“Ok,” Sehun stated simply, eyes fixed on my father. “I will take her to meet my family.” If possible I felt both relieved and afraid at same time. There was also a part of me that felt a little frustrated that my father's manipulation had worked on Sehun so easily.

A smile lifted my father’s withered lips. “Good. That’s what I hoped you would say.” Well, at least he wasn’t lying about that part. “I don’t want Mira to spend Christmas alone. Would you mind taking her to your family’s house for it?”

I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped. Surely my father wasn’t so naïve as to think that that was a normal arrangement to have. If my father hadn’t had an ulterior motive, there was no way he would be suggesting something like this - no normal father would be, anyway. I almost protested aloud when my eyes flicked to Sehun who was nervously chewing his lip. His eyes darted between the two of us as he gnawed away.

“That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” my father pressed, his voice suddenly becoming overpowering despite the level tone he kept. It was no wonder he was such a tyrant in the business world.

Sehun remained silent for a moment. Once again I wanted to speak up, saying that it was fine and that I didn’t mind spending Christmas alone. But once again, I didn’t. And I really wish I had. Shaking his head gently and with an almost reserved sigh, Sehun quietly replied, “No, sir. I’m sure my family would love to spend Christmas with her.”

“Good,” my father practically purred. “I think I was wrong about you – you are a good kid, after all.”

Sehun bowed his head but still looked worried by what he had just agreed to. “Thank you, sir.”

I wanted to curl up into a ball and hide; it was horrible. “Can you both leave?” I abruptly asked, startling everyone in the room including myself at my own rudeness. “Please, I’m very tired,” I added on, trying to lessen the shock of my brutish words.

Sehun nodded and got to his feet straight away. My father was a little slower, but he did get up although I suspected that he was less than impressed at being ordered around by me. At that particular moment though, I couldn't care less. I just wanted him to get out.

I stepped around the pair of them to the door which I then held open.  Again, I was probably being a little rude but I just wanted both of them to leave and separate. Sehun reached the door first, still looking a little concerned at what he had just been unknowingly tricked into. I saw him glancing over his shoulder at my father as if wondering what was the proper way to say goodbye to me in front of him.

Helping him out, I said, “I’ll see you on Monday.” Although tomorrow was Sunday I didn’t even want to see the mailman tomorrow, let alone anyone else. I just wanted a day to recover and get over what had just happened, but I didn’t know how easily this feeling would leave me.

Sehun nodded without complaint and stepped out of the doorframe. My father was about to follow him but I stuck my arm out and stopped him. “Hang on,” I told him, my tone a little harder than I had anticipated. There was no other way about it: I was angry. Sehun looked over his shoulder at us, probably expecting for my father to accompany him on the elevator on the way down. “Go ahead,” I told him, “I need to ask my father something.” And then, with a parting bow to my father, Sehun was gone.

As I closed the door over, I tried to think of the words to express how he had just made me feel. “Why did you do that?” was all I could come up with.

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? You were being too sloppy about it. The rate you were going at, I doubt you would have met them this year at all.”

“By why Christmas?” I pressed, a small whine escaping my lips. I cursed it for making me seem like a child throwing her toys out of the pram.

“Why not?” he challenged. “It’s a family gathering, if you’re there then they will think of you as family as well. This is exactly the angle we are aiming for" We couldn’t have planned this any better.” I wanted to tell him that not everyone thought like that - not by a long shot!

I let out a huff, perhaps a l