Luc Triet’s voice exploded across the hall.

—Tham Du, stop talking nonsense!

I looked at him calmly.

—Nonsense?

I opened my handbag.

Then I placed two red marriage certificates on the table beside the aisle.

To Van’s knees nearly gave way.

Luc Triet froze.

His mother, who had just regained consciousness, stared at them and screamed:

—Where did you get those?!

That question told everyone the certificates were real.

I smiled.

—So you knew too.

Her face instantly changed.

Luc Triet rushed toward me.

—Listen to me. This isn’t what you think.

—Then explain it to the three hundred guests.

I handed the microphone to him.

—Why did you legally marry To Van three days before our wedding?

He didn’t take it.

To Van started crying.

—Tham Du, don’t blame him.

—It was my fault.

—My grandmother is seriously ill. Her last wish was to see me married. Triet only registered with me temporarily to comfort her.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then I laughed.

—Temporarily married?

I looked around.

—Apparently marriage certificates now come with a trial period.

Whispers erupted.

Luc Triet clenched his jaw.

—We were going to annul it after her grandmother recovered.

—Then what am I today?

I pointed toward the stage.

—A decoration?

His expression hardened.

—The wedding between our families is more complicated than a certificate.

There it was.

The truth.

Not love.

Business.

The Luc family’s largest development project was waiting for a capital injection from my father’s company.

Our wedding was supposed to reassure investors that the alliance between the two families was stable.

Luc Triet wanted both.

A legal marriage with the woman he loved.

And a public wedding with the woman whose family he needed.

I pulled another document from my bag.

—You’re right.

—This wedding is about business.

His father suddenly stood.

His face went pale.

—Tham Du, let’s discuss this privately.

—No need.

I turned toward the guests.

—At eight this morning, my family’s legal team suspended the investment agreement connected to this marriage.

Luc Triet stared at me.

—You did what?

—Nothing illegal.

I smiled.

—The agreement had a condition requiring accurate disclosure of any material change in the relationship between our families.

I tapped the marriage certificate.

—Secretly acquiring a legal wife before marrying the investor’s daughter seems fairly material.

His father’s hand began shaking.

—Without that financing, the East Harbor project—

—I know.

I interrupted him.

—Which is why perhaps your son should have thought about that before visiting the Civil Affairs Department.

Luc Triet grabbed the microphone.

—You can’t destroy two families because you’re jealous!

I looked at him for several seconds.

—Jealous?

Then I turned toward To Van.

—Congratulations.

She looked confused.

—I don’t want your husband.

That sentence made Luc Triet’s face turn completely white.

I continued:

—I’m withdrawing only what my family has not yet legally committed.

—Existing obligations will be honored.

—The rest will be handled by lawyers.

His father slowly sat back down.

There would be no dramatic bankruptcy that afternoon.

But the Luc family would have to find another investor.

On market terms.

Without my family’s guarantees.

Without my father’s network.

Without pretending their son was marrying me.

Luc Triet lowered his voice.

—Tham Du, I was going to explain everything after the wedding.

I almost felt sorry for him.

—After?

—After I stood on stage?

—After I exchanged rings with someone else’s husband?

—After my family transferred the next round of capital?

He had no answer.

To Van suddenly spoke through tears:

—Triet loves me.

I nodded.

—I know.

She hadn’t expected that.

I walked toward her and placed the bridal bouquet in her hands.

—That’s why I’m giving you back your wedding.

Then I looked at Luc Triet.

—Your legal wife is standing right there.

—Go marry her publicly too.

Nobody applauded.

Nobody moved.

Because without my family’s money, suddenly their romantic victory didn’t look quite as beautiful.

I left the hall.

Luc Triet followed me into the corridor.

—Tham Du!

I stopped.

His voice shook.

—We’ve been together for three years.

—Did none of that mean anything?

For the first time that day, anger rose inside me.

—You’re asking me that?

He lowered his eyes.

Then whispered:

—I didn’t want to lose you.

I laughed softly.

—You married another woman.

—You had already lost me.

Three months later, the Luc family found replacement financing.

At a much higher cost.

Several projects were postponed.

Luc Triet remained married to To Van.

For less than a year.

Once the secrecy, forbidden love and competition disappeared, apparently reality was less romantic than they expected.

I never asked for details.

By then, I had already taken over a new division of my family’s company.

A year after the wedding that never happened, I saw Luc Triet at a business conference.

He stood across the lobby for a long time before approaching.

—Tham Du.

—Mr. Luc.

He smiled bitterly.

—Still so formal.

—We’re business acquaintances.

His eyes lowered.

—If I hadn’t registered with To Van, would you have married me that day?

I thought about it.

—Yes.

He closed his eyes.

I continued:

—That’s why what you did mattered.

He had believed the worst thing that could happen was that I discovered his secret marriage.

He was wrong.

The worst thing was that I discovered it before stepping onto the stage.

Before vows.

Before investments.

Before giving him one more chance to turn my trust into a business asset.

Three hundred people came that day expecting to watch me become Luc Triet’s bride.

Instead, they watched me point toward his legal wife and step aside.

He chose To Van in secret.

So I simply made him choose her in public.

And when he finally understood what that choice had cost him—

I was already walking out of the wedding that had never truly been mine.