Chapter 6 — Tears in the Frost

The launching ceremony of Hằng Phát Investment Fund was held in the lobby of the city's largest five-star hotel, gathering almost all famous businessmen. As General Director of Việt Thịnh, Bách Việt received a solemn private invitation, which he could not refuse without attracting attention, because Việt Thịnh was one of the largest corporations in the market, his absence would be interpreted in many unfavorable ways.

Thư Nhã accompanied him as his personal secretary, standing behind, holding a file of documents, observing the elegant crowd chatting loudly under the crystal chandeliers. Little did she know that this evening would be the first time she would witness the woman whose name had haunted Bách Việt's mind for weeks.

The soft music suddenly stopped, the stage lights turned on, and a woman stepped out from the backstage, walking confidently, a crimson evening dress accentuating her slender figure, a beautiful, sharp face with a radiant smile that had been carefully practiced for public occasions like this.

"Hello everyone, I am Tống Khả Di, founder and CEO of Hằng Phát Investment Fund." Her voice rang out through the microphone, clear but containing a sharpness that made listeners unable to help but pay attention. "After many years of operating in the international market, I am very happy to return, bringing Hằng Phát with me as a bridge connecting foreign investment capital with potential domestic businesses."

Thư Nhã stood still, observing Bách Việt next to her. His face still maintained its usual calm expression in public, but she — who had memorized every single detail of that face for three years — noticed that his hand was clenched around the glass of wine so tightly that his knuckles were slightly white, and his jaw was clenched very softly, almost imperceptible without close observation.

*

After the speech, Tống Khả Di moved through the crowd, greeting each important guest with a graceful manner, until she stopped in front of Bách Việt, the smile on her lips became deeper and deeper, containing many layers of meaning that only the two people involved could understand.

"Long time no see, Viet," she spoke, her voice gentle as if she were chatting with a harmless old friend. "Still as cool as ever."

"Hello Miss Khả Di," Bách Việt replied, his voice was so cold that it made the surrounding air seem to drop a few degrees. "Congratulations on a successful launch."

"Thank you." She tilted her head, her eyes glanced at Thư Nhã standing behind for just a short moment, enough to evaluate and then ignore as a detail not worth worrying about. "I heard you're still not married. I thought by now you would have settled down with someone."

That seemingly unintentional sentence made Thư Nhã hold her breath. She immediately understood that it was not a simple social question, but a sharp probe, checking to see if information about Bách Việt's secret marriage had been leaked to the outside or not.

"My personal matter, I don't think it's necessary to discuss it here," Bách Việt replied, his voice still cold, but Thư Nhã noticed his shoulders stiffen slightly, a familiar defensive reflex.

Tống Khả Di smiled slightly, not showing any concern about being denied an answer. "That's right, it's a private matter. But Mr. Viet, if I have some free time, I would like to invite you to dinner and review old stories. Anyway, Hằng Phát is also looking for investment cooperation opportunities in the domestic market, and Việt Thịnh is definitely one of the targets I am most interested in."

The last sentence, seemingly just a normal invitation for business cooperation, carried an underlying threat that only Bách Việt could understand. He looked straight into her eyes, his voice much sharper this time. "Việt Thịnh always considers every opportunity to cooperate based on the interests of shareholders. I believe she understands that better than anyone."

"Of course." Tống Khả Di lightly shrugged her shoulders, a cold light flashed through her eyes before she turned away to continue greeting other guests, leaving behind an oppressively tense atmosphere.

*

On the way home, in the private car, Thư Nhã sat silently next to Bách Việt, not daring to ask anything, even though there were hundreds of questions rolling in her heart. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw him leaning his head against the glass door, his eyes closed, his face showing a tired look that she had rarely seen him reveal, even during the most stressful work periods.

"Who is she?" Finally, Thư Nhã couldn't hold back and asked softly, her voice trying to stay calm as if she was asking about a common business partner.

Bách Việt opened his eyes and looked out the glass window for a long time before responding, his voice dry. "An old acquaintance. It happened a long time ago, there's nothing worth mentioning."

The short answer, clearly a refusal to share anything more, made Thư Nhã swallow all remaining questions. She turned to look out the window beside her, the city street lights passing by, her heart was heavy with a strange feeling of loneliness - the feeling of an outsider, even though she was sitting next to her contract husband.

She remembered every detail of Tống Khả Di's confident and proud appearance on stage tonight, the way she skillfully handled each question from the media, the way she walked as if the whole room revolved around her. It was not an ordinary opponent, and Thư Nhã clearly understood that if that woman really intended to return to compete for Bách Việt, she would not give up easily.

She remembered Tống Khả Di's eyes as they passed her, his eyes evaluating and then ignoring them as a meaningless detail in the overall picture. She wondered if that woman knew the truth - that it was she, that underrated secretary, who was carrying Lăng Bách Việt's child - whether her eyes would still have the same disdain.

But right after that, another fear emerged stronger: if Tống Khả Di really intended to return to fight for Bách Việt, whether just for business purposes or for any other reason, then how fragile would a marriage contract like hers that was about to expire before an opponent with all the money, power, and even an old emotional connection with the man she loved. She doesn't have any weapons to fight such an opponent, other than a contract that's about to expire and a secret that she doesn't even know how to reveal.

*

Returning to the apartment, Bách Việt went straight to his private office, did not eat dinner, and did not say another word. Thư Nhã stood in front of his door for a long time, her hand raised to knock on the door but then lowered it, not knowing what to say, what to ask, while she herself was hiding an equally heavy secret.

She stood there for a moment longer, hearing his footsteps moving back and forth in the room, the sound of filing cabinet drawers opening and closing continuously, as if he was looking for some important document. She wondered if those were documents related to a financial incident from the past, but then blamed herself for prying into something that was not her part of the job according to what the contract stipulated.

She returned to the bedroom, sat on the edge of the bed, placed her hand on her stomach, feeling a vague but intense insecurity spread throughout her body. There was an unnameable premonition that told her that Tống Khả Di's return was not simply a coincidence of fate, but the beginning of a storm that would sweep away everything she was trying to preserve - her secret marriage, the child in her belly, and perhaps, even the heart she had never dared to admit that it had been given to a man who did not know how to express love.

She lay down, pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, looked into the dark space on the ceiling, her ears still listening for movement from the office on the other side of the wall. A long time later, she heard his footsteps walking towards the bedroom, gently lying down next to her, careful as if afraid of waking her up, not knowing she was still awake, still listening to his every breath in the darkness.

That night, she couldn't sleep, lying looking at the ceiling until the pale dawn light filtered through the window, bringing with it a new day that she had a premonition that would not be as peaceful as the previous days, a premonition that only a few weeks later, she realized was completely accurate, not at all wrong.