Chapter 16 — The Mighty, All-Powerful Genie

In the days after that night, a subtle but obvious change began to creep into the way Nhã Kỳ treated Bách Nguyên. She no longer let out sharp words of contempt like before, no longer deliberately ignored his presence at family parties, and sometimes even took the initiative to ask him about small things during the day. But at the same time, she had never once openly admitted to anyone, even to herself fully, that her feelings for that man went far beyond the boundaries of a simple arranged marriage.

The whole villa seemed to feel that change, even though no one dared to say it out loud. "Mistress seems a lot different these days." Lâm Đắc Tường commented to Bách Nguyên one morning, while they were both preparing breakfast in the villa's large kitchen. "I've noticed she's not as harsh towards you as before."

"She knew part of the truth about what I was secretly doing all this time," Bách Nguyên replied, still quickly preparing egg rolls, a skill he was much more proficient at than the first day he learned to be a human. "But I think she still needs more time to fully accept it."

Indeed, even though Nhã Kỳ had begun to admit in her heart that her feelings for Bách Nguyên were no longer as simple as before, she still could not overcome the solid defensive wall she had built throughout her youth.

Instead, she began to spend more time observing him from afar, paying attention to the little things that she had never noticed before — the way he always woke up earlier than her to prepare breakfast, the way he spoke kindly to the people working in the house, the way he still diligently read books every night even though he had learned a lot about the modern world. She realized, the more closely she observed, the harder it became to deny that this man deserved to be treated much better than what she had given him over the past year and a half.

Every time a feeling of warmth and closeness began to creep into her heart during those moments with him, an invisible fear arose, reminding her of the painful lessons of the past — about trusting someone only to lose them, about showing weakness only to be taken advantage of.

One evening, when they both sat down to dinner together, a new habit that the two had gradually established since the night she discovered the truth, Nhã Kỳ suddenly asked a question that she had pondered for many days.

"Are you ever tired of having to put up with the way I've treated you all this time?" She asked, her eyes not daring to look directly at him, instead focusing on the bowl of rice in front of her, her hands clutching her chopsticks tighter than necessary.

"Have," Bách Nguyên answered honestly, not avoiding the question. "There were times when I felt very hurt, especially the times when she talked about me in front of others in a way that made me feel worthless."

That straightforward answer made Nhã Kỳ pause, a feeling of deep guilt rose in her heart. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like that."

"I don't blame you," he said, his voice gentle. "I understand you have your own reasons. But I also want you to know, I have never once regretted staying and enduring those things, because I know that behind that cold exterior, you are someone worth patiently waiting for."

Nhã Kỳ felt a lump in her throat, a strong emotion welling up that she wanted to express but couldn't find the right words, or perhaps, she wasn't brave enough to completely let go of the defensive shell that had protected her for so many years. "I... I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." Bách Nguyên smiled, a gentle and tolerant smile. "I don't expect you to change completely overnight. I just need you to know that I'm always here, whether you're ready for it or not."

She put down her chopsticks, looked at him for a long time, trying to find some sign of resentment in his eyes, but only saw absolute sincerity without any trace of blame. That made her even more confused, almost frustrated with that unconditional tolerance, because it left her with no way to defend herself with the familiar arguments she often used to keep distance from others.

That tolerance, instead of making Nhã Kỳ feel relieved, made her feel even more tormented in her heart. She realized she was standing at an important crossroads - either continue to keep a safe distance as she had been for over a year, or risk opening up to a person for whom she had begun to have deep feelings, but did not fully understand his true self, about the secrets he had always kept since the first day they met.

She began to notice that every time he smiled at her, her heart beat a beat faster that she couldn't explain with common sense. She began to look forward to their dinners together, their short conversations before going to bed, the simple moments that she had never paid attention to before. But every time she realized she was expecting something from him, she quickly suppressed that feeling, afraid of the emotional dependence that was gradually forming in her heart.

That fear became even clearer one evening, when she overheard a conversation between two close friends from college at a small gathering, when they asked about her married life.

"You and your husband seem to be getting closer." A friend commented, his voice full of curiosity and somewhat teasing. "Do you love him?"

Nhã Kỳ paused at that question, feeling a strange confusion and panic rising in her heart. "I... I'm not sure. This is more complicated than you think."

"Why is it complicated? If you have feelings for him, it's a simple matter, just admit it and appreciate it." The friend said, unaware of the entire complicated context behind Nhã Kỳ's arranged marriage.

Nhã Kỳ just smiled wryly and changed the subject, but that question stuck in her mind all night, even when she returned home and prepared to go to sleep.

That night, Nhã Kỳ lay in bed, tossing and turning, thinking about that sentence. She asked herself, did she really love Bách Nguyên, and if so, would she have the courage to admit it, to completely open her heart to a person she knew was still hiding big secrets about herself?

She remembered all the warm moments between the two of them — the night sitting together under the starry sky, the night he helped her overcome her stock crisis, the meals together that became more and more natural and intimate. But she also remembers the pain of losing her parents, losing her grandfather, the times she trusted someone only to suffer the ultimate loss. She was afraid that if she truly opened her heart completely to Bách Nguyên, and then one day he would leave her like all the other loved ones had, she would not be able to endure that pain again.

"No." She talked to herself in the darkness of the room, trying to quell the emotions that were rising strongly in her heart. "I'm not ready to take such a risk. Not yet."

But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, the image of Bách Nguyên's gentle eyes, his warm voice saying that he was always here whether she was ready to accept it or not, kept creeping into her mind until a fitful sleep finally came, bringing with it a dull torment that she knew she would have to face for a long time to come, as the five-year deadline of this arranged marriage was gradually getting closer than ever.

The next morning, when she woke up, she saw a thin scarf already placed on the living room sofa, just like Bách Nguyên's long-standing habit. She stood looking at it for a long time, then smiled softly, a small smile that she didn't even realize she was revealing, before putting it on her shoulder and walking downstairs to prepare for a new day of work, carrying a warm feeling in her heart that she was still not ready to name, but was no longer trying to deny it like before.