For the entire three days, they had passed each other like indifferent coworkers, both pretending to be far too busy to care.

No fights.

Just emotionally nuclear silence.

Yui stepped out of her room. Yuki was busy playing PlayStation in the hall. 

“By the way,” he said without looking up, “my father texted. Dinner. Tomorrow. With your parents. At the main house.”

Yui paused. “What?”

He glanced at her. “Yeah. A family get-together. Fancy stuff.”

“…Why are we being summoned now?”

He finally locked eyes with her, voice smooth and disinterested. “Probably to test us or something. What else could be expected from them.”

Yui groaned, rubbing her temples. "This is a disaster."

"I know. That it's none of my buisness but keep your schedule free for tomorrow. You also know that we have to ace this meeting for our families?"

That stung a little. Yui did felt that she was a bit harsh with her words but she was too overwhelmed at that time - she couldnt control her feelings. She wanted to call a truce but her stubbornness didn't allow her to take the first step.

"You don’t have to tell me that. I know very well." She replied- a fire burning in her eyes. She looked ready for battle.

Within minutes, the kitchen turned into a war room.

A whiteboard. Notes. Color-coded lies.

“Okay,” Yui said, pen in hand.

She scrawled “romantic weekend” underlined in red.

“We studied together on Sunday night,”

“False,” Yuki said. “You studied. I beat three levels of Dragon Empire.”

“We had brunch last Saturday,” Yui said, scribbling furiously. 

"Yeah. Definitely DIDNOT hack into the system and deleted our wedding photos." 

"Exactly." She replied and continued.

“French toast. With blueberries. You love blueberries.”

Yuki raised a brow. “I do?”

“You do now,” she snapped. “You smiled while eating them. Remember. Smile.”

He muttered, “I’ll try not to choke on the fiction.”

They agreed on fabricated stories: 

They went to an artisian coffee place downtown. They both did the laundry and household chores together. He helped her fold clothes. 

They gagged at their on stories but atleast agreed on the same thing for once. They spent the whole night preparing for their perfect act. Then Finally,

-Saturday Evening-

The mansion was as ridiculous as ever—marble columns, gold-gilded everything, and the eerie sense that the chandelier cost more than a year's tuition.

Yuki walked beside her in a tailored suit, looking irritatingly handsome- not that she could ever tell him that on his face or even accept that fact herself.

Yui adjusted her white silk dress, trying to focus on walking without tripping on the carpet as she was wearing heels. They both avoided looking at each other too long.

Because when they did…

Her heart did a backflip.

And Yuki’s stomach twisted like he’d swallowed something sharp.

Both at that time shared the same thought "Snap out of it! All of this is just an act. It's all fake." 

Their families greeted them with polite smiles and gentle hugs. Yui’s mother looked genuinely emotional seeing her daughter again. Her father gave Yuki a firm, approving nod.

Yui’s mother gently touched her cheek. “You’ve grown thinner. Are you eating well?”

“She doesn’t skip meals,” Yuki cut in smoothly. “I make sure of it.”

Yui blinked. Then nodded. “He’s… always annoying about that.”

The two shared a forced laugh.

They both looked at each other as if they were communicating with their eyes. 

"Nice one." Yui's eyes sparkled.

"I guess." Yuki smirked.

Fake stories flowed like wine.

How they spent the weekend.

How they studied together.

How Yui taught him how to fold laundry.

“You two seem closer,” Yui’s father noted with a nod of approval.

“Marriage suits you,” Yuki's father added.

Yuki smiled politely.

If only they knew their idea of bonding was erasing leaked marriage photos and pretending to like the same kind of instant ramen.

Everything was going too smoothly.

Until Yuki's father, voice calm said "It's unfortunate that your wedding photos all vanished." 

"They did?" Yuki replied calmly with a straight face.

"Yes. It could have been a glitch in the system." 

Yuki cleared his throat. "Maybe." He smoothly ended the conversation.

Yui looked tensed the whole time sipping on water to calm herself down. Yuki meanwhile, noticed this and put his hand on hers much to her surprise. Since it was under the table no-one could see. She stole a quick glance at him and remained silent. She felt her nerves calm down but her heart on the other hand pounding at a faster rate.

After the dinner , Just when they thought they had survived...

“You’ll be staying the night, of course,” said Yuki's father casually. “Your room is prepared, Yuki. But the guest wing’s being renovated, so…”

“You can share,” his mother added. “Like you do at home.”

Cue internal screaming.

Yuki forced a smile. “Of course.”

Yui’s eye twitched. “Naturally.”

Their mothers beamed.

Their fathers looked satisfied.