Within the next week, a surprise package was personally delivered by the head imperial seamstress to my room. She had her assistants with her handling the package with such care that one might think it was a treasure of some kind. I was not expecting anyone today, and certainly not expecting the imperial seamstress paying me a visit.

"What a surprise." I murmured, letting her into my chamber.

She said nothing as she assessed my body and measurements with her expert eyes. There's something about her that made me so uncomfortable, she had an impeccable ability bringing out the worst insecurities about my body.

"Hmmm..." She stalked circling where I stood and pinched my love handles. "Fat!" She declared harshly. "I'll have to re-tailor the waist bigger."

"What waist?" I asked curiously. All my clothes and gowns were sent to me without this much commotion. Not once she came personally to deliver a dress and the excitement made my heart raced. I have a feeling there's something more happening that I was not made aware of.

She grinned with such delight and pride that all her teeth showed. "Open the box for her!"

Her assistants scrambled opening the box revealing a blindingly bright crimson cheongsam. It was a wedding dress tailored in secret without my knowledge.

I couldn't fathom how long she'd been working on this.

It was the brightest and most daring red I have ever seen. "It's beautiful!" I murmured breathlessly.

"Of course, dear." She crooned passively, letting me know she's used to praises and compliments about her skills. "My gowns always are, or else I wouldn't be the head seamstress in the palace."

She led me closer. "Stunning isn't it? Go ahead and try it."

My hand reached for the fabric feeling for that smoothness when prince Hoon walked in the room. He caught me just at that perfect moment with my mouth open, admiring the wedding dress he had made just for me. I turned to him, speechless and awestruck. How long had be been hiding this from me?

"Hoon?!"

"Well, what do you think?" He said as he stood by the mouth of the door, wearing a soft smile, soaking in my reaction.

"It's a wedding dress!"

"I know." He said sweetly and walked right up to me. "I wanted to surprise you."

"I heard the date had been decided." I heard third prince Julong's voice came to me. I turned around searching for him longingly. The pang of hearing his voice from nowhere struck me stronger than I wanted to admit it did.

"Where are you?"

I searched for him in this dark hallway but never found him.

"Over here." He rasped.

Then, I saw him, his face half hidden behind the wall. Third prince Julong looked like a child hiding, afraid to be seen by anyone. "Who are you hiding from?"

"Everyone, Jasmine."

"Including me?..."

"Especially you." He murmured softly.

I walked over to him, my steps heavy and empty. "The wedding is taking place on the first day of Spring."

"That's only a few weeks away." His voice cracked and quivered as he talked, trying to hold himself together.

I felt his anguish resonated within me. His eyes flicked away and focused somewhere else, unable to stare at me for too long. "Do you love him?"

It was my turn to look away, my eyes dropped to the floor. "It's not fair, why would you ask such a question? Why would you ask something that could break your heart?"

"Because," his voice broke. "I needed to know. I felt like you have feelings for me but you're trying to convince yourself you love elder brother instead."

"No, I'm not trying to convince myself. He was my betrothed, I don't have reason to have eyes on anyone else."

"You're such a liar, Jasmine. Tell me, do you convince yourself with your own lie?"

"I'm not lying," I said in a voice so low that I could barely hear myself.

I kept my slow stroll pausing just when I reached him. That's when I saw his face, it's slightly narrow from the last time I saw him. The rim of his eyes was darker, it looked like he hadn't eaten or had any good sleep in a while.

"Prince Julong!" I said in a hollow voice, wanting to touch his cheek, nurture him, and make him feel better.

He yanked my hand and pulled me hidden behind the wall with him. Prince Julong pushed my back against the wall and leaned part of his weight on me.

I gasped in surprise and panic. "No, you can't do this. What if we get caught? We're both going to be in big trouble."

"Run away with me, Jasmine. I could take you somewhere safe where they couldn't find you. I could take care of you, I could protect you. We could live together."

"Then what? Hide for the rest of our lives in fear? Don't be so foolish prince Julong. You have your whole life ahead of you, you have the entire imperial army to lead. The entire nation depends their safety on you. You can't throw it all away for one girl."

He laughed, it was a laughter filled with anguish. "How can you be so cruel? How can you turn me down over and over and have no remorse each time you did it? Don't you care about my feelings? Don't you care how much you rip me apart each time you do this to me?"

"Prince Julong."