

"Nothing will happen between us tonight." Drake spoke up again. This time, loud and firm.

Moira furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and her hands trembled slightly as she tried to process his words.

"Why are you asking me to sleep in another room? We are supposed to spend our wedding night together, Honey. We are newlyweds. We got married today, Honey." Moira pointed out as if the handsome man before her had forgotten about their wedding.

"This is what I want." Drake's voice was cold, completely different from the warm tone he had used during their wedding ceremony just hours ago.

"I don't understand." Moira stated as she took a step closer to him.

"You were fine at the wedding. You smiled, you danced with me, you held my hand through all the ceremonies. What changed in these few hours?" She asked, looking so confused.

"That was outside, this is different." Drake replied firmly.

"Different how? What is wrong?" Moira asked again, her voice cracking slightly.

"If something is bothering you, we can talk about it. We have always been able to talk about everything, we have been friends since childhood and I..." She rambled on but Drake just grunted and turned away from her.

He walked to the wardrobe and grabbed his pajamas.

"Honey, why are you not saying anything? At least tell me why you don't want to share a bedroom with your wife. Is it something I did? Something I said?" Moira asked, sounding desperate.

"I have made my decision." Drake said firmly, walking to the bed and sitting down with his back to her.

"You can't just decide something like this without any explanation. This isn't how marriage works. This isn't how we work." Moira snapped, her voice rising slightly.

"This is exactly how it is going to work from now on." He responded to her curtly.

"No, it is not. Look at me when I'm talking to you, Drake." She retorted, anger evident in her voice.

He remained stubbornly facing away from her.

Moira gritted her teeth, fighting to maintain her composure. Her phone suddenly beeped, cutting through the tense silence. She picked it from the table and checked the screen, grateful for the momentary distraction.

She heaved a sigh as she saw the content of the message.

"It is an urgent email from work." She said more to herself, her voice tight. Then she raised her head to look at Drake's back for a brief moment.

"Fine. I will give you tonight to sort out whatever that is troubling you. But tomorrow morning, we are going to talk about this. You can't avoid me forever."

Drake didn't respond. He simply fumbled with his pajamas.

Moira turned and walked out of the room, her long evening dress rustling softly against the floor.

In the living room, she found one of the maids, cleaning the already spotless surfaces.

"Phoenix, could you prepare one of the empty bedrooms for me?" Moira requested politely.

The maid's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly composed herself.

"Of course, Ma'am. Right away. Which room would you prefer?" She inquired respectfully.

"Any room, Just... just make it ready quickly." Moira replied, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Yes, Ma'am. I will prepare the third room. It has a nice view of the garden." Phoenix said but Moira was no longer listening to her.

"What could be wrong with Drake?" Moira wondered inwardly, her jaw clenching.

~~~~~~~~~~

Few minutes later, the maid was done with the task and summoned Moira who was waited in the hallway, replying the work email she had received earlier.

"Calix knows better to disturb me... I am supposed to be on my honeymoon!" Moira grunted to her phone after sending her response.

After that, she went to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

"What is happening? Why is he acting like this? What changed?" She whispered to her reflection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following morning, Moira found Drake in the living room.

He was impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, searching through some papers on the coffee table. When she walked in, he looked up and smiled as if nothing had happened the night before.

"Good morning!" He said pleasantly. Moira's eyes widened slightly in surprise then she scoffed.

"I don't think there is anything good about this morning. Moira snapped.

"We need to talk." She added instantly.

"We have nothing to talk about." Drake said as he gathered his papers and turned to leave.

Moira moved quickly, blocking his path.

"Oh, we have plenty to talk about. Starting with your behavior last night." She pointed out.

Drake sighed heavily.

"Move aside, Moira. I'm going to be late." He said.

"Late to where? We should be on our honeymoon." Moira said and planted herself firmly in front of him.

"I'm not moving until you explain what happened last night. What kind of husband sends his wife to another bedroom on their wedding night?" She demanded.

"Fine." Drake's pleasant expression fell away.

"You want an explanation? Here it is: don't expect any commitment from me. I won't give you that." He added firmly.

"What?" Moira's jaw fell.

"Our marriage is for the outside world only, Inside these walls, we are just flatmates. That is all we will ever be." Drake maintained sharply, his voice eerily calm.

Moira felt like she had been slapped.

"What is this, Drake? You love me! You proposed to me! You got down on one knee and asked me to be your wife so why would our marriage be for outside? Why would we be flatmates inside?" She asked breathlessly.

"I never loved you, Moira. I like you as a family friend, nothing more. That's all it has ever been." Drake shook his head and said.

"Then why? Why did you marry me if you don't love me? Why go through with all of this?" Moira demanded, her voice rising.

"Because I had to, because I need you." He replied, shrugging a bit. She scoffed in annoyance.

"That is ridiculous! Need me for what?What could you possibly need me for if you don't even want to be my husband?" She demanded, her hands clenching into fists.

"I'm going to be late." Drake said, checking his wristwatch.

"Drake! Don't you dare walk away from this conversation!" She yelled but he did as if she hadn't uttered a word.

He stepped around her and walked toward the door. Then as an afterthought, he paused and turned back.

"You are permitted to cheat on me, dear wife, Just stay married to me and be that perfect wife outside for me." He informed her, his voice oddly gentle.

Moira stumbled backward, her legs hitting the sofa behind her.

Permitted to cheat?