Chapter 11 — My Arch-Nemesis Cried at My Wedding

My husband and my best friend are at the hotel together!

Oh.

What do you mean, oh! Rush in there and tear them apart!

I have no desire to fight them.

Then let me do it for you.

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, his bespoke luxury suit becoming crumpled and disheveled in a way that looked utterly ridiculous. I hurried to hold him back.

Do not cause a scene!

He turned his head to look at me, his eyes brimming with utter disbelief.

Niem, they have treated you this way, and you still want to protect him?

I am not protecting him.

You are.

He grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him fully. Niem, you must understand—a man who lacks his own purity is not worth marrying. Do you understand?

I looked straight into his eyes. Within them lay a pure, frantic concern for my wellbeing that was entirely genuine. I suddenly felt a mischievous urge to tease him.

And what about you? Do you possess that purity?

He went blank. What?

That purity—do you have it?

His face flushed crimson in an instant, the red spreading from his collar all the way to the tips of his ears.

I do.

How do you prove it?

I...

He choked on his words. Then, he took a deep breath, as if making an incredibly grave decision, and opened his mouth.

Niem, I have only ever liked you my entire life. I have never even held the hand of another woman. If you want, we can go to a clinic for an examination. I am perfectly clean. If you are only willing to divorce him, I am a brand-new, untouched commodity, while that man is already stained and filthy!

Is that true or are you just saying that?

It is the truth!

Luc Nghien Tham, you are twenty-nine years old.

I have willingly kept myself chaste for your sake.

He declared this fact with the utmost gravity and pride. The lobby manager walked by and glanced at us, so I quickly pulled him into a corner.

Alright, alright, I believe you, I believe you.

And what about you?

He countered, narrowing his eyes. You and Vien, you two...

We have nothing between us.

I spoke the truth, but he misunderstood. He assumed I meant that we had never slept together, whereas I meant that we were not married.

Niem, you are married to him, and yet you have never done anything?

That is correct.

You are not lying to me?

He furrowed his brows, a trace of lingering confusion still clouding his eyes. Then, his expression shifted abruptly. Wait a moment—is it possible that you two never officially registered the marriage?

My heart skipped a beat. He had actually guessed it. This was the analytical, logical Luc Nghien Tham I knew.

Niem, tell me the truth.

He stared deep into my eyes. You and Vien—are you actually married or not?

At that exact moment, the voice of Diem drifted over from behind us.

Darling, I think I left my phone in the restaurant.

She caught sight of us. Oh? Niem? Mr. Luc? Why are you both here?

Luc Nghien Tham’s expression froze. He looked at Diem, then at Vien, then back at Diem. What did you just call him?

Diem was confused. Darling—he is my husband, why do you ask?

Luc Nghien Tham’s complexion shifted as if he had been struck by lightning. He slowly turned his head to look at me. She called him husband.

Yes.

Whose husband is he?

Hers.

He is not yours?

I never once said he was my husband.

He stared at me intently for ten full seconds. Then, his lips began to tremble.

Niem.

Yes.

You have been deceiving me from the very beginning.

Not quite the beginning... you misunderstood on your own... let it go.

He drew a long, ragged breath. I expected him to fly into a rage; after all, when this tycoon loses his temper in the business world, the fallout is always significant. But he did not. Instead, he suddenly laughed. It was a laugh that welled up from the very bottom of his heart, as if he had just won the lottery.

So he is not your husband!

Mmhmm.

You aren't married at all!

That is right.

But the status update you posted...

Diem was getting married, and I was the maid of honor.

Then what about the post where you mentioned the most important decision of your life?

It was simply that I had finally managed to get Diem married off.