Chapter 24 — Champion Bodyguard of the Female President

Six months after the day of proposing under the moonlight on the balcony of the apartment, the garden behind the main residence of the Kieu family - which had once been the scene of the fateful fire eighteen years earlier, had now been spaciously rebuilt, shaded by green trees - became the place for the simple but cozy wedding of Tat Bach Nguyen and Kieu Tue Lam.

Mr. Kieu Thanh Nghia, whose health had now almost completely recovered, personally led his daughter down the path covered with white flower petals, towards the small ceremony platform built under the old poinciana tree - the same tree under which the two children once stood under the foliage, exchanging innocent but lasting promises for eighteen long years.

"I never thought that one day I would be able to take you on this road, right at the very place where the biggest tragedy in our family's history happened," Mr. Nghia whispered to Tue Lam as they both walked slowly, his voice filled with emotion. "But perhaps, this is the most beautiful way to completely resolve the pain of the past - turning the place that witnessed loss, into a place that witnessed a new happy beginning."

Tue Lam squeezed her father's hand, tears of happiness began to rise in the corners of her eyes even though the ceremony had not yet officially begun. "I think so too, dad. This is not only my wedding, but also a way for our whole family to close the sad past and open a new, brighter chapter."

Standing and waiting under the old poinciana tree, Bach Nguyen wore a formal black suit, completely different from the image of a quiet bodyguard in dark clothes that everyone had been familiar with all this time. But his eyes, as he followed the figure of Tue Lam in a pure white wedding dress approaching, still retained the gentleness and steadfastness that she had loved since the first days they met.

Mo Thanh Hac, for the second time coming down the mountain within half a year, sat in the row of honor with Dinh Phong Vu and several other close disciples of Van Son Mon who were given special privileges to attend this important event. He wore a simple but dignified traditional indigo ao dai, his eyes following his disciple's every step with undisguised pride.

The ceremony took place warmly and simply according to the wishes of both people, without ostentatious luxuries as often seen in the upper class business world, but focusing on rituals with deep personal meaning. When it came to exchanging vows, Bach Nguyen held Tue Lam's hand, his eyes looked deeply into her eyes, his voice rang out clearly before all the loved ones present.

"Eighteen years ago, under this very tree, I promised an eight-year-old girl that I would always come back to protect her, no matter what corner of the world I had to go to. Today, in the presence of my family, my master, and all my loved ones, I would like to repeat that promise again, not as a promise of innocent childhood, but as a lifelong vow of a grown man - I will love you, protect you. you, and stay with you through all the ups and downs of life, until your last breath."

Tue Lam, tears rolling down her happy face, responded in a trembling but sincere voice. "And I, the girl who thought she had lost you forever, promise to always cherish and preserve this love, to always be a safe haven for you to return to, no matter where life takes us. The promise under the old phoenix tree, today, has finally been fulfilled."

Applause and happy tears spread throughout the garden when the two shared their first kiss as husband and wife. Chu Nha Ky and Do Thuy Linh, standing next to each other in the guest line, kept wiping tears of emotion. Lawyer Tran Huu Khang smiled with satisfaction, and Dinh Phong Vu whistled happily in congratulations, breaking the solemn atmosphere with the sincere warmth of brotherly love.

After the official ceremony, while everyone was gathering for a garden party, a special moment moved everyone to tears. Little Bao Khang, the son of a distant relative in Tue Lam's family, was only three years old. He was attached to the bride and groom throughout the party. Suddenly he ran to hug Bach Nguyen's leg and looked up at him with clear, innocent eyes.

"Uncle Nguyen, will you and Ms. Lam be like your grandparents in the future? Will you be together forever?" the boy asked in an innocent voice, making the whole garden laugh out loud.

Bach Nguyen bent down, picked up the boy, smiling gently. "That's right, uncle and aunt will be together forever, like a promise that can never be forgotten."

Mo Thanh Hac, witnessing that moment from afar, turned slightly to Dinh Phong Vu, his voice full of emotion. "You see, this is what no martial arts technique can give to humans - a perfect home, where love is passed from generation to generation. Bach Nguyen has found the most precious thing in his life."

"I think, master also contributed a lot to helping him find this happiness," Phong Vu replied, smiling and looking at the newlywed couple who were chatting away with the children. "If it weren't for your upbringing and understanding, perhaps he wouldn't have had the courage to open his heart to receive such love."

Mo Thanh Hac just smiled, did not respond, his eyes continued to follow that happy scene with a deep satisfaction that no words could fully describe.

Standing there looking at that scene, Tue Lam leaned her head on her father's shoulder and whispered with satisfaction. "I think, this is the most complete way to close all the pain of the past, dad. Not by forgetting, but by building something more beautiful from those losses."

Mr. Kieu Thanh Nghia nodded, wrapped his arms around his daughter, his eyes looked towards Bach Nguyen and the children playing around him, his heart filled with happiness that he had never dared to dream of during the darkest days of his life. "You're right. And I believe that Mr. and Mrs. Dinh Long up above are also smiling happily when they see their son finding a perfect home like today."

The sunset gradually fell on the garden, dyeing the whole space in brilliant yellow-orange, the bustling laughter of family and friends mixed with the gentle breeze blowing through the old phoenix leaves, a place that witnessed both the pain of separation and the happiness of reunion of two people who had spent eighteen years of their lives trying to find their way back to each other.

As the wedding party gradually entered its final moments, Bach Nguyen pulled Tue Lam to a quiet corner of the garden, where he could see the whole scene of the party bustling with lights in the distance. He took out from his vest pocket a small object wrapped in an old silk scarf — the same faded red thread that he had kept for the past eighteen years.

"I think it's time we do something with these mementos," he said, unfolding the silk scarf and placing the red thread next to the silver bracelet on her wrist. "These things have accompanied us throughout a long journey, from when we were innocent children, until today."

Tue Lam smiled, took off the silver bracelet, and Bach Nguyen tied the red thread and the silver bracelet together on a new string, creating a piece of jewelry that combined both childhood mementos. "From now on, we will keep the same souvenir, just like how we will write new pages of life together."

He put the jewelry back on her wrist, bent down and gently kissed it as a seal for the vows that had just been exchanged. In the distance, gentle music still rang out, the laughter of relatives and friends blended in the sunset that dyed the garden purple, fully witnessing the meaningful private moment between the two people.

The promise of a nine-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl under the old poinciana tree that year, after many ups and downs of fate, was finally written into the most beautiful love story that both families have ever witnessed. And from today, under the same old poinciana tree that witnessed both tragedy and happiness, a completely new chapter of their lives officially begins, no longer a story of a painful past, but a story of a future built with love, steadfastness, and a promise that has been kept completely for eighteen long years.