Husband With Benefits-Chapter 799: Living in Shadows

It was late in the night, almost morning, when Lily finally stirred from a fitful sleep. Her eyes were still swollen from her earlier bout of crying, and a dull ache settled in her chest as she blinked against the dim light filtering through the curtains. She instinctively reached for her phone to check the time, but her hand found only empty sheets. Her phone was missing—left behind where her mother had thrown it, in the chaos of the evening. The thought of searching for it felt like a monumental task; she couldn’t muster the energy to care about it right now.

Seeing her parents again had been nothing short of horrifying. Over the years, she had imagined this moment countless times, replaying it in her mind like a film that never quite matched her expectations. She had envisioned their reunion happening on her own terms, in a moment when she felt strong and confident, ready to confront the complicated emotions that came with it. She imagined her parents seeing her—not just as the younger sister of the perfect Jasmine that they had lost—but as Lily, with her own identity, her own worth, and her own life experiences. Someone whose life they would not regret.Not blame the heavens for not making her sick and sparing Jasmine.

It stung to think that she could never measure up academically or in any other way to Jasmine. No matter how hard she tried, the comparisons were always there, lurking in the shadows. Jasmine, with her flawless grades and effortless charm, seemed to cast a long shadow that Lily could never escape. But even with all her insecurities, she had believed she deserved her parents’ love. Instead, their visit felt like a cruel reminder of her inadequacies. Hadn’t she proven herself by coming this far even when they had not believed in her? Hadn’t her mother been confident that she would return to her within a year? And yet, here she was, having supported herself and her education all this time?

But tonight, they had come to her unexpectedly. Even then, she would have been prepared for them, if not for Cai. Meeting him had been unexpected. That morning when she had mistakenly entered his room, she had been shocked and thus ended up banging her foot against the bed, causing him to wake up... and she had escaped from there, her heart racing and worrying that he would recognise her.

But she had not expected to meet him again in the elevator. Or for him to flirt with her when he was so drunk. Yes, she had wondered if he did that because of her resemblance with Jasmine... but then, later when he had waited for her outside the hotel, he had not been drunk.

And then during the dinner, he had not treated her as if she were Jasmine. For example, he had not assumed that she did not eat mushrooms just because Jasmine did not. He had asked her for her preferences and not even mentioned Jasmine once.

By the end of the evening, she had convinced herself that he was interested in her—not as a substitute for Jasmine, but as Lily. It had been a fleeting moment of hope, a sense of possibility that had been building throughout their time together. But that fragile confidence came crashing down with her mother’s dismissive words echoing in her mind, a painful reminder that no matter how hard she tried, she would always be seen as the shadow of her sister, forever compared and never quite measuring up.

With a deep breath, she decided a walk might help clear her mind. She dressed lethargically, throwing on a comfortable pair of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie that felt like a warm embrace.

Before heading out, she caught her reflection in the mirror. The sight was sobering: her swollen eyes and disheveled hair made her look like a ghost and she smiled tiredly at herself. If she walked outside like this, at this hour, people would definitely run in fear.

Hurriedly, she went and washed her face before shaking her head and pointing to her reflection in the bathroom mirror, "It was just a simple date. Nothing to get worked up about." With her phone lost now, she could easily pretend they had never agreed to a second outing. There was a certain liberation in that thought. She had no intention of becoming Jasmine’s substitute again, of looking into someone’s eyes only to see disappointment reflected back at her because she wasn’t the sister they longed for. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

And even if, on the off chance that Cai was not treating her Jasmine’s substitute, she would not let herself endure that position of never being sure, or seeing the gloating doubt in her mother’s eyes.

With a determined nod, she walked out of her room, her heart set on finding solace in the quiet of the night. She’d taken to walking as a way to escape the depression that she had been shrouded in post Jasmine’s death and it never failed to work.

As she stepped outside, the cool night air hit her like a refreshing wave, invigorating her senses. Just as she began to walk, she heard a voice call out from the shadows.

"Excuse me, miss!"

She turned to see a guard approaching, a small smile on his face. "I believe this is yours," he said, holding out her phone. "A man brought it in last night, saying you dropped it."

She took the phone hesitantly as she thanked the guard. The man ha dprobably been her father. She sighed. He could give this to the security guard and yet, he did not have a single word of comfort for her.

Pushing the phone into her pocket, she resisted the urge to see if there were any more messages from him and decidedly increased her speed. Once she was back, she would definitely block his name and delete his contact. There was no way she was going to keep in touch with someone related to Jasmine. She had come all the way to Petrovia to escape those shadows, she would not willingly walk under them again.