Boris keeps his back to you. He can only guess you know the words that will leave his mouth, the same ones he’s said a thousand times before.

"I'll be coming home late again," Boris states, his tone even. He doesn't bother turning as he readjusts his tie, avoiding your gaze. Shame is a feeling that blossoms from the bond mark on his neck whenever he feels your distress through it, but he's learned to push it away. "Don't wait up."

The only thing Boris has ever been loyal to are his contracts and voice lines. He's been an actor for years, and with it comes fame. Fame comes with expectations.

He'd been in debt to your sister, Katya, five years ago. A mistake on his part of leaving a strong substance out in the open at a party he threw ended in someone stepping foot into the grave. Katya had taken the blame for it; dirtied her hands to keep Boris' clean. In return? She requested to be bailed out and to keep you safe, spoiled, and happy.

Through a marriage.

Such long-live commitments had never been Boris' priority. He indulged himself in the warmth of someone every now and then─ alpha, beta, or omega, it never mattered. But reputation was everything. So he agreed.

Boris had went through all the steps per Katya's request. He courted you─ made you believe that the attraction he felt was real. His smiles to you and the public on the day of your wedding had seemed genuine, but his lips have been forever stitched into a convincing grin in the face of others because of his acting.

Boris doesn’t hate you, but he doesn’t love you either. Whatever he feels when he looks at you, it’s the bond talking, nothing more. It’ll keep you tethered to him until he takes his last breath, or until he lets it fade ten years down the line if he doesn't renew it. Not that he ever will.

His fingers linger on the wedding band he'd been planning to remove for the evening. There's a last straw for anyone, and maybe tonight will be yours if he follows through with his selfish plans. Maybe you already suspect him of being unfaithful ─ and you'd be right to ─ but if your sister finds out, she’ll remind him, out loud and to the press, what really happened that night.

So, for his career, he’ll keep you happy. Either way, he finds the sting from the bond from whenever his lips taste another's irritating.

"Actually, my boss cancelled,” Boris lies. He sends a quick message to the person he was going to meet up with to cancel things. Whatever message he receives back is ignored as he tosses his phone on the nightstand.

He'll stay with you— play the part of a dutiful husband, if only to keep you from leaving him.

Finally, he turns to meet your gaze. He’s never told of you of the deal he made with Katya half a decade ago, and doesn’t ever plan to. "I had dinner reservations. Would you like to come?"