Chapter 14 — CEO Phong, Stop Chasing Her—She Already Has a Marriage Certificate

That weekend, Chính Nguyên sat in his office, opened the financial report Đặng Việt Anh had prepared, and carefully read each line of data. The more he read, the more he felt an insecurity rising in his heart - the total amount of money he had transferred to Diệp Uyển Thi in the past ten months, combined, was enough to buy a luxury apartment in the city center, a number completely disproportionate to the concept of "temporary support" that he kept telling himself.

He called an old classmate who now works in the event industry and cleverly inquired about Uyển Thi's current job position. The answer stunned him: not only was she holding the position of media relations director with a high salary, but she was also rumored to be a bright candidate for the position of deputy general director of the region's largest event company in the upcoming restructuring. This is absolutely not the image of a woman struggling to get through the day as she described to him.

He recalled that just last week, Uyển Thi texted her and complained about "not knowing how to manage this month's rent", a complaint that made him without hesitation transfer a significant amount of money to her account, when in fact, according to what her friend had just revealed, she had the financial ability to fully support herself. The discrepancy between the image she always built in front of him - a fragile woman, in need of protection - and the reality of her prosperous life and progressive career, made Chính Nguyên begin to doubt how much of what Uyển Thi had shared with him all this time was the truth, and how much was just a delicately staged drama.

Chính Nguyên sat silently in front of the computer screen, feeling like the disparate pieces in his head were gradually coming together to form a completely different picture than what he had believed for many months. He decided to find his father, PhÔng Chính Đức, the only person who could still give him a clear answer about the fateful night of the accident nine years ago.

Mr. Chính Đức, when hearing his son ask again about Nhật Trường's death, initially appeared to avoid it, but in the face of his son's determined eyes demanding the truth, he finally sighed and told the entire story that had been buried for nearly a decade.

"That night, I actually called Nhật Trường and asked Nhật Trường to bring the urgent approval documents to save the company from the risk of being taken over." Mr. Chính Đức began, his voice low and heavy. "But what you don't know is that before receiving your call, Nhật Trường had just gone through a painful breakup with his lover and drank a lot of alcohol alone at home. The police investigating the scene confirmed that his blood alcohol concentration exceeded the legal limit many times. It was his decision to drive drunk that was the direct cause of the accident, not my call."

Chính Nguyên stood still, feeling like the whole world had just turned completely upside down. "So why haven't you told me this truth for the past nine years? I've lived in torment and sin for all those years!"

"Dad, I'm sorry." Mr. Chính Đức bowed his head, his eyes full of regret. "At that time, Nhật Trường's family was in extreme pain. I did not want to further damage the honor of a deceased person by publicizing the story of his drunk driving. I thought, silence was the best way to protect both families. I did not expect that silence would cause you to carry an unnecessary burden of guilt for so many years, and worse, I did not expect that he would be taken advantage of in this way."

Chính Nguyên clenched his hands, feeling like the entire foundation of trust he had built over the past nine years had just been completely overturned. He once thought that shouldering the torment of his best friend's death was part of the responsibility he had to carry throughout his life as a worthy punishment. Now, knowing that responsibility never really belonged to him, he felt both relieved and extremely confused, as if a whole part of him that had been accustomed to living for nearly a decade had suddenly lost its foundation.

"Does Uyển Thi know this truth?" Chính Nguyên asked, his voice shaking as he suppressed the rising anger.

Mr. Chính Đức was silent for a long time, then nodded heavily. "Their family was fully informed of the results of the investigation by the police from the beginning. Uyển Thi knew perfectly well that the real cause of her brother's death had nothing to do with her responsibility. But perhaps, because she was too sad, because of the family's subsequent collapse, she chose to blame the situation, on my call that night, as a way to ease her own pain."

Mr. Chính Đức, after telling the whole truth, put his hand on his son's shoulder, his voice lowered with guilt. "I know, I was wrong to keep silent for so long. I thought, once time passed, the pain would subside, and the truth would no longer be important. But I was wrong. There are truths that, if not told at the right time, will not disappear on their own, but will only silently wait for the opportunity to cause greater damage."

"I don't blame dad," Chính Nguyên said, although his voice was still heavy. "But I need to know, besides dad, does anyone else know this truth? Is there any evidence that can be verified, in case you need it?"

"The original police investigation file is still archived. Dad kept a copy in the safe of his private office, along with the minutes of work with Nhật Trường's family at that time," Mr. Chính Đức replied. "I'll give it to you, if you need to use it to clarify things."

That information was like a knife cutting deep into Chính Nguyên's heart. For the past nine years, he has lived with a burden of guilt that has no basis in reality, a burden that Uyển Thi - who knows the truth - continues to let him carry, even cleverly exploiting it to penetrate deeper into his family life.

He didn't want to believe that Uyển Thi had deliberately taken advantage of his pain and remorse from the beginning. Perhaps, in the early years, she was really miserable and really needed support after a family incident. But at least recently, when she had stabilized her career and had a strong social position, the fact that she continued to let him believe that she was struggling, continued to receive large amounts of financial support, and continued to cultivate a close relationship with Bảo Nhiên without even informing him and his wife, all of that could no longer be explained simply by the pain of loss.

Chính Nguyên left his father's house and drove through many streets of Hanoi at night, his mind confused with a series of questions. He remembered every little detail in his relationship with Uyển Thi over the past time - the times she skillfully reminded him of Nhật Trường's memories whenever he showed signs of wanting to keep his distance, the times she showed weakness and needed protection right at the times he was having conflicts with Nhã Kỳ. Looking back, everything seemed to have been arranged much more elaborately than he ever thought.

He stopped the car on the shore of West Lake, sat quietly looking at the water reflecting the city lights, his heart was filled with a feeling of both relief because he had let go of the burden of guilt that had been clinging to him for nine years, anger because he realized he had been taken advantage of, and pain when thinking about how that exploitation had become the direct cause of pushing his marriage to the brink of collapse.

He knew, now, he needed a frank conversation with Uyển Thi to clearly confirm her true motives, before deciding on the next step in finding Nhã Kỳ.

Before leaving the lakeshore, he called Đặng Việt Anh, asking his assistant to quietly learn more about Uyển Thi's entire financial records and current work relationships, not for revenge or to dig up her private life, but so that he could have the most complete and objective picture before making any decisions affecting his family. "I need to know the truth, no matter how hard it is to accept," he spoke over the phone, his voice more determined than ever.

Việt Anh received the order and promised to compile all the information as soon as possible. After the call, Chính Nguyên sat for a while longer by the lakeside, letting the cool night breeze blow through, somewhat soothing the chaotic emotions swirling in his heart. For the first time in nine years, he felt like he had just had a heavy boulder lifted from his shoulders — even though the price for that relief was the bitter truth about the trust he had misplaced for a long time.