Husband With Benefits-Chapter 814: Taking Care

The next two days blended into a comforting routine for Lily and Cai. He transformed into a living blanket, keeping her warm while she recovered. Occasionally, he would coax her to let go, slipping out of bed to prepare food, urging her to eat and take her medicine. But most of the time, he remained close, offering comfort when she felt chilled and retreating when her fever broke.

By the morning of the third day, Lily awoke feeling different—lighter, as if the heaviness had lifted. She opened her eyes slowly, only to realize she was hugging something exceptionally warm. Her heart raced as she snapped her eyes open and recognized Cai beside her. The memories of the last two days rushed back, flooding her with embarrassment and a sense of scandal at her own clingy behaviour.

In a quick motion, she rolled away from him, her cheeks burning with shame. The sudden movement stirred Cai, who blinked sleepily before focusing on her as his hand instinctively moved to her forehead. She leaned back and his eyes met hers then. Almost immediately, the soft expression he held shifted into indifference.

"It’s good that your fever has finally broken," he said, while pushing the blanket away and standing up and turning away, his back to her. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"Cai, I—" she started, trying to find the right words.

"You should freshen up. I’ll leave some freshly prepared soup outside That will make you feel much better. After all, you’ve been sick for two days." he replied, cutting her off.

With that, he walked out of the room, leaving her in stunned silence. The last two days had given her a glimpse of the real Cai. He had been so caring and patient with her, as if she meant the world to him. But the moment she had recovered a bit, he had coldly ordered her to freshen up and then walked out of there as if they were nothing but strangers.

After a moment of reflection, she took a deep breath, willing herself to shake off the lingering unease and weakness she felt. She knew she needed to freshen up and confront him again. She couldn’t let this chance slip away. At least he was pitying her at the moment, so she could probably get some forgiveness.

After a few minutes of gathering her thoughts, Lily splashed water on her face and brushed her hair, feeling a bit more like herself.

With a sense of resolve, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. The scent of something savory wafted through the air, guiding her toward the kitchen. As she approached, she spotted Cai emerging from the pantry, a bowl of soup in one hand and a plate piled high with bread in the other.

"You can have some soup and bread," he said without looking up, his tone clipped as he moved past her.

Before he could walk away, something inside her propelled her to act. She reached out, catching the sleeve of his jacket and giving it a gentle tug. Cai paused and turned to face her, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Do you need something?" he asked, his voice steady but lacking warmth.

Lily shook her head at first, but then hurriedly nodded, her heart racing. "I... I want to apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

She hesitated, biting her lip as she gathered her thoughts. "I said some mean things that weren’t really truthful. I feel horrible for it. I let my feelings get the best of me, and I didn’t think about how it would affect you. You hadn’t done anything to deserve them."

Cai stared at her before moving away and placing the food in his hand on the table." I appreciate your apology. For now, you need to eat something and regain some strength. Have a seat."

Lily stared at him. While he was still being a gentleman, and even acknowledged her apology, he had not said that he had forgiven her or accepted the apology.

She moved to sit on the chair and then looked down at the food before asking," Won’t you forgive me? I am truly sorry..."

After a moment, he turned to face her, his expression unreadable. "It’s not about whether I forgive you or not," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "It’s about what you do next. Apologies are just words if they aren’t backed up by actions. You reacted defensively and attacked me with your words because you did not want to answer a question. So, unless you have your answers ready, there is no point in your apology."

Lily looked up at him then. She was not really prepared to answer that. How was she supposed to tell him that she was too involved in this matter and so she had decided to step back. How her feelings were such a mess when it came to him. She was not even able to separate this man now from the boy she had a crush on as a child. And then there was the entire matter of Jasmine.

He seemed to understand her silence as not being ready to talk. With a sigh, he turned back and started to walk away. Somehow, Lily knew that if she did not answer truthfully this time, he might never ask her the question again. So, she gathered her courage and called out," Stop, please."

"I truly am sorry for everything. For my words that day and for my actions. The truth is... look, there are some complications from my end and that is the reason for my decision to pull away from you. I don’t even know how to explain these things. It might feel like I am making a mountain out of a molehill, but the truth is that everything is indeed complicated."

"Well you could try explaining," Cai said softly before returning to take a seat opposite her.

"Tell me, Lily. What is it that is going on in your head? Talking might help..."