Husband With Benefits-Chapter 791: Ditched

Cai raised his glass for a toast, "To my success and to many more in the future..." he murmured, his voice trailing off as he sighed at the vacant round table in front of him. It was supposed to be a celebratory dinner, Instead, he found himself abandoned at his own party. Dora had been summoned back to Estonia on a ’national’ matter, and being the devoted boyfriend he was, Kael had rushed to her side without a second thought.

With a resigned shrug, Cai set his glass down and determined to not let the evening end on a sour note, Cai decided to head out for a bit of bar hopping. Since he was feeling ’lonely’, it was best to surround himself with some loud noise and a lot of people!

However, even with all the dancing and chatting with the many locals, Cai realized that his mood had not yet improved. In fact, it seemed to be getting worst. Wow.. he turned his head to look at his reflection in the mirror of the elevator and sighed to himself.. Not even thirty and he was already feeling like a middle aged man. This is what happened when someone cut himself off from friends early on. Hmm. Friends. That was a much better option. Getting new friends instead of dating.

The elevator doors slid shut, and he leaned his head back against the cool metal wall, closing his eyes for just a moment.

It felt so peaceful, the soft hum of the machinery lulling him into a comfortable daze.

But the tranquility was short-lived. The sudden jolt of the elevator stopping brought him back to reality, and he opened his eyes, blinking against the bright lights.

To his surprise, he saw a girl standing across from him, facing him instead of the usual forward position that most people assumed when riding in an elevator. However, that was not what shook him. It was her face. She looked exactly like Jasmine...

Or at least what Jasmine would have looked like if she’d been given a chance to grow and maybe lose the baby chubbiness... This girl’s features were somehow sharper that Jasmine’s but the resemblance was there none the less.

Cai felt a slight wave of intoxication wash over him, mixing with the haunting memories of Jasmine and her smiling face. Shaking his head, he tried to remind himself that this woman could not possibly be her. "Just the alcohol playing tricks on you. She is dead..." he muttered under his breath as he took a tentative step forward, drawn to her.

As he moved closer, she stepped back a bit, until he found himself gently pressing her against the elevator’s number panel. There was an exhilarating tension in the air, but he maintained a respectable distance, not wanting to invade her space too much. "What’s your name?" he asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

"Lily," she replied cautiously staring up at him with puppy like wide eyes.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "So, you’re named after a flower too?"

"You know someone else who is named after a flower too?" she asked curiously.

Cai ignored the question and instead cocked his head at her," So, Lily? Why were you staring at me?"

"Because you look... prettily sad." she said with a nod of her head, as if saying something important.

He frowned at the term, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What does that even mean? Prettily sad?"

"Well," she started, her expression growing serious for a moment, "you’re undeniably pretty, but since you’re a guy, it’s not really something you can be described as, right? And then you just look so sad, so I thought... prettily sad."

A grin broke across his face at this, genuine and wide, chasing away the remnants of his melancholy. The answer was perfectly weird! Just the way he liked it! "That’s the strangest compliment I’ve ever received."

"Compliment or not, it’s the truth," she said, her tone a bit silly.

Just as Cai opened his mouth to respond, the elevator doors slid open with a quiet ding. Lily stepped back, breaking their moment, and turned to face the outside world. "Well, it looks like this is my stop," she said, glancing back at him. "Goodbye, Cai! Don’t stay too prettily sad!"

With a wave, she slipped out of the elevator, leaving Cai standing there, a mix of surprise and exhilaration flooding through him. He watched her go, the familiar ache of nostalgia battling with a newfound curiosity. And he realized that he wanted to chase her. Get to know her more.. extend this encounter, whatever name they could call it.

But all he did was whisper, "Goodbye, Lily," his heart racing with the thrill of an unexpected encounter.

It was only a long time later, as Cai threw himself on the bed that he remembered something odd about the encounter... He had nver told her the name Lily. So, how did she know his name?

But soon enough, he put the thought out of his mind. After all, the girl had been wearing the hotel’s uniform and she was the one who had probably been in his hotel room this morning as well so it was not something to worry his head over.

However, even as Cai rationalised the entire encounter, putting it out of his mind to get a good sleep, the young girl lay on the small narrow bed, her hand rubbing her chest as if to calm her heart at the way the man had enclosed her in the ’prison’ of his arms! It was so romantic that she could still feel her toes curling.

"Cai Frost... you haven’t changed a single bit! You are just the same as in the past.. Or maybe not... you are somehow more ’er’- hotter, prettier, sexier. Ready to send people to the ER1 with his looks...

"I wonder if you will recognise me, like I recognised you. Though you might not... After all, I have changed a bit..."