Rivals

no because the thing about rupert is that he has been making terrible choices for years. he’s lost his passion, he’s lost his family, he fills his life with səx to get by, to feel something good. and then taggie shows up and she’s just so kind and sweet and beautiful and the realest thing rupert’s ever laid his eyes on. angel, he calls her, because that’s what she is to him. so of course he wants her. but that’s not all, because for the first time in forever, rupert has a reason, a push to want to be better. have you noticed how every time taggie is upset about something that happened or something he did, he immediately does everything he can to make up for it? It’s because before her, he didn’t care—or didn’t want to care—about hurting people or doing the wrong thing. but taggie makes him want to be good. for her. for himself. he is fully aware of his feelings for this young woman he cannot keep his eyes off, and when he seeks out cameron again it’s purely because he thinks he can never have taggie…but try as he might, he’s not able to move on. and taggie??? her mother considers her an idiot, her father considers her a little girl, she’s trying to find out what her place is, where she fits in, and rupert is the only person in her life that is completely encouraging and who believes in her potential (see how he compliments both her cooking and says she’s good with the campaign). he’s the only person who sees she’s twisting herself every which way to make everyone happy, and he’s the first to tell her she doesn’t have to be perfect all the time. and she’s fascinated, obviously, but it’s more than that. It’s rupert being silly to make her laugh, it’s her face falling when she realizes he has yet again been with another woman, it’s her anger when she finds out declan told rupert not to touch her. but they gravitate towards each other, because they’ve come into each other lives at exactly the right time. gosh season 2 cannot come fast enough

cheating is totally fine when you're a sweet neglected stay at home mum/romance book author whose husband is a slimy cheater and the man you want to have an affair with is the sweetest man ever and loves the smut you write. he's also married but his wife is a bit toxic so it's fine