Lina didn't like this at all. She didn't want her husband to smile at another woman like that. She didn't want her husband to look at another womanin the same way he stared at her. Her body burned with jealousy. She felt herself turning into the horrible Empress of Teran.

  Tearing her eyes from the window, Lina exited the bedroom. It might as well have been her room. She was the only one who slept in it this entire week. Her husband was nowhere in sight.

  Suddenly, she stopped.

  Lina wondered where he slept. She always figured it was in another room of this enormous palace. But what if… just what if… he had slept with another woman?

  "Oh my god, oh my god, hurry and look!" The maidservant begged, ushering her friend over. "You just missed it!"

  "What? What did I miss?!"

  "A petal landed on the woman's hand, and the Seventh Prince took it off!"

  Lina was dizzy. She told herself it was nothing. Kade was just… kind. Yeah, he was just nice. That's all.

  'But he's never nice to other people,' a tiny voice whispered on her shoulder. 'People say he's never shown interest in women.'

  Lina wished she could deafen the voice, but it nagged at her, in the back of her mind. She peered back at the window. She regretted it, instantly. Kade had stood up, blocking the woman's face from the sun.

  The woman responded by deeply scowling and swatting his hand away. Kade responded by laughing, his eyes crinkling.

  Lina felt the rug being yanked from her feet. She was beginning to question every kind gesture Kade had shown her. Was it all a lie? Was he just pretending?

  This entire time, was Lina the only one falling in love? Or, was she the one meant to fall the hardest? She certainly felt like she was.

  "Stop ogling my husband," Lina coldly remarked.

  Quickly, the handmaidens turned to her. They dared to open their mouths in protest, but clamped them shut. It took two words to whip them back into obedience.

  My husband.

  "Now get me properly dressed for war."——

  "My Lord Husband."

  Kade paused. A second later, he brought the tea cup back to his mouth. He drank it like it was a glass of sweet rice wine. Even the little lady in front of him moved. Her attention drifted from him, like a gentle lamb curious of her surroundings.

  This little auction girl reminded him of Lina from the feisty antics to the undying flames.

  "My Lord—"

  "I'm not deaf."

  Lina clamped her mouth shut. She turned her attention to the other woman. From up close, the stranger was even more beautiful. She had never seen such docile features, yet such determined eyes. Truly, there was no other woman in Ritan who could compare to this exquisite beauty.

  "You certainly acted like you were deaf," Lina leisurely commented, shifting her gaze back to Kade.

  Ah.

  The pleasure of pissing someone off.

  Lina saw his grip tighten on his tea cup. He clenched his sharp jaw. When their eyes met, her heart skipped. He was a dangerous man and she was playing with fire, expecting to not get burned.

  Lina was even more excited when his attention landed on her outfit.

  "What are you wearing?" Kade asked in a smooth voice as if he wasn't going to throw the cup at her face.

  "A sparring outfit," Lina responded in an equally composed tone.

  Kade was beginning to see red. He could already picture it. Her body glistening with sweat, the thin material clinging to her delectable body, and the dogs drooling over her.

  "Dressed like a whore?" Kade returned.

  "No, dressed as a prostitute," Lina sarcastically said.

  She saw him tick.

  Lina nonchalantly linked her hands behind her back. She boredly peered at the strange woman, who bit back a small laugh. Lina was well aware that this outfit was not appropriate.

  Lina wore well-fitted clothes that hugged her curves properly. The sleeves were short and revealed her long arms. The pants hugged her legs, showing the outline of her body perfectly. It left little to the imagination, despite her skin being fully covered up.

  "You'll change."

  "I'll wear less," Lina stated.

  THUD!

  Kade slammed the tea cup down. It cracked right down the middle, red tea spilling like blood.

  Lina didn't even flinch. She simply tilted her head, innocently. Batting her pretty little lashes at him, she smiled.

  "Because my Lord Husband requested as such," Lina said, her fingers landing on the ribbons in the front of her decorative layer. She unbuttoned and tossed the material to the ground.

  Sure enough, there was an even more revealing underlayer. This time, it was a low-cut shirt that revealed her collarbone.

  "I've changed. Happy?" Lina bit out.

  No one dared to respond.

  The handmaidens all held their breaths. If the kidnapping of the Eighth Princess sparked another war, then the murder of Teran's Fourth Princess started the first battle.

  Not a single servant had witnessed someone, much less a woman, blatantly disrespect the Seventh Prince like this. Well, not since he became a Commander. Everyone feared him, not from his achievements, but from the sins he committed.

  Torture. Murder. Evil manipulation.

  There were so many horrible things he had committed. To offend the Seventh Prince was to beg for death.

  "If you act like a brat, I'll discipline you like one," Kade seethed.

  Kade approached his wife in a single step. He grabbed her by the chin and yanked her forward. She was a feisty thing, glaring fiercely up at him. She didn't even wince from pain. Instead, she continued to stare at him with hatred in her eyes.

  Ten days of not speaking to her and she decided to be this way?

  "Go ahead," Lina whispered.

  Their lips were a hair away. Their faces were pressed close to each other, neither party backing down from this fight. Finally, Kade let out a small breath, resembling a mocking laugh.

  "Go ahead and parade yourself in front of my men then," Kade suddenly stated, dropping his hand.

  Lina was surprised. Did her plan to make him jealous fly out the window? She suddenly felt small.

  "For each man that looks, I'll kill one of yours."

  The blood drained from Lina's face. Suddenly, she remembered the other two maidservants that came to Ritan with her. It had been a week since she last saw them, and none of Ritan's handmaidens mentioned them.

  Seeking satisfaction in her reaction, Kade pulled away. He admired her pale expression like she had seen the dead come to life.

  Kade found her incredibly endearing. She thought she could intimate him with jealousy. She did not know he grew up envying his siblings who received all the love in the world.

  "You won't," Lina said.

  "Oh, but I already have."

  Lina's thoughts spiraled to the maidservant from that night. The one that swallowed the letter. Her blood chilled.

  "Now, be a good little wife and wait for me in bed." Kade's fingers looped around a ribbon. He gave it a soft tug and the thin material yielded to his power.

  "I'll take this off you myself," Kade mused.

  Kade rubbed his thumb upon the silk, as soft as her skin. He raised his head and turned to the yellow-haired and green-eyed woman beside him.

  "That is, after I acquaint myself with her."