He finally looked up at her.
His eyes were red-rimmed and glassy. His voice cracked. "I thought I lost you."
Her breath caught.
"I looked everywhere," he rasped. "I tore apart the whole house… I was about to lose my mind… I thought they'd come for you again. I thought—I thought you were gone."
Another sob escaped his chest, half swallowed, half choked.
"You were just—gone."
Hua Jing stared at him, stunned. Her hands trembled as she cupped his cheeks. "I was just watching the sunset," she whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you…"
But his hands gripped tighter around her waist, as if that was the only part of her that could tether him to reality.
"I couldn't breathe," he whispered. "Not when I walked into that room. You were gone, and the bed was cold, and I—Hua Jing, I was ready to burn the whole world down if it meant finding you."
She exhaled softly, something fragile fluttering in her chest.
His tears had soaked through her gown, and hers joined them now.
