Chapter 847: Lost
Lily gently patted her father’s pillow, fluffing it with care, before helping him sit up. As she did, she struggled to keep the smile on her face, even as her father’s soft voice broke through the silence.
"Have you spoken to Cai today?" he asked, his tone tinged with a wistfulness that tugged at her heart.
It was clear he had accepted the idea that she had spoken up out of love for Cai that day about being a willing replacement for him, and he didn’t blame her for doing what she believed was right. He seemed content with the notion, almost relieved, as though it gave him a measure of peace.
But the truth was much more complicated. She hadn’t spoken to Cai. Not since he had left a week ago, after painstakingly arranging everything here. And certainly not after she posted that clarification—the one that had almost crucified her online. He’d gone radio silent and she didn’t know what to do.
For days, the storm that followed had been relentless, consuming her with regret. Every word she had typed, every choice she had made, was dissected and twisted until it felt like her very soul had been laid bare for strangers to judge. Mercifully, someone had come forward, revealing the entire scandal to be the work of someone seeking revenge from Cai, The furor had died down, dissipating as quickly as it had erupted. But she remained unsure. If she had stayed quiet, unaware of everything, would Cai have returned then? Would he have come to see her?
But now, along with the fading storm, her relationship also seemed to have faded into darkness. People had stopped whispering about them, stopped questioning her or his every move. Even the nurse, the one who had so earnestly warned her about the fallout, now seemed to look at her with pity. Perhaps, she thought grimly, even the nurse believed that Cai and she were never as close as everyone had once assumed.
Her father’s voice broke through her thoughts again, gentle but probing. "Are you still worried about me? Is that why you don’t tell me about him?"
Lily sighed, her shoulders sinking under the weight of his words."I am worried about you, Papa," she admitted. "But what do you want me to tell you?"
Her heart ached as she looked at him, his frailty so evident it made her chest tighten. She wanted to shield him from the truth, from the mess her life had become, but at the same time, she didn’t know how to keep hiding it all without him gettin suspicious.
He’d already asked her why he was not here and she’d told him about the scandal though not in detail. Just that someone from the past had tried to harm him and that he was busy handling it.
"Fine," her father said after a moment, his voice softer but no less probing. "If you don’t want to talk about Cai, then tell me what’s going on between your mother and you."