Cheater ✯ Kovit x Nita ✯ Market of Monsters

1

The airport was crowded with people. Everyone trying to get somewhere, no one staying in place. It was never fun to be in close proximity to people, but Nita didn't mind it as long as she didn't need to be by Fabricio.

He stood awkwardly by her side, his gangly figure making her look shorter than she actually was. She took small steps away from him in hopes that he wouldn't see her disappear and turned to go to the bathroom.

She didn't actually need to go, she just needed to be on her own for a bit. Her mind went for her scalpel as she traced the invisible body beneath her. She missed her tools back at the university but her mother had forced her to take a break and get married.

Nita didn't have the choice of who, she never did, but her mother's choice of a rich heir was alright if it meant that he could pay for the rest of her tuition. She knew he didn't love her and she had no issue with that. The two of them just accepted the fact that they were stuck together no matter how hard they wished to be on their own.

Nita's mother would have none of it though. She needed them to fake their attraction for Fabricio's father or else he wouldn't allow the marriage. Apparently, cruises were the best way to spark love into an unwilling couple.

She sighed as she released a tiny ball of stress and pocketed her invisible scalpel. She was ready to go back out into the mess of the airport.

The crowd was still everywhere, pushing to get to flights and whining when they couldn't stay in the playpen but Nita felt more detached than before. She floated through them step with intent and blending into the sounds around her.

She arrived back at Fabricio's side, letting out a small breath. He was on his phone and when Nita peeked over she saw that he was playing Subway Surfers. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked back out to the busy hallway.

"¿Estás lista?" Fabricio asked. Are you ready? 

Nita shrugged. "I guess."

The flight attendant started calling people up. Minors traveling alone, veterans, families, it didn't take long for first-class to be called.

The seats were larger than the ones Nita was accustomed to and she sank into their vastness. It was comfortable, sure, but that didn't keep her from feeling out of place, unaccustomed to the same type of luxury Fabricio was. She buried the feeling and pretended she did, she was going to be a billionaire's wife but more importantly, she was going to become a well-respected scientist.

They landed a couple of hours later and Nita stretched herself out as people moved around the cabin.

"Let's go," Fabricio said, hauling down their luggage.

They walked off the plane and into the crowded terminal. People moved about until Nita and Fabricio got to an atrium inside the airport. The ceiling was glass and it let sunlight down into the area, feeding palm trees bent over benches offering travelers a place of rest.

Nita walked straight to a bench without looking at her fiancé and opened a small notebook that she always kept on her person. She needed to draw something new, not the back of the chair or the clouds outside her window, something with life.

Fabricio sauntered over to her and–seeing what she was doing–sat down next to her. 

Nita was grateful that he understood the woes of an artist (as he himself was). She was glad that her mother had chosen someone who had at least something in common with her, though Nita was sure it wasn't something she had been actively looking for.

When she was done, lines of graphite swooped and curved on the page creating a palm tree. Fabricio complimented her, asked if he could use it as a reference for one of his drawings and they were off to the hotel.

It was close to the airport so the duo didn't have to travel much more. The lady at the desk was nice enough but the room Nita's mother had booked for the two betrothed only had one bed. Nita grumbled in annoyance and discomfort, did her mother really have to be this way?

"I'll sleep on the floor I guess," Fabricio said.

"Knock yourself out, I get the plush." Nita dove into the bed and felt her body relax. Fabricio sat gingerly at the edge, trying to keep a respectable distance. "You can sleep in the bed, you just have to face away from me."

Fabricio's face lit up. Nita would be happy too if she didn't have to sleep on the scratchy carpet. He joined her and they lay there.

"What if we just ran away?" Nita suggested. "What if we left right now to Italy or something and went our separate ways?"

"That would be nice," Fabricio agreed, eyes closed lazily. "What would you do?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I could go to school for biology and study anatomy and shit."

"How would you pay for that?"

"You, I guess. I don't have to marry you to gain access to your bank information, I could just torture you or your dad."

"Please don't," Fabricio swallowed. Nita smiled to herself, happy that she could make a man as rich as Fabricio afraid of her.

The next morning was dull as they got ready to board the cruise ship. They would have to share a room on there as they did on the hotel. Nita just wanted some space to herself.

The ship was huge. Of course Nita knew that cruise ships were big, but now that she was standing next to it—under it, really—she could seee its massiveness as it towered as high as some of the buildings near it.

Their things were hauled away by deckhands and they were allowed to walk on to the mighty ship.

Fabricio approached the Captain, a woman in her early forties that reminded Nita strangely of her mother.

"Welcome aboard," she said dryly. "You'll be glad to know that your room is ready and prepared for you." She signaled to one of the hands to come over to her. Nita wasn't at all surprised that her mother had planned this to be so special.

"Kovit," she addressed I'm. "Show the afianced to their boudoir."

"Yes Señora Reyes."