Husband With Benefits

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.