Chapter Text
“My love❤": hey, are you coming home anytime soon or are you too busy cheating on me?"
Henry almost has a heart attack when the text message comes in.
He swore the world stopped for a second.
And it might as well have because nothing else seems to matter to him now.
Not the hot tea he spilled all over his sweater in shock, (thankfully it wasn't hot enough to burn him) and certainly not the formal meeting he was participating in.
He squeezes his eyes shut and then reopens them again.
As if it will magically make the words disappear or change them in to a less concerning sentence (spoiler alert; the words stay the same).
He excuses himself from the meeting and prays that his legs don't shake too much for him to be able to walk out of the meeting without drawing too much attention to himself.
This is what he gets for opening his text messages during a meeting, but to be fair it was quite boring and based on the ring tone he could tell the message came from Alex.
He takes a 'breather', which ironicaly enough didn't involve much breathing (not any of the healthy kind anyway) and is about to walk back in to the meeting.
After all, it wouldn't be the first time he'd be forced to sit through a meeting during a personal crisis, shoving down his anxiety and unprofessional feelings, putting on a carefully built mask, showing no signs of weakness (as his grandmother would call it).
But then Philip walks out of the meeting too.
“Henry, are you alright? You look pretty shaken up. I can take it from here if you would prefer that? If you want to leave, I can totally cover for you.”
Henry is a bit taken back by this, which is stupid, Philip promised to do better, and he's truly made an effort the last couple of months.
So, Henry shouldn't be so surprised by this, yet he is.
He thanks Philip, promises to call him after the meeting to give him an update on what is going on (like he so specifically asked) and motions for Shaan to follow him.
Before he knows it he's sitting in a car, next to Shaan and the driver brings him to the palace in record time.
He knows he's breathing hard, and he knows he's panicking, but he can't quite bring himself to care.
He's also vaguely aware of the fact that Shaan is talking to him, but he can't for the life of him focus on the voice.
Not when he's possibly lost his entire future.
Not when Alex accused him of doing something he'd never do, without even explaining why he accused him of doing so in the first place.
He dropped everything he'd been doing to rush home, so he can talk to Alex immediately.
If he's even still at the palace, that is.
Henry tries not to think about the possibility of Alex crying in an airplane on his way back to America.
On the way back, he mentally goes through every recent interaction he's had with men that weren't Alex, but he can't for the life of him figure out what he could have possibly done that Alex would consider cheating.
Because it's as simple as that; Henry is respectful and loyal and as far as he's concerned, he's never done anything that he wouldn't feel comfortable with if the situation was reversed and Alex was the one doing it.
Hell, he can't even remember the last time he looked at a man who wasn't Alex and had any even remotely romantic or sexual thoughts or feelings about that man.
He barely looks at other men, he doesn't ever hug other men (besides Pez and, on an off chance his brother Philip) so what on earth could have convinced Alex he'd been unfaithful?
He's on the edge of a bloody panic attack.
He's done something to hurt his favorite person on earth, to betray his trust.
And he doesn't even remember doing it.
Which is weird because Henry usually remembers everything.
And it's not like he'd cheat on Alex if he were drunk, either.
He's always found it a weird and lame excuse, being drunk doesn't erase your bloody brain. Or heart for that matter.
You do not suddenly forget you're in a bloody relationship.
Henry has been cheated on before and yes, the guy claimed he was drunk and Henry remembers telling him that wasn't an excuse.
Because it's not.
He remembers the first time Alex came home extremely drunk and told Henry he had a confession to make.
He remembers the way his heart dropped to his stomach.
But instead of confessing to cheating on him, Alex went on a rant (slurred words and all) about how blue his eyes are and how excited he is to raise kids with Henry some day.
He wasn't sober by any means, but still loyal, just as Henry had expected.
The idea that he himself did anything to make Alex angry or uncomfortable or even heartbroken makes him want to rip his skin off.
He knows that feeling of betrayal, and he wouldn't wish it up on anyone.
But part of him can't help but be hurt that Alex apparently doesn't trust him. At least not as much as he thought Alex did.
Because Alex could very well be referring to a rumor or an edited photo or an old photo of Henry kissing someone else that someone sold to one of those trashy gossip magazines or juice channels.
It's not like Henry's exes could do that because, obviously, he had them sign a NDA.
But he still wouldn't exactly put it past that cheater of an ex of his, either.
If someone, especially someone Henry loved once upon a time, went out of his way to sabotage his relationship with Alex, that would hurt him, obviously.
But what hurts the most is that Alex didn't even give him the benefit of the doubt.
He didn't even hear him out.
Not that Henry has much to say since he has no idea what the accusation is based up on in the first place, but it still sucks.
For a moment, Henry considers something Pez told him after his break-up with Sebastian.
“Cheaters accuse you of cheating because it's what they're doing, which makes it easier for them to assume you're doing it too”, but then he mentally facepalms for even thinking something like that.
He knows Alex would never do anything to jeopardize his trust or their relationship.
Which is why he can't handle the idea that he did something like that to Alex.
His Alex.
Sweet Alex, who is waiting for him in the palace, probably crying while his family and friends are in another country.
Sweet sweet Alex who agreed to come to England with him because he didn't have any classes this week in law school, even though he knew Henry would be gone a lot for meetings, just to keep him company.
Sweet sweet Alex who promised Henry, with tears in his eyes, that he wasn't like the others that came before him.
Sweet sweet Alex with severe abandonment issues, who Henry had apparently given a reason to think the one thing he feared the most had happened to Alex yet again.
Henry is not the kind of guy to beg for forgiveness, he's always thought he had too much pride for that.
He had an image to uphold and a certain amount of dignity and some walls he carefully built around his heart to prevent him from getting hurt again.
But he can't imagine a world without Alex.
So deep down, he knows there is nothing he wouldn't do to prove his innocence.
Even begging, he won't care even if someone sees it and says it would bring his family to shame, Alex is supposed to be part of his family too.
He takes a deep breath, which comes out shakier than he'd like, and opens google, typing in;
Non-physical things that are considered cheating
Because god knows Henry hasn't crossed any physical boundaries.
He anxiously taps his foot while scanning the websites to choose which one he's going to use for his research, in the short car ride home.
Of course , he knows that all relationships have different boundaries because everyone is different, so just like no human is the same, neither are relationships.
But as far as he's concerned, he hasn't crossed any of the boundaries Alex and him set early on in their relationship.
So, he'll have to dive deeper to get some answers.
He finally clicks on a link that leads him to a tweet which looks like a venting paragraph written by a very angry woman under the name @honey_baddie, he assumes that this will probably be as good as any advice google is going to give him.
He quickly scans the list. NR 1: Flirting with someone else is cheating you assholes!!
Henry agrees, but he knows for a fact he hasn't been flirting with some bloke.
Why would he do that in the first place?
Next up is hiding meetings from your partner.
Henry smiles briefly, remembering the recent and only meet-up he's hidden from Alex, when he picked up the customized engagement ring he'd ordered.
He figures he'll probably get a pass for that one.
NR 3; Messaging other motherfuckers behind your partner's back.
Henry rolls his eyes at the screen.
Of course, he didn't do that, besides he'd given Alex all his electronica and social media passwords pretty early on, so technically he wouldn't even be able to hide any messages from him.
Which is why communicating with the jewelry store was quite difficult, but he ended up just using Pez's phone for it.
NR 4: Hiding or deleting shit for your partner. Nope, Henry can't recall doing something stupid like that either.
Henry sighs, the anxious feeling in his stomach is growing with every passing second, and he still doesn't have a clue as to what he could have possibly done wrong.
He opens google again and opens another list while biting his lip anxiously until it starts to bleed.
Lying or cheating in a relationship is not limited to sleeping with someone else, it's also when you fantasize about someone else.
Unless Alex suddenly became a pshycic, he technically shouldn't be able to know who Henry fantasizes about, but he'd be a real fool if he thought Henry's fantasies weren't 100% focused on the lust and love he feels for Alex.
He's not interested in fantasizing about other men, why would he be when he's dating the most handsome one out there?
Besides, if he ever did do that, the guilt would simply eat him alive.
Cheating is also when you say you're too busy at work to spend time with your partner but find time to talk to other people
Okay, that one was oddly specific, but Henry is still not guilty.
Yes, he's busy with work, but he's spending his spare time with either his friend group *which includes his partner* or his partner.
@joebrock:
Anything you choose to do behind your partner's back is cheating. If they don't know, and you feel like you can't or don't want to tell them, it's cheating.
Again.
Henry feels like planning a proposal should give him a free pass.
@joebrock ²; there is no thin line there or blurred boundaries. Fuck that… if you're sneaking behind someone's back to give attention and effort to someone else, you're a fucking cheater.
Again.
Henry didn't do anything like that.
Sure, he gives attention to other people, as he should be allowed to do, but only ever in a Platonic way and never behind Alex's back.
He realizes this little research investigation didn't help him in the slightest.
His heart is still in his throat, he's still ignoring his stressed bodyguard, and he's about 5 seconds away from throwing himself on the floor to sob uncontrollably.
Because no, he didn't find any evidence that he did anything wrong, but that doesn't mean Alex can't think he did.
It's not like Henry doesn't have a single enemy.
You simply can't be a known public figure without pissing off some people purely by existing.
So, what if he's being set up?
He is.
Isn't he?
It's the only logical explanation.
Christ.
What if his grandmother hired a professional to trick Alex in to thinking he's cheating?
Being certified in 'convincing someone their partner is cheating on them' probably isn't a thing.
But maybe she paid someone that photoshops or edits movies or photos for a living to turn a picture of another men couple in to a Henry fox cheating scandal?
In the hopes she'll eventually still be able to force Henry in to a heterosexual marriage?
It's not like he'd put it past his homophobic grandmother and god knows she has the money and the power to make all her evil dreams come true.
Or what if Philip's nice behavior is really just a cover for this master plan?
Yeah, Henry, is losing it.
***
Henry rushes in to the palace, with Shaan on his heels, and when he gets to his quarter he asks Shaan to stay back.
He promises he'll leave eventually, but that he'll wait until Henry is safe in the room he is currently staying in with Alex.
Henry can't quite get the key in to the lock of the door that leads to his place in the palace, the place he currently shares with the boy who'se heart he's broken, his hands are shaking, afraid of what comes next.
It takes him longer than he'd like, but he gets the door open, and he all but falls in into the room.
He catches a glimpse of Alex and instead of looking angry or heartbroken or betrayed, he looks amused.
Only for a single second though, until concern takes over his previously care free smile, when he notices the state Henry is in.
Henry feels like he can't breathe, and none of it quite makes sense.
Because if Alex is convinced he cheated on him, then why doesn't he look mad?
Why isn't he packing his stuff and getting ready to abandon Henry?
He's getting dizzy, and his ears are ringing and suddenly, he realizes he's hyperventilating.
Maybe he's been hyperventilating this whole time?
Shaan had offered him water, but he'd turned it down.
He'd insisted on not letting Henry out of his sight until Alex was supervising over him, and he shot him a decent amount of concerned looks.
He also talked quite a lot, but Henry didn't hear a word.
The room is spinning, and he can see nothing but love and concern in Alex's eyes.
And it really doesn't make sense.
Where is the heated argument?
The betrayal in his eyes?
The evidence that convinced him Henry was cheating on him?
All those things are absent.
The only thing there is Alex holding a glass of water in front of him, asking for permission to touch him.
But he can't.
He can't let himself find comfort in Alex's arms.
Because it will hurt that much more when the comfort is ripped away from him.
Alex is probably only comforting him until he's breathing properly, so they can get into the argument.
Because that is the kind of guy Alex is, he's not going to let him choke or faint or throw up from hyperventilating, no matter how angry he is.
Especially because even if he thinks Henry betrayed him, he still loves him.
That doesn't just fade away.
He can vaguely hear Alex asking him why he's so upset.
And Alex is right, Henry shouldn't be the upset one.
He's not the one who thinks he got cheated on.
But all Henry can think about is, what if he can't convince Alex that he didn't do it?
Again..What if he's being set up?
He thinks that he's really going to be sick, throw up maybe?
Pass out, perhaps even?
Henry catches Alex's eye again.
He is looking at him with more love than he currently feels like he deserves.
And he certainly doesn't understand why Alex would look at him like that after accusing Henry of infidelity.
Part 1/2