Chapter 22 — Love Awakens After Leaving

Public Statement Before the Family

The late afternoon sunlight had turned dark orange, shining through the high glass windows of the stateroom, covering the entire room with a layer of unusually warm light after all the stress they had just experienced. The portraits of ancestors on the wall also seemed to soften in that light, no longer having the cold majesty as at the beginning of the meeting, but taking on a tolerant tone, witnessing an important moment about to take place between successive generations of the family.

Bach Vu walked out into the middle of the stateroom, standing in a position where all family members could see clearly. He took a deep breath, clearly feeling his heartbeat beating faster than at any moment in his challenging business career, including the trillion-dollar deals he had negotiated without fear.

"What Van Khanh just said is true." He opened his mouth, his voice was slow but each word resonated clearly. "Vu Tuyet Nhi is the daughter of Uncle Vu Thi Lanh, the housekeeper who has devotedly served our family for more than twenty years. But she shouted it as an insult, and I, I want to say it again, in front of everyone here, as a word of pride."

He turned around and held out his hand towards Tuyet Nhi standing in the corner of the room. "Tuyet Nhi, can you come here with me?"

The whole room was buzzing. Bich Ngoc stood next to her friend and gently pushed her shoulder, whispering encouragement. "Go ahead, boss Vu is waiting for you." Tuyet Nhi walked with shaky steps towards the middle of the room, where Bach Vu was waiting, his eyes never leaving her for a second. As she approached, he grabbed her hand, but instead of immediately turning to continue speaking, he did something that made the whole room freeze.

He lifted the left sleeve of his shirt up to his elbow, revealing the back of his hand, where there was a small, faint, curved scar that for many years he had thought was just a trace of an unknown childhood accident.

"This scar," he said, holding up his hand for all to see, "I always thought it was from some barbed wire fence when I was a kid. It wasn't until a few days ago that I learned the truth." He gently lifted Tuyet Nhi's wrist, pulling her sleeve back a bit, revealing a small crescent-shaped scar on the inside of her right wrist. He placed his arms next to each other, so that the whole room could see two scars, one on his hand, one on her hand, like two pieces of the same story that had never been completely told.

"Nearly twenty years ago, in the garden of this mansion, a German Shepherd dog rushed at me. A girl four years younger than me pushed me away, taking the bite for me. I was only slightly injured when I tried to pull her back. During the many years I studied abroad in England, that memory faded, leaving only a familiar feeling every time I was near Tuyet Nhi that I couldn't explain. It wasn't until I saw this scar again that everything came together. a complete picture."

Mr. Chi Kien sat in the chairman's position, his face briefly looked stunned, then gradually turned into deep contemplation. The whole room was silent, only the sound of an antique pendulum clock ticking steadily on the wall.

At that moment, the side door of the stateroom opened slightly. Ms. Vuu Thi Lanh walked in, her figure slightly bent, her hand clutching a small wooden box that had become discolored over the years. Several family members turned to look, not understanding why the mansion's longtime butler appeared in the middle of a meeting that was meant only for senior members.

"I asked someone to invite you this morning, and I asked you to wait in the next room, in case the meeting came to this time." Bach Vu said, turning to look at Mrs. Lanh with grateful eyes. "Uncle Lanh, can you show everyone what you always keep?"

Mrs. Lanh walked to the middle of the room, her trembling hands opened the lid of the wooden box, took out a film photo that had yellowed over time and a stack of old letters tied with a woolen string. She gave the photo to Mr. Chi Kien with both hands and bowed politely.

"Mr. Chairman, this is a photo of Mr. Vu and our child Nhi, when he was ten years old and Nhi was six years old, taken right in the garden of the mansion, with a film camera that he secretly borrowed from you." Her voice was shaky but clear. "And these are the letters you sent to Nhi in the first two years of coming to England. Nhi has kept them for the past twenty years, not daring to throw any of them away."

Mr. Chi Kien held the photo and looked at it for a long time, his hands shaking slightly. In the photo, a boy and a girl were smiling from ear to ear among the hibiscus flowers, hand in hand, innocent and without any problems. He immediately recognized his son's face from the past, and also the small face next to him, but now, looking closely, there were still familiar features on Tuyet Nhi's face standing in front of him.

"I remember this photo." He spoke, his voice choked, carrying a rare nostalgia. "I still remember, when you were little, every time I looked for you to teach you, I had to go to the backyard to drag you back, because you kept hiding there to play with a little girl all day. I also remember, my wife, your mother, once picked up this little girl, laughed and joked with me that maybe in the future I would have a daughter-in-law who was her." He looked up at his son, his eyes were filled with tears. "Unexpectedly, your mother's joke in the past, twenty years later, would come true in such a magical way."

The whole room was silent at that unexpected sharing. Bach Vu squeezed Tuyet Nhi's hand tighter, turned to look at her, his eyes seemed to give her the courage to speak up for herself, instead of just standing there silently like the whole meeting.

Tuyet Nhi took a deep breath, for the first time in her life she stood in the center of a crowded room like this, not as an assistant standing back, but as herself, completely and no longer hidden.

"Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen." She spoke, her voice trembling but clear, each word weighed from the bottom of her heart. "I am Vu Tuyet Nhi, Mr. Lanh's daughter. I grew up in the backyard of this mansion since I was a child. I never dared to think that one day I would stand here and tell the truth in front of everyone. I'm sorry for hiding my identity for three years as Mr. Vu's assistant, not because I wanted to deceive anyone, but because I was afraid that if the truth were known, I would lose the opportunity to be close to the person I cherish, in the only way I thought possible. I deserve it." She paused for a second, her eyes scanning the listening faces. "But today, standing in front of everyone, I no longer want to apologize for my background. My mother has spent more than twenty years of her life serving this family with all her devotion, and I am proud to be her daughter."

No one in the room spoke. Even the elderly aunt, who was famous for being the most difficult, remained silent, raising her hand to the corner of her eye.

Bach Vu looked at Tuyet Nhi, his eyes were filled with admiration mixed with sincere love. He turned to look at his father, his voice now steady again. "Father, I know that the love story between me and Tuyet Nhi may not be in accordance with the standards of marriage that our family always values. But I believe that a person's qualities, abilities and heart are much more important than their background. Tuyet Nhi has proven that through every day she worked beside me, through the evidence that she was the first to discover today's share appropriation plot, and through her silent sacrifices for twenty years, and she never asked for any recognition."

He turned to look at Tuyet Nhi, his eyes filled with sincere emotions. "Tuyet Nhi, I'm sorry for letting you suffer in the dark for so many years, having to hide your feelings for fear of the distance between your status, and for not recognizing you sooner, even though you were always right next to me. Today, in front of the entire family, I want to publicly say that I love you, and I wish to be with you, not as a general manager and assistant, but as a man who respects and loves women." standing in front of me, my childhood friend who saved me not just once, but for a long life.""

Tuyet Nhi stood there, tears rolling down endlessly, emotions so overwhelming that she couldn't utter any more words, she could only nod and squeeze his hand tightly. She looked around the room, looked at the faces of the family members who were attentively watching this moment, and suddenly remembered the image of herself twenty years ago, a small girl standing behind the backyard gate, not daring to come out to see her young master leave to study abroad for fear of disturbing the family's affairs. Now, right in the most solemn room of the mansion, she was standing in the middle of everyone's gaze, no longer having to hide or hide anything about herself.

Mr. Chi Kien stood up from the chair and walked slowly towards the two people. His eyes were now completely softened, without any trace of the original severity. He looked at Tuyet Nhi for a long time, then looked at Mrs. Lanh who was standing quietly on the side, her hands still holding the old wooden box.

"You agree?" Bach Vu asked, unable to hide the hopeful eyes that were focused on his father.

"I agree." Mr. Chi Kien nodded, then turned to look at all the family members present. "And I hope everyone here will also welcome Tuyet Nhi, and Uncle Lanh, as official members of the Doan family, with all the respect they both deserve."

He stepped closer to Tuyet Nhi, gently placed his hand on her shoulder, his eyes filled with the affection of a superior. "You have silently sacrificed and protected my son for many years without a word of complaint or demand, from the scar on your hand from childhood, to the heart you still kept for three years as an assistant. From today, you no longer need to hide or be self-conscious about your background. I am proud to receive a daughter-in-law of your qualities." He turned to Mrs. Lanh, his voice softened. "As for you, you have kept this mansion, kept a heavy secret for twenty years, alone, without ever asking for anything for yourself. Thanks to that, the Doan family will not let it sink into oblivion."

Mrs. Lanh was stunned, tears rolling down her eyes, bowed her head deeply, unable to say a word except a choked "Thank you".

Scattered applause rang out, then spread throughout the room, as the family members gradually stood up, congratulating the newly publicized love between the two, a love that had silently existed for twenty years, overcoming all barriers of status to finally be fully recognized in the light of day. Bich Ngoc stood in the corner of the room, clapping her hands and quickly wiping away emotional tears. Duc Long stood next to Bach Vu, patting his friend's shoulder. His eyes shone with the sincere joy of someone who had accompanied them both throughout the arduous investigation journey.

Bach Vu pulled Tuyet Nhi into his arms and hugged her gently in front of the entire family, without any hesitation or concealment like in previous days. "From today," he whispered in her ear, his voice just loud enough for her to hear, "you will never have to return to the backyard door alone in the dark again. No matter which door you walk through from now on, I will always be with you."

Outside, the sunset had finally disappeared behind the rows of ancient trees surrounding the mansion, but in the stateroom, the crystal chandelier still shone warmly, illuminating the two people standing in the blessing of an entire family, as if this ancient room itself was celebrating a relationship that had been waiting for twenty years to find its way back to its rightful place.