Every time she saw his face, she wanted to claw at it

Xia Lin shut the door behind her swiftly, her hands gripping the fabric of her sleeves as she turned to face Hua Jing with clear worry in her eyes. Her gaze flickered over Hua Jing's now-exposed face, her disguise completely ruined. The fake mustache had fallen off somewhere along the way, and her carefully bound chest had loosened from all the running.

For a long moment, Xia Lin simply stared.

Then, her voice came out in a rushed whisper, "My lady, did the prince… did he catch you sneaking out?"

Hua Jing had been asking herself the same question over and over.

How had Zhao Yan found her?

Was it just a coincidence? No, she didn't believe in coincidences.

Had he followed her from the beginning?

The thought made her blood boil.

Her eyes darted toward the window where she could still make out his shadow lingering outside. Her fingers twitched at her sides as she cursed him in her heart a thousand times over.