[CONTENTID1]Chapter 17[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID3] Christmas was coming in less than a week and Luhan's parent's sudden visit left them in a panic. They thought that Mr. Lu and his wife would spend their Christmas out of the country but instead they opted to stay at their son's penthouse for a day or two.

Mrs. Lu's exact words had been,"We missed Luhan's graduation and we feel bad, so why don't we celebrate it again? Christmas is around the corner! Absolutely perfect timing, right kids?"

The door to Luhan's own room was securely locked. He was a dead meat if his dad found out they hadn't been sleeping in the same room. Sehun looked happy to see his in-laws, leaving Luhan alone to worry about his dad finding out about their separate bedrooms.

When Luhan saw the butler placing their luggage in the living room, he knew it wouldn't be good. It's not that he didn't like his parents visiting, he was just afraid that they could smell something fishy going on with the marriage -- in the end, Mr. Lu would still blame his son for causing the marriage to fail. He still believed that Sehun was the perfect son-in-law that everyone desired, so blinded that he could never see the uneasiness in Luhan's expression.

And Luhan wouldn't let that change -- he'd never let his dad see the truth.

"Don't you have work today, son?" Mr. Lu asked, gazing at his son-in-law.

"Today's my day off, dad. I'll go if there's an emergency." Sehun answered with a smile.

Luhan only listened quietly as his husband and his dad talked, pouring coffee for both of them without interrupting. He quickly sat beside Sehun afterwards. 

"You should cook something special for mum and dad today. Is that alright, babe?" 

Luhan coughed at the sudden pet name. How could Sehun say that so easily when it was the first time he'd ever called Luhan "babe"?

"Let's get groceries later, alright baby?" Sehun clasped their hands together as his father looked on happily at their affectionate gestures.

Luhan was this close to vomiting, unable to stomach the pet names. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt using his free hand, thinking off withdrawing his other hand from Sehun's tight grasp. With his parent's eyes on their clasped hands, Luhan decided to let it be, grumbling on the inside.

"You should know, Sehun, that Luhan cooks the best dak galbi. Even my wife can't compete with his cooking." Luhan pursed his lips unknowingly, silently growing tense at Sehun knowing something so intimate about him. 

"It's true, Sehun. Luhan's dak galbi tastes the best, even I can't cook that well. Have he ever cooked that for you before?" Mrs. Lu entered the kitchen, taking a seat next to her husband.

"He never cooks for me... Every time I ask him to, he says he's either too tired or he doesn't have enough ingredients." Sehun grinned teasingly, obviously making up a story.

"Sehun!" Luhan looked at him with wide eyes, glaring at the taller.

"Is that true, Luhan?" Mr. Lu spoke up, making the blonde cower back.

He panicked, contemplating whether to kick Sehun's shin until he couldn't or rip his eyes out. How dare he make up such a story?! Now his father's mad at him! If he blurted out that Sehun lied, Mr. Lu 100% wouldn't believe it -- he trusted his son-in-law more than his own child.

"I was only joking! He always cooks for me and it's always delicious. He knows how to keep me well fed. I'm so lucky to have him as my spouse." Sehun said apologetically, kissing the back of Luhan's hand softly. Was he trying to purposely make their marriage seem perfect and happy for his sake?

Mr. Lu shook his head with a laugh. "Aish... you nearly gave me a heart attack, Sehun. I thought Luhan wasn't treating you well."

Sehun chuckled, quickly trying to change the subject. "The coffee's getting cold. You should drink, dad."

"How long are you guys going to be here for?" Luhan asked -- it wasn't that he didn't dislike his parents but he was terrified their sham marriage would be exposed.

"Why do you sound upset with us about staying here?" Mr. Lu asked skeptically, setting his coffee cup back down.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Luhan shook his head vigorously.

"Luhan always tells me how much he misses you guys so it'd be great if you could stay for a bit, right baby?" Sehun kicked his spouse's leg under the table to signal for Luhan to nod.

"We thought of staying until Christmas -- just around three to four days but since Luhan misses us so much, we're going to stay for a week at least." Mr. Lu announced abruptly. "It's not like we have anything scheduled for next week."

Luhan felt his heart skip a beat. How am I going to survive these seven days? How much longer do we have to keep pretending in this 'happy' marriage? Luhan bit his bottom lip, tasting metal in his mouth.

"That's great! I'm kind of worried to leave him alone since I'm going home later than usual these days... even though the security system is good and safety is guaranteed." Sehun said, a slight grin hanging off his lips as he s his arm around Luhan's petite waist. "Couldn't risk something bad happening to you, Lu." He whispered close to Luhan's ear, sending chills down Luhan's spine.

_

"Luhan!" The booming voice of Mr. Lu echoed throughout their penthouse, startling the poor Luhan from washing the dishes. His mother, who had been helping him, raised her eyebrows, casting him a glance.

Luhan felt the hair on his neck rising, instinct telling him that his father must've found something suspicious or risky enough to expose their pretend marriage. Mrs Lu mouthed 'go' and Luhan hurriedly washed his hands before sprint