Chapter 14 — Tears in the Frost

That evening, Thư Nhã returned to the apartment before Bách Việt, sitting and waiting in the living room with a stack of old documents placed neatly on the tea table. Her heart was much calmer than in the afternoon, but there was still a dull hurt that needed to be relieved.

When Bách Việt arrived home, as soon as he entered the living room, his eyes stopped right on the familiar document placed on the table. His face suddenly changed color, clearly realizing that it was the internal memo from three years ago that he thought was safely hidden in the archive room.

"I talked to Uncle Chính Nghĩa," he said, not a question, his voice was low, with something like a mix of relief and worry.

"Yes," Thư Nhã replied, stood up, looked straight into his eyes, her voice was no longer trembling like the previous days. "I know the whole truth, Bách Việt. About Khả Di, about the conspiracy three years ago, about the real reason why you chose me."

Bách Việt stood still, not avoiding her eyes, but also unable to say another word, as if waiting for her to finish everything she wanted to say before he gave any explanation. He took off his jacket and placed it on the chair slowly, as if trying to buy a few more seconds to rearrange the words he had prepared in his mind the whole way home, ever since he received Uncle Chính Nghĩa's text message informing him that Thư Nhã knew the whole truth.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She asked, her voice no longer angry like in the afternoon, but carrying a deeper sadness. "For the past three years, I've always thought I was just a convenient option, a pawn in an emergency. I've learned to accept that, learned not to ask for anything more from you, because I don't think I deserve more than that. If I had known earlier that you actively chose me, trusted me so much, maybe things would have been a lot different."

*

Bách Việt stepped closer, his hand gently holding her hand, his eyes for the first time in many years completely free of any defense. "I'm scared," he said, his voice hoarse with pent-up emotion. "I'm afraid that if you knew how important you were in that decision, you would feel the weight of responsibility on your shoulders, and you would no longer be able to live naturally with me, like a normal employee doing a good job. I want you to be with me because you want to, not because you feel you owe some responsibility."

"But have you thought about the fact that it was that silence that made me think I had no value in your eyes for the past three years?" She asked, tears rolling down uncontrollably. "I used to think, maybe you chose me just because I'm the most docile, the least demanding, not because I really trust or appreciate you."

"That's not true." He squeezed her hand tighter, his voice urgent as if he wanted to say everything he had been holding back for so long. "Thư Nhã, I watched you work for two years before everything happened. I know well how you handle every difficult situation with rare calm and integrity. I know you will never take advantage of this secret for personal gain, and will always uphold your principles no matter the circumstances. That's not because you're docile, but because you're the only person I trust enough to entrust the fate of an entire family."

He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, as if preparing himself to say the most difficult thing. "And I think, from the first days of living together, my feelings for you soon went beyond the limits of a contract, I just never had the courage to admit it, even to myself, until Khả Di returned and I realized I was more afraid of losing you than anything else in the world."

"The night she fainted in the meeting room," he continued, his voice shaking as he remembered that moment, "I was so panicked that I forgot I was standing in front of the entire board of directors, I just rushed to her side, held her hand, praying that she was okay. That's when I truly realized, if anything happened to you, I would be unable to bear it, a feeling that no one else in my life has ever made me experience, not even Khả Di before."

*

Thư Nhã stood still, letting the tears fall freely on her cheeks, clearly feeling a feeling of relief mixed with pain filling her heart. For the past three years, she had trapped herself in the false belief that she was not worthy of true love, that her marriage was just a cold arrangement without any emotional value. Now, when the truth was revealed, she realized she had underestimated both herself and the feelings of the man standing in front of her.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner, even after that drunken night?" She asked, her voice still choked. "If you had told me, maybe I wouldn't have had to spend those long nights of fear alone, wouldn't have had to secretly plan to leave because I thought I had no real place in your heart."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that." Bách Việt bowed his head, his voice heavy with regret. "I've gotten so used to controlling all my emotions that I've forgotten that, sometimes, silence hurts more than any straightforward words. I promise, from today, there won't be any more secrets between us."

"So what about Khả Di and Fund Hằng Phát now?" She asked, her voice gradually regaining its usual calmness, but this time it was the calmness of someone ready to face it, no longer the resignation like before. "She's trying to take over Việt Thịnh, right? This isn't just a personal love story anymore."

"That's right." Bách Việt nodded, his face returning to the serious look of a corporation head facing a real crisis. "I've had people quietly investigate Hằng Phát's activities over the past few weeks, but she's been very careful, hiding her tracks carefully. I'm worried that if we don't find specific evidence of the takeover plot, it will be very difficult for us to stop her legally."

Thư Nhã was silent for a moment, her mind began to operate in the familiar way of someone who had handled thousands of complex financial records during her career as an executive secretary. "If she used the trick of leaking information and gathering shares silently three years ago, perhaps this time she will apply a similar tactic, only more sophisticated. I think we should start reviewing the entire list of retail shareholders who have had unusual transactions recently, comparing it with shell companies connected to Hằng Phát."

Bách Việt looked at her, his eyes sparkling with sincere admiration. "Are you going to help me? Even though you know full well that it could put you and the child in danger?"

"You just said I'm the one you trust to entrust the fate of an entire family," Thư Nhã replied, her voice was unusually steady, her hand gently placed on her abdomen. "I will not let that belief become meaningless. Furthermore, this is not just your fight anymore, Bách Việt. This is the fight of our entire family, including this child."

Bách Việt pulled her into his arms, embracing her tightly in a hug full of emotions that both of them had suppressed for so long. He bent down, placed a light kiss on her forehead, then on her stomach, as a silent promise to the still unborn child. "From now on, the three of us will face everything together, no one has to bear it alone anymore."

Thư Nhã leaned her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat steadily and strongly, and for the first time after many months of living in fear, she felt a true peace creeping into her soul. She knows that the road ahead is still full of thorns with Tống Khả Di's takeover plot waiting, but at least now she no longer has to face it alone.

Outside the window, the winter night was still cold as usual, but in that small apartment, for the first time in three years, both of them felt a genuine warmth, there were no longer any walls between them - only a solid consensus to face the storm that was waiting to come.