Chapter 24 — The Mighty, All-Powerful Genie

On the fifth wedding anniversary, instead of a divorce certificate signing ceremony as Bách Nguyên originally planned, the Duong villa held a small, cozy party, with only a few of her closest friends - Lâm Đắc Tường, a few close friends of Nhã Kỳ, and some long-time associates who have accompanied her throughout the journey of building her career.

She stood amid encouraging applause, squeezing Bách Nguyên's hand for courage before speaking. "Today, instead of announcing an end, I want to announce a beginning," Nhã Kỳ said to the close guests, still holding the hand of the man standing beside her. "Five years ago, this marriage started from a condition in my grandfather's will. But today, I want to officially confirm that I am with this man not because of any conditions anymore, but because I love him, with all my heart."

The small garden behind the villa was decorated with strings of warm yellow lights and baskets of purple bougainvillea, reminiscent of the same garden where they had held their wedding five years before — this time not in the stuffy atmosphere of a forced contract, but filled with laughter and sincere blessings. Applause and warm congratulations echoed throughout the small garden decorated simply but full of affection. Lâm Đắc Tường stood in a corner, his eyes red, thinking of Vĩnh Bảo, thinking of the long journey that both young people had overcome together to reach today.

Among the guests, Vệ Thanh Hoài and a few of Nhã Kỳ's close colleagues at Đường Gia were also present, toasting a love story that none of them ever expected would have such a beautiful ending, after everything they witnessed over the past five years. "Congratulations to you and Bách Nguyên," Thanh Hoài said, raising his glass towards the couple. "I always believe that behind her cold appearance, there is always a heart that truly loves."

After the party, when the guests had left, Nhã Kỳ and Bách Nguyên went down to the villa's basement together, where the antique bronze lamp still lay silently in the glass cabinet, now just an inanimate antique, with no soul left inside.

"Do you want to keep this lamp?" Nhã Kỳ asked, standing next to him, looking at the object that had once been the prison that imprisoned him for a thousand years.

"Have," Bách Nguyên replied, reaching out to gently touch the cold lamp body. "Not because I still have any problems with it, but because it reminds me of the journey I've been through - from a thousand years of loneliness in the dark, to a new and meaningful life with you. It also reminds me of boss Vĩnh Bảo, who gave me this opportunity with all his sacrifice."

They decided to place the lamp in a solemn position in their private study, no longer hidden in a bulletproof glass cabinet in the secret basement, but as a precious keepsake to be treasured publicly, even though only the two of them and Lâm Đắc Tường knew the true meaning behind it.

Đắc Tường, now much older than the first day he welcomed Bách Nguyên to live in the Duong family's villa, continues to stay and serve the family as the head butler, but also gradually retires to rest more, safely entrusting daily tasks to the young staff he has personally trained for many years. He often told those around him, unable to hide his pride, that he had lived long enough to witness the two most miraculous things in his life: a genie learning how to be human, and a girl whose heart had been closed learning how to love again.

In the months that followed, their lives gradually entered a simple, happy rhythm that they both deeply appreciated after everything they had been through. Nhã Kỳ continues to run Đường Gia Group with increasingly strong confidence and bravery, no longer needing to prove herself to anyone, because she has learned that the true value of a leader does not lie in shouldering everything alone, but in the ability to trust and rely on those who are sincerely by her side.

Bách Nguyên, although no longer a genie with unlimited power, has found a new, equally meaningful role in life - he officially participates in Đường Gia's strategic advisory board, not as a "CEO's husband" as he was seen in the early years, but as a truly respected advisor thanks to his sharp vision and extraordinary analytical ability that he has gradually shown publicly, although the real secret behind that ability is still only known to a few people. known.

Their real married life, different from the awkward first five years, is now filled with simple moments that they both cherish — short weekend trips to quiet beaches, evenings cooking together in the villa's large kitchen, times when Nhã Kỳ sat and listened to Bách Nguyên tell more about the stories he had witnessed during his thousand years of existence, stories that he now no longer had to hide or edit to fit his cover. of a normal human being.

One evening, about a year after they officially admitted their feelings for each other, the two of them sat on the porch as they had become a habit over the years, looking up at the starry night sky, just like the first night they sat next to each other in silence, when Nhã Kỳ was still keeping a distance and Bách Nguyên was still patiently waiting.

"Do you ever regret your decision?" Nhã Kỳ asked, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Give up immortality, give up power, in exchange for a normal life full of difficulties like this?"

"Not for a moment," Bách Nguyên replied, wrapping his arms around her tighter. "Because this ordinary life, with all its difficulties, gives me things that a thousand years of being a genie has never given me - the feeling of being loved, of being myself, of choosing my own path without any constraints from a lamp or a curse. I have everything I need, right here, right now, next to you."

Nhã Kỳ smiled, looking up at him under the gentle moonlight. "Me too. I thought I would never trust someone enough to love them fully, after all the losses I've been through. But you've proven to me that sometimes, the best things in life come from the places we least expect — an arranged marriage, a strange husband I once despised, turns out to be the true love of my life."

They sat together for a long time under the night sky, no longer two strangers bound by a promise or a condition in the will, but two people who had gone through challenges together, grown up together, and in the end, chose to be together for the only and simplest reason in the world: true love.

The night wind gently blows through the garden, carrying the familiar scent of milk flowers that Bách Nguyên has loved since the first days of learning how to be a human. Nhã Kỳ gently closed her eyes, fully enjoying the rare moment of peace in the busy life of a female CEO of a large corporation, knowing that no matter how many challenges in the business world await her tomorrow, she always has a place to return to, someone who is always there waiting for her, not because of any promises or conditions, but only because of love.

Far away in the study room, the antique bronze lamp still lies quietly on the wooden shelf, no longer holding any soul inside, but still radiating a vague warm light every time the moonlight shines in, like a silent reminder of the extraordinary journey that brought two people who seemed unable to belong together to a perfect love. The story of a genie once sealed away for a thousand years, who traded all his powers for a chance to live and love like a normal human being, has now closed its turbulent first chapter. But for Cảnh Bách Nguyên and Đường Nhã Kỳ, their real story, the story of a simple, happy life, built on the foundation of trust and sincere love, has just begun, and they believe that, no matter how many challenges lie ahead, they will always have each other to overcome them, as they have done during the past five turbulent years.