Gepard had been keeping a secret from you.

This is the only thing he ever kept away from you, his most guarded possession. He burrowed it deep at the base of his chest, alongside the lull of his own beating heart. He couldn't afford you knowing, not when you were the best thing that had ever happened to him. He was too afraid of scaring you away if you knew. Gepard was not the type of man to settle but for you, he will pretend.

For you, he would pretend that he wasn't in love with you.