Chapter 23 — CEO Phong, Stop Chasing Her—She Already Has a Marriage Certificate

Four months after the fateful performance, Nhã Kỳ sat alone in the design studio late one evening, after Bảo Nhiên had been picked up by her grandmother to stay at the villa. She looked back at the entire journey she had gone through since that night standing silently in the glass hallway in Singapore — from a resigned, heartbroken wife, to an independent, confident woman standing firmly on her own feet.

Outside the design studio window, the city of Hanoi at night sparkled with lit, the sound of distant car horns echoes, mixed with the sound of sewing machine fans that had been idling since the afternoon. She opened her old notebook and turned to the last page where she had written a to-do list for herself the night of the flight back from Singapore. Looking back, she realized she had accomplished almost all of her goals — meeting a lawyer, building an independent career, finding herself. There's only one final question she still did not have a definitive answer to: whether she should give Chính Nguyên, and herself, a second chance.

She called Tú Anh, her friend who had accompanied her throughout this arduous journey.

"What do you think, Tú Anh? Am I making the same mistake again, considering getting back with Mr. Nguyen?" Nhã Kỳ asked, her voice filled with concern.

"I think, your old mistake wasn't that you loved him or trusted him," Tú Anh replied, her voice more serious than usual. "The old mistake was that you lost yourself in the process of trying to please him and your husband's family. If you come back now, as a Nhã Kỳ who has found herself, has her own career, has her own self-esteem, then that is not a repeat of the mistake, but a completely different choice, coming from a much more equal position."

"But I'm still worried about you, Nhã Kỳ," Tú Anh added, her voice a bit hesitant. "The Phong family, even though everything has calmed down, is still not an easy environment. Are you sure you are strong enough to both maintain your own career and face the old pressures if you return to being the daughter-in-law of that family?"

"I don't intend to go back to being a bride in the old sense," Nhã Kỳ replied, her voice was somewhat clearer in her own thoughts. "If Mr. Nguyen and I reconnect, I will keep my own apartment, keep my own design studio, keep all the independent space I have built. I will not let myself be swept back into the old cycle, where I lost myself just to please others."

Tú Anh's words made Nhã Kỳ think for a long time. Her biggest fear, she realized, was not whether Chính Nguyên had truly changed — the past four months had proven that quite clearly — but the fear of losing herself again if she returned to her old marriage.

She decided that if she gave Chính Nguyên a second chance, it would have to be a completely different relationship than seven years ago — a relationship where she was no longer a woman who only knew how to give and wait, but an equal partner, with a voice, with her own space for her career and passion.

That night, before going to bed, she stopped by Bảo Nhiên's room, sat on the edge of the bed and watched her daughter sleep. She whispered, almost to herself: "I hope, when you grow up, you will learn that real love is not about sacrificing everything in silence, but about two people building together, growing together, no one has to lose themselves for the other." Bảo Nhiên, even though she was sleeping, stirred slightly, a small smile flashed across her lips, as if even in her dream, she felt peace gradually returning to her house.

That weekend, Nhã Kỳ arranged to meet Chính Nguyên at the same old office in the Phong family villa - where she gave him the fateful divorce documents nearly a year ago.

"I have thought very carefully, Chính Nguyên," she spoke, her voice calm but filled with a new certainty. "I believe your change over the past four months has been sincere. But if we are to get back together, I need some clarity, not as an imposed condition, but as a foundation for both of us to build a healthier relationship."

"You talk, I'll listen," Chính Nguyên replied, his eyes focused completely on her.

"First, I will continue to operate NK Atelier independently, without depending on any resources of Phong Thịnh Group, to ensure that the value and reputation of the brand is completely my own," Nhã Kỳ said, counting each thing on her fingers. "Second, we need to have regular, frank conversations about emotions, about difficulties in work and life, not letting anything simmer in silence like before. Third, if there is any relationship - whether it's friends, partners, or anyone - that has the potential to affect family boundaries, I need to be transparent and share with you from the beginning, not letting you discover the truth on your own in a painful way like it happened before. out," She looked straight into his eyes as she stated each condition, not with a questioning or suspicious attitude, but with the straightforwardness of someone who has learned to protect her own values, no longer afraid to express her own needs for fear of offending others. This is the biggest difference between the Nhã Kỳ of seven years ago and the Nhã Kỳ of the present - she no longer considers silence and patience as a measure of good love.

Chính Nguyên nodded after each thing Nhã Kỳ said, without showing any discomfort or objection. "I agree with all of that, Nhã Kỳ. In fact, I've been setting similar principles for myself for the past four months, even though I haven't said them out loud to you."

"One last thing," Nhã Kỳ said, her voice softened. "I want us to start over, not as a return to the status quo of our old marriage, but as a completely new beginning, with more realistic expectations, more open communication. I don't need a perfect husband, Chính Nguyên. I just need a partner who really sees me, listens to me, and is willing to build with me, instead of leaving me alone to shoulder everything in silence."

Chính Nguyên stood up and walked closer to her, his eyes filled with emotions that he no longer tried to hide like before. "I promise, Nhã Kỳ. Not an empty promise like before, but a commitment I will prove with actions, every day, for the rest of our lives."

Nhã Kỳ looked at him, seeing in his eyes a sincerity that she had never seen during the previous seven years of marriage. She smiled, a relieved smile, full of hope but no longer as naive and blind as before.

"Then, let's start again, Chính Nguyên," she said. "From today."

Chính Nguyên hugged her, a hug that was not hasty, not passionate, but warm, firm, like a quiet affirmation of what they had just committed to each other. Nhã Kỳ leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling his heartbeat steadily, a feeling of peace that she had longed for seven years but had never truly felt as fully as now.

"I have a small proposal," Chính Nguyên said, his voice gently rising after a moment of silence. "We can organize a small ceremony again, not to show off or prove anything to anyone, but as a milestone to mark this new beginning, witnessed by family and closest people. What do you think?"

Nhã Kỳ looked up at him, the corners of her lips curled up into a genuine smile. "I think it's a beautiful idea, Chính Nguyên. But this time, I want to personally design the dress I will wear, not a lavish wedding dress according to family standards, but a design that truly reflects who I am now."

"I look forward to seeing it," Chính Nguyên replied, his eyes filled with tenderness that he had never fully revealed in the past seven years.

They stood together in the familiar office room, the place that had witnessed the most painful moment of their old marriage, now becoming the place that marked a new beginning full of hope. The moonlight from the window shined into the room, clearly illuminating the two figures standing next to each other. There was no longer an invisible distance like seven years ago, but a bond rebuilt from the painful but necessary lessons they had both experienced together.