Chapter 8 — Back Before The Wedding Day

One month after her mother fully recovered, Khanh Linh's life gradually entered a stable orbit. The spring collection project is progressing smoothly, the first sketches have been approved by the design council to move to the prototype production stage. That evening, the entire project team had to stay late at the company to complete the documents to present to the board of directors the next morning.

"Everyone take a break, I've ordered dinner for the whole team," Khanh Linh said, looking around the meeting room where the members were working with tired faces.

Before that, during the afternoon break, Bao Ngoc accidentally witnessed the scene of Khanh Linh and Lam Quoc Bao standing and discussing work by the hallway window, both laughing and talking naturally, much closer than a normal colleague relationship. She stood still and looked for a moment, a feeling that was hard to name arose in her heart — not exactly jealousy, but more like a vague sense of lostness, as if she were standing on the sidelines of something her best friend was gradually building without her in it.

"Are you two that close?" Bao Ngoc asked when Khanh Linh returned to her desk, her voice trying to sound casual.

"It's normal, we were discussing the budget for producing a prototype," Khanh Linh replied, not realizing the complex nuance that flashed through her friend's eyes.

"Mr. Bao seems to be a trustworthy person," Bao Ngoc continued, looking far away at the window where Lam Quoc Bao had just stood. "Have you known him long?"

"Just recently, through my father's introduction," Khanh Linh replied, then returned to focusing on her work, not noticing that the question contained more than its simple appearance. For her right now, the biggest concern is still the progress of the project and the unfinished clues about the strange woman at the gala, never thinking about the complicated emotions that are silently brewing in her best friend's heart.

By nearly ten o'clock in the evening, most people had finished their work and left, only Khanh Linh and Lam Quoc Bao remained to do a final review of the estimated budget for the production phase. The design room was quiet, only the sound of the keyboard clicking and the desk lamp shining down on the document pages.

"You should go home and rest, let me finish this part," Lam Quoc Bao said, looking up at Khanh Linh who was rubbing her eyes because she was tired.

"It's okay, I want to take a last look before presenting it tomorrow morning," she replied, smiling slightly. "Besides, I can't bear to leave you alone here until late."

The two continued working in silence for a while, only occasionally exchanging a few brief sentences about the data. By the time it was finished, the clock was nearly eleven o'clock at night. Lam Quoc Bao stood up, made two cups of hot coffee and brought them to Khanh Linh's desk.

"Thank you," she said, accepting the cup of coffee, the warmth spreading through her cold palms from sitting for a long time in the air-conditioned room.

"You work so hard," he commented, sitting down in the chair opposite, his eyes slightly concerned. "Sometimes I wonder what makes someone in such a high position like you still have to be so careful and meticulous about every little detail."

Khanh Linh smiled slightly, her distant eyes looking out the window at the sparkling city lights at night. "Maybe because I've seen what can happen when people own you "I don't want to repeat that mistake again."

"It sounds like you went through something not easy," Lam Quoc Bao said, his eyes calm but containing a deep understanding rarely seen in a new acquaintance. "Me too. Before coming here, I had a very difficult time - my old company suddenly went bankrupt, I lost my job, and I lost all faith in relationships that I thought were sustainable."

Khanh Linh was silent for a moment. She knew that the "old company went bankrupt" was only a small part of what Lam Quoc Bao really had to go through in his previous life - being falsely accused, being fired in disgrace, losing all honor just because he was close to a conspiracy that he did not know about. This time, she prevented that tragedy from happening much sooner, but the wounds from his most recent past were still present.

"I believe, what you've been through will help you become more resilient in the future," she said, looking at him with sincere eyes. "And I believe, here, you won't have to go through such bad things again. I will try to ensure that, within my ability."

Lam Quoc Bao was a bit surprised by that firm assertion, but then smiled slightly, a rare smile that made his normally calm face become much warmer. "Thank you. I believe so too."

That quiet moment lasted for a while longer, no one said anything, only the sound of the coffee cup lightly hitting the saucer and the city lights sparkling outside the window testified to a silent connection that was gradually forming between two people who had been treated unfairly by fate in different ways.

"It's late, I'll take you home," Lam Quoc Bao said, breaking the silence and standing up to pack his things.

"Thank you, but I can go home by myself," Khanh Linh replied, although her heart felt a little warm at that concern.

"The road home is deserted at night, let me take you home for peace of mind," he insisted, his eyes determined not to allow refusal.

Finally, Khanh Linh agreed to let him take her home, sitting in the car in silence, with only the steady sound of the engine and the street lights passing through the window. When the car stopped in front of the small alley leading to her house, Lam Quoc Bao got out of the car and politely opened the door.

"Thank you for today," Khanh Linh said, getting out of the car.

"Nothing, go home and rest," he replied, nodded and got in the car to leave.

Standing in front of the house, watching the car lights disappear into the night, Khanh Linh felt a strange warmth creeping into her heart - completely different from the infatuation and passion she had for Dang Khoa in her previous life. This is a feeling of safety and stability, as if she has found a reliable fulcrum among the countless traps that lie ahead.

Entering the room, she opened the notebook and wrote a short but emotional line: "Lam Quoc Bao - not just an ally, perhaps gradually becoming something more important than that. It takes time to understand my own feelings, but this time, I won't rush nor hide."

The next morning, the presentation of the project documents to the board of directors went smoothly beyond expectations. The detailed and transparent budget documents that Khanh Linh and Lam Quoc Bao completed together until late the night before received praise from Ms. Kim Chi herself, who is famous for being difficult in every meeting.

"The way the two of them coordinate creativity and financial control is very tight," Ms. Kim Chi commented, her sharp eyes scanning each page of documents. "This is what the corporation needs in a large project like this."

Dang Khoa sat next to his mother, his eyes stopped a little longer than usual where Khanh Linh and Lam Quoc Bao were standing next to each other presenting, a moment of something hard to name flashed across his face before quickly returning to his usual calm look. "Good job, both of you," he said, his voice still polite but a little more reserved than usual.

After the meeting, when everyone left the room one by one, Khanh Linh felt Dang Khoa's eyes still following her for a long time before he turned away. She wasn't sure whether it was the usual concern of a colleague, or whether she was starting to feel a little secretly jealous of the increasingly obvious connection between her and her new financial manager. Whatever it is, she told herself, she will not let the unclear emotions of others dictate the path she has chosen.

That afternoon, when eating with the whole team to celebrate the successful presentation, Lam Quoc Bao sat next to Khanh Linh and spoke softly enough for her to hear. "Thank you for last night. Thanks to you, the application was completed so neatly." His eyes when he said that sentence were filled with sincere respect, without any calculations, making Khanh Linh feel completely relieved amidst the many complicated emotions swirling around her in recent days.

"It's okay, it was the effort of both of us," she replied, smiling, her eyes briefly touching his for a brief moment before they both turned back to their meals, leaving behind a warm, unspoken understanding.