[CONTENTID1]Chapter 22[/CONTENTID1] 

[CONTENTID2]A broken heart is the worse... it's like having broken ribs, nobody can see it, but it hurts every time you breathe [/CONTENTID2] 

[CONTENTID3]

Luhan groggily opened his eyes and sat up straight. He took his time rolling lazily around the bed, getting up and slipping on his house slippers after deciding to stop moping around. He stood in front of his full-sized mirror, gasping as he saw his blotchy, swollen cheeks, traces of dried tears still on them.

He glanced at the clock on his dressing table, surprised to see it was already ten -- he'd slept so late.

Without wasting a second, he grabbed his towel and took a bath, putting on some relaxing piano instrumentals to get his mind off unnecessary things -- things involving Sehun and their mistake of a marriage.


After dressing in a big sweater and a pair of baggy sweatpants, he headed straight to the kitchen, blowing some air onto his palms as he rubbed them together -- even though the sun was up, it was still a chilly morning.


The quiet and peaceful air of the household suggested Sehun had already left for work. He was suddenly struck with guilt because he didn't cook breakfast for him and his idiot husband wasn't the type to grab a meal before leaving the house.
 

That guy was useless without him --  Sehun often skipped his meals when Luhan wasn't able to cook. He'd grown accustomed to Luhan's cooking to the point where he'd said that take-out no longer satisfied him (Luhan was happy that his husband was able to appreciate at least one thing about him).

Luhan was secretly grateful that Yixing had called him in the midst of bathing, saying that he had some work to attend to so they had to put their meeting on hold. Given that he woke up so late, he would have been rushing to the shop by now. He planned to work out instead, maybe run a few laps on the treadmill -- he'd gained some weight since the beginning of the holiday season.

Okay. Maybe not. He was feeling lazy and watching a movie was too tempting to resist. He would just squeeze some time in later and, well, if he didn't, who cared? He'd just pig out again anyway.

He walked to the island in the kitchen, setting down his phone and book while humming. He opened the freezer to get some frozen fruit to prepare a strawberry-banana smoothie.

Popping his earphones in, he grabbed his drink and skipped out of the enormous kitchen, taking a jar of chocolate chips cookies on his way out. His destination was the small family theatre located upstairs. He sang softly to the music, immersing himself completely in the song.

chù mō bú dào de nǐ wú fǎ yōng zài bì wān lǐ(You who I can’t touch, who I can’t pull into my arms)
jí shǐ bì shàng yǎn jīng zài yě mèng bú dào de shén mì (Even if I close my eyes, I can’t dream of that mysteriousness)
bú zhī rú hé xià bǐ xiě wán nǐ de Story (I don’t know how to start moving my pen and finish writing your story)
yù shì xiǎng yào kào jìn yù tòng kǔ de bēi jù (The closer I want to get to you, the more painful and tragic (it is)

A sad song and winter was his favorite combination.

ài nán yǐ kàng jù Stop Stop Stop Stop Yeah (Love is hard to reject Stop Stop Stop Stop Yeah)
ài nán yǐ kàng jù Stop Stop Stop Stop Yeah (Love is hard to reject Stop Stop Stop Stop Yeah)
wǒ zǔ zhǐ zì jǐ jiāo jí de hū huàn nǐ (I stop myself from anxiously calling out for you)
pà yǎn lǐ yuè guāng Babe huì lín shī nǐ de chì bǎng ( Afraid that the moonlight in my eyes, babe, will soak your wings)

He emotionally sang, contemplating whether or not he wanted to actually watch a sad movie. In the end, he decided he would just browse through his CD collection.

As he was about to climb the stairs, a sudden hand on his arms made him drop everything h'ed been holding. His eyes widened at the sight of Sehun's dazzling smile, which was suddenly directed at him. Looking like a mad man with his mouth hanging open, he let his husband drag him to the dining room. 

His pupils enlarged again when he saw all the different breakfast dishes spread across the table. He didn't see those foods there earlier! His attention had been solely on making a strawberry-banana smoothie.

"How is a smoothie and cookies a decent breakfast, Lu?" Sehun protested and shook his head as he saw Luhan placing the cookies on the table. "Here, I prepared breakfast... Let's eat." He proudly pointed to the food he made, his mouth curving upwards as he looked at Luhan with adoration. 

Luhan stood at the side of the table, abandoning his headphones. He felt awkward at receiving Sehun's suddenly nice behaviour and a smile that was capable of taking his breath away -- it was just so genuine. Now, now, now, what's he up to? And most importantly, Sehun can cook?

"Let's have some breakfast first, okay? We'll see the movie after this." Sehun said in a persuasive tone, his face only a few centimetres away from Luhan's flushed cheeks. He then pulled the dazed-looking Luhan towards a chair, signalling him to sit. The doe-eyed boy didn't know why he gave in so easily.

Luhan was thinking hard of what Sehun might be up to before it clicked.

"Sehun-ah, the wish from last night was just..." Luhan tried to explain, failing when Sehun placed his index finger on his lips.

"Shh, I'm gonna do what you wished for. Don't stop me. Now let's eat." 

Luhan secretly glared at the taller man, unsure if he should be happy about Sehun fulfilling his request. He wasn't even that serious -- he couldn't deal with this facade his husband was putting on.

"What do you want to eat first? French toast, pancakes or bacon and eggs?" Sehun said, his kind smile never leaving his face.

Somehow, that pretentious smile only annoyed him. Luhan was completely aware how forced and fake it was.

"I'm not hungry. I'm going upstairs." The chair screeched as Luhan pulled away from it, hurrying out of the dining room.

Sehun managed to stop the doe-eyed boy from sprinting away by grabbing him gently by the shoulders. Sehun wrapped his arms around Luhan's petite waist, resting his head on his shoulder so he couldn't run any further.

Luhan tensed, unconsciously not breathing for a few econds, heart thumping so loudly against his ribcage that he was afraid that Sehun would hear it.

"You're not going anywhere without me today, babe. Your day will be spent with me and I'm gonna decide what to do. Sounds good, hm?" Sehun whispered as he tightened the hold on Luhan's waist, his mouth brushing ever-so-softly against Luhan's beat-red ears, sending shivers down the smaller's spine.

Luhan snapped out of his daze and quickly attempt to flee from his husband to no avail. Sehun was just as strong as how he looked - his knees felt weak, as if he might collapse in Sehun's arms any second now. Oh, what Sehun could do to his emotions.

"I-I... I just want to stay at home and watch a-a movie. P-Please let go..." Luhan stuttered out of nervousness, making an effort to pry Sehun's hands off his waist. Deep inside, he was cursing himself for making such a stupid and useless request the night before.

"I told you you're not going anywhere out of my sight. Today is just between you and me. Not even your favourite movies can get in the way. But first of all, let's have breakfast." Sehun wouldn't budge from his decision, stubbornly repeating his words.

Even though Sehun had flatly refused to listen to him, Luhan had never felt so relieved. Thanks to his endless prayers, Luhan finally felt like he could breathe again when Sehun loosened the hug and took his right hand, leading him back to the table.

"Sehun, I..." 

"Shh, be quiet." Sehun murmured, guiding a spoonful of eggs to his husband's mouth.

Given his habit of never winning against Oh Sehun, Luhan had no choice but to go along with his plans.

Luhan stormed out the doctor's room after being briefed on his health, leaving Sehun behind. Luhan had told his stubborn husband so many times that he was fine and he was just suffering from migraines, nothing more. But Sehun, being the hard head he was, scheduled a check-up without him knowing.

He could hear Sehun's rapid footsteps catching up with him.

"Isn't that a relief? Now you know you're not suffering from a chronic disease." Sehun grinned widely, draping an arm over Luhan's shoulders and pulling him in closer.

"I've told you countless times that I'm alright. You're just bull-headed and don't trust me." Luhan let his husband pull him close, seeing as his personal space had already been invaded plenty in the last few hours. It's just for a day, he convinced himself.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Lu. But we have to be extra sure it's not a problem. It's not wrong for you to have a check up. Prevention is better than having to cure it later. Why do you like being sick so much?"

"No one likes being sick. Even if I don't have a deadly disease, I'll still die one day. Correct me if I'm wrong, doctor. " Luhan retorted.

He left Sehun speechless for a while before the latter hissed, "You're just the same as my dad! Why do you need to talk about death all the time? Is it required?"

"The question is, why do you get so mad every time I mention death? Talk about logic, we're all gonna die anyway. No harm done."

"Whatever, stop talking about death," Sehun replied. Luhan made no effort to argue anymore as Sehun intertwined their fingers, Luhan's hand small and cold against Sehun's large and warm one.

In the midst being manhandled so easily by his husband, Luhan basked in the happiness, his heart feeling overwhelmed. They were so close, hips bumping against each other, and Luhan could smell the intoxicating scent of his husband, as if being guided by the smell of his skin and cologne.

Luhan's eyes wandered on the perfect visual in front of him, scanning his husband's perfectly sculpted face without a second thought, suddenly focusing on Sehun's wide smirk. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do I look extra good today?" 

He sped up with red cheeks, leaving Sehun behind after being caught openly oogling him.

Before he was able to open the car door by himself, his husband already beat him to it. Luhan entered the car without a word and laid back on the seat, eyes tightly closed -- he was cold and sleepy.

"You should stop sleeping, Lu." The sound of the door closing followed. Luhan could feel Sehun's deep gaze on him despite his eyes being shut. His breath hitched before exhaling shallowly at the feeling of Sehun's lips against his temple. Call him delusional but he felt like Sehun had sniffed his hair before pulling away.

He wanted to open his eyes but he felt his husband leaning over him, his chest brushing Luhan's shoulder, and realized he couldn't break the act now. Oh my god is he going to hug me?! 

"Why are you so sleepy? You've slept enough for today. Aish, you could have put on the seatbelt first before falling asleep, Lu." Sehun nagged to no one in particular, convinced Luhan had fallen asleep.

Luhan awoke when a loud honk sounded off behind the car, causing him to open his eyes in fear that they had gotten into an accident. He looked at Sehun with wide eyes and Sehun, who had been staring at him for god-knows-how-long, only grinned back sheepishly. His hand rubbed the back of his neck in guilt as he eased on the gas pedal, driving through the light that had turned green quite a while ago.

Although telling himself otherwise, Luhan couldn't help but feel flustered. Did Sehun really stare at him for so long that he forgot to check the traffic light?

Luhan's loud ringtone broke the silence but he remained still, biting his rosy lips as he contemplated answering it.

Incoming call from Dr. Kris Wu.

Sehun spared him a short glance before turning his attention back towards teh road.

"Why won't you answer that call?" Sehun finally asked after listening t