Chapter 7 — Passionate About A Twisted Love

The family meeting took place at the Cao family's main residence, an ancient villa located on a quiet street shaded by old trees in District 3, which has existed for three generations of this family. Nha Dan clearly felt the solemn, almost stuffy atmosphere from the moment she stepped through the ancient iron gate.

Thien Lam held her hand and led her into the large living room, where more than a dozen family members had gathered, all with searching eyes and undisguised assessments when they saw her.

"This is Nha Dan, my fiancee." Thien Lam introduced, his voice calm but authoritative, as if declaring an unshakable decision.

A few people nodded in polite greeting, but most of them still looked cautious and wary. Nha Dan tried to keep a smile on her lips, even though she was so tense inside that her hands and feet were cold.

The family party went relatively smoothly until dessert was served, when an elderly relative suddenly asked, his voice full of curiosity. "Nha Dan, is your surname Vu? Is it Mr. Vu Dinh Bao's daughter?"

The space suddenly became terrifyingly silent. All eyes turned to Nha Dan, a few people began to whisper loudly. Nha Dan felt her whole body stiffen, not knowing how to answer.

"That's right." Thien Lam spoke up before she could reply, his voice was calm as if he was talking about something very normal. "But the past between our two families is over, now we should look to the future."

His words caused the whole party to stir even more. Another middle-aged woman, seemingly a close relative of the main family, spoke up more harshly. "Thien Lam, what are you kidding? Are you planning to marry the daughter of the man who killed your grandfather?"

"I have considered this carefully." Thien Lam replied, his voice became sharp, his eyes swept over each person in the room like a hidden warning. "I hope everyone respects my decision."

In the midst of the most tense atmosphere, a middle-aged man with a calm appearance, dressed more simply than the rest of the people in the room, stepped forward to help both of them. "Okay everyone, it's been twelve years since the past, let the children decide their own lives. If Thien Lam chose it, he must have had his own reasons."

"Uncle Vinh is right." Thien Lam nodded slightly towards that man, his tone had a rare level of respect. "Nha Dan, this is uncle Cao Ba Vinh, my father's cousin, currently holding the position of Vice President of the group. He is the person who has stood side by side with me throughout the years of rebuilding the business."

"Hello uncle." Nha Dan bowed her head politely, grateful for his timely intervention.

Cao Ba Vinh smiled gently, his eyes looking at her full of tolerance. "There's no need to be so polite. Your father and I also had many memories in the past. Even though something unfortunate happened later, I never blamed you. You can rest assured that you will live well with Thien Lam. If you have any difficulties, just tell me."

Nha Dan nodded in thanks, thinking that at least in this family there was still one person who was generous and not as prejudiced as the others. Unbeknownst to her, behind that gentle smile was a pair of eyes silently observing her with a deep caution that no one in the room could perceive.

The party ended in an awkward and tense atmosphere. On the way home, Nha Dan sat silently in the car, her heart still heavy from the scrutiny and disdain she had to endure all evening.

"Thank you for standing up for me earlier." She spoke softly, breaking the silence.

"I'm just protecting the cover of this contract." Thien Lam replied, his voice still retaining its inherent coldness, even though in his heart he knew clearly that he had done more than what the contract required.

Nha Dan was silent, not saying anything more, but in her heart she began to realize something strange in the way Thien Lam treated her in recent days. He still maintains a cold, strict appearance in front of outsiders, but his small actions reveal a silent concern that he deliberately hides.

A few days later, another incident made Nha Dan even more confused about Thien Lam's true personality. She was shopping with Phan Dinh Long as requested to prepare outfits for an upcoming event, when she happened to encounter a group of news-hunting reporters waiting outside the store.

"Miss Nha Dan, did you marry president Cao Thien Lam just for money?" A reporter pointed the microphone at her, his tone provocative. "I heard that your family has been broke for a long time. Is this a marriage of convenience?"

Nha Dan was stunned by the unexpected question, not knowing how to answer, he could only stand silently, his face pale. Phan Dinh Long quickly intervened, pushed the reporters away, and put her safely in the car.

That same evening, Nha Dan watched the news and saw a video of her being surrounded by reporters spread on social networks, accompanied by countless malicious comments, criticizing her as a gold digger who took advantage of her difficult family situation to approach rich people. She sat alone in the room, tears silently falling as she read each line of harsh comments.

The door suddenly opened and Thien Lam walked in, his face carrying a rare angry expression. "I just learned about it. The group's communications team has handled it, the posts that insult her will be taken down tonight, and the news sites that posted them will have to publicly correct them tomorrow morning."

Nha Dan looked up at him, surprised by this sudden drastic reaction. "You don't have to do that, it's just some online comments."

"Impossible." Thien Lam said, his voice was firm without any hesitation. "You are my fiancee, no one is allowed to insult you like that without paying the price."

He walked closer, saw the tears still on her cheeks, his eyes softened a bit, although he still tried to maintain a stern look. "Don't let those baseless words hurt you. You're not what they say."

That sentence, although brief and said in a dry tone, strangely made Nha Dan's heart stir. She looked at him, the man who always acted cold and cruel in front of her, but was willing to fiercely defend her against malicious slander from outsiders.

"Thank you." She spoke softly, her voice still choked.

Thien Lam nodded, didn't say anything more, turned around to leave, but then stopped at the door and looked back at her again. "If you encounter something similar in the future, tell me immediately, don't suffer it yourself."

The door closed, leaving Nha Dan alone in the room, her heart filled with indescribable emotions. She began to wonder whether Cao Thien Lam really only saw her as a pawn in his revenge game, or behind that cold shell, something else was gradually arising, something that even he himself did not dare to admit.

Not long after, Mrs. Xuan Lan brought up a cup of warm chrysanthemum tea. Seeing Nha Dan still sitting absent-mindedly at the dressing table, she stopped and gently sat down next to her.

"Don't be sad anymore, Master cares for you a lot, he's just not used to showing it." Mrs. Xuan Lan poured tea and spoke, her voice was deep and warm as if she were telling a story.

"Have you worked for him long?" Nha Dan asked curiously, wanting to understand more about the mysterious man she was living with.

"Since he was little, I've been helping his father's family." Ms. Xuan Lan sighed, her eyes distant and nostalgic. "The old boss wasn't as cold as he is now. When he was young, he was happy and often laughed. Since the day his old boss's company collapsed, he seemed to have turned into a completely different person. He rarely spoke, rarely smiled, always carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders."

Nha Dan listened silently, her hand gently grasping the cooled cup of tea without even realizing it. She never thought that behind Thien Lam's powerful and cold appearance was a boy who had to witness his family collapse and had to leave his homeland to start over from scratch in a foreign land.

"What year did he go abroad?" She continued asking, unable to hide her curiosity.

"It seems like he was nineteen years old. He went away for more than ten years before returning." Mrs. Xuan Lan replied, then stood up and patted her shoulder to comfort her. "Please rest early, don't think too much, everything will be fine."

After Mrs. Xuan Lan left, Nha Dan sat quietly in the room, the words just echoing in her head. Nineteen years old, exactly the same age that Kien left her that year. A strange coincidence made her heart suddenly stir, but she quickly dismissed that thought, telling herself that this world was so big, so many people had similar circumstances, there can be no such coincidence.

She looked down at the sandalwood bracelet still hanging on her wrist, her fingers gently caressing each grain of the wood that had become glossy over the years. There was a feeling that kept coming back every time she touched it recently, not the familiar sad nostalgia like before, but a vague premonition, as if the answer to a certain question was still lurking very close, if only she could reach out and reach it.

Outside, Saigon's night still sparkles with lights like every night. But Nha Dan knew that from tonight, she would no longer be able to look at Cao Thien Lam with her old eyes, not because the hatred between the two families had faded, but because in a rare moment of vulnerability, his cold eyes made her shiver because of the strange familiarity, as if she had once stood very close to those eyes, in a distant summer whose memory still could not be named.