Husband With Benefits-Chapter 812: Why?

"Why did you decide to ditch me?"

Lily wanted to scream. Why now? Why was he bringing this up when he hadn’t even bothered to reply to her messages for weeks? Just when she thought he had moved on—just when she had convinced herself he didn’t care—he throws this at her, his voice sharp and demanding.

"I didn’t ditch you," she snapped, crossing her arms defensively. "I just thought there was no point in seeing each other anymore."

"No point?" Cai’s voice rose, incredulous. "And why did you reach that conclusion, huh? Out of the blue?"

"It wasn’t out of the blue, Cai. You..." She hesitated, trying to find the right words, but nothing sounded quite right in her head. "You’re way too forward for me. It made me uncomfortable, okay? So I decided to set my boundaries."

"Forward? You think I was forward?" He scoffed, his frustration palpable. "Remind me, who asked who out?"

"Yes, I did ask you out!" Lily shot back, her temper flaring. "But that was because I felt nostalgic when I saw someone from my past. That’s it! I didn’t expect you to take it as an invitation to start getting... closer."

"Closer?" Cai’s expression darkened. "We barely did anything! And now you’re making it sound like I crossed some line."

"Maybe you didn’t realize, but you have this habit of getting too close, Cai. You don’t respect personal space." She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "And besides... I’m the little sister of your dead girlfriend. You should really maintain some distance. Or is it that you thought it would be fun to see how it was to sleep with two sisters?"

"Or is it that you thought it would be fun to see how it was to sleep with two sisters?"

The words barely left her mouth before Cai shot to his feet, slamming his hand down on the table with a loud bang. The sudden movement made Lily flinch, her heart leaping in her chest. The plates rattled, and she instinctively took a step back, her pulse racing.

For a moment, the room was filled with a tense, deafening silence. Cai stood there, his chest rising and falling with barely contained fury, but when he finally spoke, his voice was eerily calm, like a blade drawn quietly from its sheath.

"I had no idea," he said, his eyes hard and cold, "that this is what you thought of me."

His words were quiet, but they hit her harder than if he’d been shouting. Lily swallowed, but she couldn’t find a response as he continued, his tone controlled, deliberate.

"All we did, Lily, was a little harmless flirting," Cai said, his voice steady, each word pronounced with precision. "Nothing more. But clearly, you’ve taken that and twisted it into something else in your head."

Lily opened her mouth, but no words came out. She could feel the sting of regret building in her chest, but Cai wasn’t finished.

"As for sleeping with your sister..." He paused, and the cold intensity of his gaze made her stomach churn. "You seem to forget that she was sixteen when she died from her illness. I never slept with her." His voice sharpened. "But thank you, Lily, for clarifying where your mind’s been."

He exhaled slowly, the tension in the air thick between them. He gave her a slow, deliberate once-over, his expression hardening further, while she felt as if she was the one who was being suffocated. She wanted to say something but the words were stuck in her throat as he continued.

"Now that I know where you stand," he said, pushing his chair back with a scrape, "I’ll be sure to maintain my distance."

His words stung, a cold finality to them that made her chest tighten and she had to remind herself that it was good that he was going to maintain his distance. Cai’s hands rested on the table for a moment, and then, with a calm that belied the storm brewing beneath the surface, he slowly pushed the plate in front of him aside. The simple motion felt like a dismissal. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"I’m not hungry anymore." His eyes flicked up to hers, cold and detached. "And I’d appreciate it if Miss Housekeeper would stay out of my way from now on."

Lily felt the air drain from the room. Her throat tightened, but before she could respond, Cai spoke again, his voice low, but with enough venom to pierce her.

"I can cook for myself. I don’t need anyone, least of all you."

She watched him leave and somehow, the feeling of relief she had expected did not come, only letting her feel guilt. Before Cai reached the door, he paused, however, speaking without turning around. "And Lily," he said, his voice lower now, almost a whisper, "you might want to think twice before you make assumptions about people. Not everyone is as careless with others’ feelings as you are."

The door clicked shut behind Cai, and Lily stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest.

For the rest of the morning, Lily tried to occupy herself, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Cai. She busied herself with cleaning, rearranging the living room furniture, and cleaning the already clean nooks and crannies, all in an effort to distract herself from the gnawing guilt that twisted in her stomach. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the image of his hurt expression or the icy finality in his voice.

As lunch approached, she found herself glancing at the clock, feeling even more guilty that he was probably starving himself because of her.

Finally, she decided to check the kitchen, hoping he might have come out for something to eat. But the house remained eerily quiet, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Just as she turned to leave, she heard the unmistakable sound of the pantry door creaking open.

She watched as Cai stepped inside, his back turned to her. The sight of him made her stomach drop; he looked so rigid, so closed off. She opened her mouth, ready to say something—anything—but before she could find her voice, he emerged from the pantry, a cup of instant noodles in hand.

Instead of speaking, she watched him grab the hot water kettle from the counter, his movements quick and efficient. It was as if he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

"Cai," she finally managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper, but he didn’t look back. He poured the hot water into the cup noodles and then just left...