Husband With Benefits-Chapter 794: Ghost Or Ghosted

Lily stood outside the door, her frown deepening with every passing minute. It had been over an hour since she started waiting, and there was still no sign of her date. She tried to reason with herself, convincing her mind that maybe he was caught up in traffic or running late. But considering all he had to do was take the elevator down from his room, that excuse seemed less and less believable with each tick of the clock.

Another, more painful possibility began to creep into her thoughts—maybe he had ghosted her. That idea made her heart sink, and she felt more than just a little sad. She had been looking forward to this moment for so long. Caius Frost had been her dream boy for as far back as she could remember. Even when he had been Jasmine’s boyfriend, she had harbored that guilty crush, secretly liking the same guy her sister was dating. It had felt wrong, but the crush had never faded.

And then, later, when Caius had stayed by Jasmine’s side, supporting her through the most difficult times, holding her hand through the worst of the pain, Lily’s admiration for him had only deepened. She had decided that he wasn’t just some random crush anymore—he was the ultimate man. The green flag of all green flags. The kind of guy any girl would be lucky to have.

But now, standing here alone, it seemed like her perfect ’green flag’ image of him was about to crumble. If he didn’t really want to go on this date, he should’ve just said so. He could have declined, or at least had the courtesy to inform her. Her conscience reminded her, though, that they hadn’t exchanged phone numbers, so maybe it wasn’t entirely his fault that he hadn’t reached out. Still, he could’ve found a way.

He did wait here last evening didn’t he? She looked down at herself and frowned. She’d even dressed up a bit for tonight’s date. All her excitement now seemed to have gone.

She sighed, glancing up at the hotel building. She could go upstairs, knock on his door, and confront him, but that didn’t feel right. She wasn’t the type to chase after someone, and certainly not in a way that felt desperate. Checking her watch again, she made a silent decision—she’d give him another fifteen minutes at most. If he didn’t show up by then, she’d leave without looking back.

At least she would have her dignity intact, even if her girlhood dreams were all shattered.

***

Cai knew he shouldn’t have hesitated until the last moment. He knew it, and yet he had done exactly that. Ghosting her had felt wrong from the beginning, but now, as the minutes ticked by, he couldn’t help but wonder if she would still be waiting for him. He was an hour late—an entire hour! How in the world was he supposed to explain this? He couldn’t even come up with a reasonable excuse in his mind, let alone say it out loud.

Glancing down at his watch again, he let out a frustrated sigh before picking up his pace, racing towards the back door of the hotel through the staff staircase. This was no time to stroll in through the main entrance like a regular guest, casually walking around to the back. No, he needed to take every shortcut he could find if he had any hope of salvaging this disaster of a date.

Bursting into the kitchen, Cai’s sudden entry startled everyone. The loud clatter of dishes and the startled gasps from the staff filled the room, creating a commotion that made him frown. Why were they all reacting as though they had seen a ghost? Sure, it wasn’t every day a guest came barreling through the staff area like this, but did they really need to cause such a scene about it? He understood it was unconventional, but this level of chaos seemed a bit much.

The problem was, if Cai had only taken a moment to look at himself, he would have realized why everyone was reacting this way. He didn’t just look like a man in a hurry—he looked like a ghost. Or maybe a zombie. Or worse, a murderer. His clothes were splattered with blood, and his face was twisted in a mixture of urgency and frustration, making him look angry enough to smash anyone who dared to get in his way. The kitchen staff had frozen, wide-eyed, and a few were already reaching for their phones, probably about to call the police.

In his rush to make it to the date, Cai had completely forgotten the event that had caused all this chaos. He had been on track, more or less on time, when he had stumbled across a man in the hotel lobby who was having a severe seizure, collapsing right in front of him. It was impossible for Cai to just walk past so of course he had to stop and help.

Instinct had kicked in, and without thinking, he had rushed to the man’s side, barking at the hotel staff to call for help.

The situation had quickly escalated. The man had bitten his tongue, and blood had spilled everywhere, staining Cai’s hands and clothes as he tried to keep the man stable until paramedics could arrive.

He had done what he could to keep the man breathing and conscious, but it had been a messy, frantic situation. By the time the ambulance finally arrived and whisked the man away, Cai had been covered in blood and sweat, his clothes ruined, and his nerves frayed.

He hadn’t even thought to clean himself up before running straight for his date. hoping against hope that she would still be waiting. Of course, he probably deserved the title of a jerk if she did decide to give him that...

Finally, a waiter seemed to have gathered his courage and started to follow him, intending to stop the crazy man from doing whatever he was planning to do.