Chapter 17 — Love Awakens After Leaving

The Endless Feelings of Those Who Stay Behind

After that shocking morning, Bach Vu asked Tuyet Nhi to take the afternoon off from work, citing the need for time for her to calm down, but in reality he also needed time for himself to sort out all the emotions and memories that had just rushed back. He sat alone in his office, with the door closed, not receiving any calls or meetings, something that had never happened during the seven years he ran the corporation.

The afternoon light gradually changed from light yellow to dark orange, filtering through the thin curtain, covering the room in a sad color that matched his chaotic mood at the moment. He didn't turn on the light, just let the room gradually sink into darkness along with the slow, heavy pace of his thoughts, as if only that almost absolute silence was enough weight for him to fully face the emotions swirling inside.

He searched through each memory, trying to piece them together into a complete timeline. The little girl Tuyet Nhi in the past, his closest friend in the mansion, who risked her life to endure the bite of a ferocious dog to save him. Then he remembered the day he left to study abroad, remembered the first letters he still wrote regularly, and remembered how gradually, because of his new life, because of the pain of losing his mother, because of the pressure of studying in a foreign country, he let those letters gradually become fewer and then stop completely, without an explanation, without a kind goodbye.

He wondered, during those years, how the little girl in his hometown had to wait, how she had to explain his sudden silence. He imagined the image of little Tuyet Nhi, sitting next to a wooden box containing old letters, waiting for a new letter that never came, and his heart ached with a feeling of guilt that he had never experienced before.

But what torments him the most was not the past, but the present - for the past three years, Tuyet Nhi had been right next to him, working side by side with him every day, but he had never once realized that she was his childhood friend. Worse, he also let her endure Van Khanh's orders and contempt, so that she had to silently take care of the wedding of the person she loved, while every night, she still had to return to the small room in the back yard and wash his clothes herself like a servant, without a word of complaint.

He remembered the countless times over the past three years when he had unintentionally asked Tuyet Nhi to stay at work late, assigned her tons of unnamed tasks outside of the official job description, without ever once wondering if she would have to face any other responsibilities after leaving the office. He always simply thought that she had a stable private life, a normal family somewhere out there, never for a moment thought about the possibility that his devoted assistant would have to live such a hard double life, right under his family's roof.

He stood up, walked to the window, looked down at the distant backyard behind rows of ancient trees. For many years, he lived in the splendid, well-serviced main house, never thinking that right in the very grounds of his mansion, there was a girl - who he now knew was the benefactor who saved his life in his childhood - still living a quiet, hard life, suffering from a status gap that his own family had invisibly but cruelly imposed on her.

Duc Long knocked on the door and entered the room when he saw that his friend's office light was still on even though it was long past his lunch break. "Mr. Vu, what's going on? Miss Nhi said you let her take the afternoon off, but when she left, her eyes looked very swollen and red."

Bach Vu told his best friend the whole story, from the crescent-shaped scar, to the memories that rushed back, to the truth about Tuyet Nhi's true identity. After listening, Duc Long was silent for a long time, then sighed.

"So for the past three years, you've been working next to the girl who saved your life without even knowing it." Duc Long shook his head, his expression both surprised and touched. "What an ironic fate."

He sat down in the chair opposite, remained silent for a moment to give his friend time to calm down, then spoke again, his voice deep in thought. "But Mr. Vu, I think what's worth mentioning here is not a matter of coincidence or fate, but that over the years, Ms. Nhi has chosen to stay, chosen to silently take care of and protect you in her own way, even without any recognition. That is the most honorable thing in this story."

Bach Vu nodded, Duc Long's words were like a knife cutting deeper into the torment in his heart, but at the same time made him more clearly aware of the true value of what Tuyet Nhi had silently sacrificed for him over the years, not only during the three years as an assistant, but since her distant childhood days.

"Long," Bach Vu said, his voice low, "I feel like I've been too heartless. All these years, I thought I was a fair manager who cared about my employees, but it turns out that right under my own roof, I let such an important person suffer in silence."

"You can't blame yourself for things you don't know." Duc Long comforts you. "The important thing now is what you will do next, to make up for the years that have passed."

Bach Vu nodded, his eyes gradually becoming determined. "I won't let her live in the dark any more days. But first, I need to settle the engagement with the Song family, and need to talk frankly with my father about everything, both about the plot to seize shares and about my true feelings."

"So what about Van Khanh knowing Miss Nhi's identity?" Duc Long asked, looking worried. "If she goes public with it before we have enough evidence of the stock-taking scheme, the situation will be very unfavorable."

"I know." Bach Vu nodded, his face returning to the usual stern and decisive look of a large corporation executive. "So we need to speed up the investigation further. Long, you immediately contact the lawyer connections you have and see how long it takes us to collect enough evidence."

"I will try my best, and within the next week at the latest, there will be preliminary results." Duc Long replied, his voice returning to its usual professionalism. "But you also need to mentally prepare for your father, this will be a big shock for him, both in terms of plotting and your love life."

"I get it." Bach Vu replied, his eyes looking far out the window. "But no matter what, I can't continue to hide the truth any longer, from my father, and even from myself."

Late that afternoon, after Duc Long left, Bach Vu sat alone, took out the old notebook he kept in a drawer, and turned to the page of notes about the first interview with Tuyet Nhi that year. He reread the words he wrote, then picked up the pen and wrote a new line below.

"Three years later, I finally figured it out. Sorry for making you wait so long."

He closed the notebook, looked out the window, where the sunset was gradually falling, dyeing the entire city sky a brilliant red orange, exactly like the color of the sky in the background photo he often looked at but never knew it was associated with so many precious memories of his own life.

Before leaving the office, he sent a short message to Tuyet Nhi, not about work, but simply a sincere inquiry: "Are you resting well? Don't think too much, I will take care of everything fine." He looked at the phone screen for a long time after sending it, waiting for a response with a thrill that he had never experienced in any important business deal, even though the value of those deals could be up to trillions of dong.

When the reply message appeared, with just a few words "I'm fine, thank you", Bach Vu suddenly smiled, a smile of relief mixed with strong determination gradually forming in his heart. He knew that the road ahead was still arduous - the conspiracy to seize shares had not been completely exposed, Van Khanh's threat was still hanging in the air, and his father's reaction when he learns the whole truth was still a mystery. But for the first time in many years, he felt he had a clear, strong reason to fight, not only because of his responsibility to the corporation, but also because of a girl who had silently loved and protected him all his life.