The plane took off at 9:40 p.m.
At the moment the city lights disappeared beneath the clouds, I finally turned off my phone.
For the first time in many years…
I felt free.
Not happy.
Not excited.
Just free.
Because I no longer had to wonder if Xie Wenzhou loved me.
I no longer had to compete with a memory that had never disappeared.
The answer was already clear.
When I arrived at the Rong family residence, my father was waiting at the door.
He looked at my empty hands.
No wedding bouquet.
No veil.
No ring.
Only a suitcase.
His expression changed immediately.
“Chi Chi.”
I smiled.
“Dad.”
He didn’t ask what happened.
Maybe because he already knew.
The news had spread faster than expected.
My assistant had sent him the video.
The entire scene.
Su Nian wearing my wedding dress.
Walking beside my fiancé.
The guests laughing.
And me standing outside the door like a stranger at my own wedding.
My father closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he said quietly:
“Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Then I added:
“He just reminded me who he really is.”
My father was silent.
After a long time, he patted my shoulder.
“Good.”
I looked at him.
“Good?”
“Yes.”
His voice was calm.
“Because the daughter I raised should never beg someone to choose her.”
Those words almost broke me.
Because for the first time that day…
Someone chose me.
The next morning, the Xie family came.
Not to apologize.
To negotiate.
Xie Wenzhou’s mother entered the living room with a pale face.
“Chi Chi, this was just a misunderstanding.”
I sat across from her.
A misunderstanding.
That was the word everyone loved.
A woman wearing my wedding dress.
A woman wearing my mother’s brooch.
A man holding her hand under our wedding arch.
A misunderstanding.
I almost laughed.
“Mrs. Xie.”
She looked at me.
“Do you know what your son said after I left?”
She hesitated.
I placed my phone on the table.
Played the voice message.
“Nian Nian is crying. You should at least go back and apologize to her.”
The room became silent.
Xie Wenzhou’s mother’s expression changed.
Because even she understood.
He wasn’t worried about losing me.
He was worried about Su Nian being hurt.
That afternoon, Xie Wenzhou finally appeared.
He looked exhausted.
His perfect suit was wrinkled.
His eyes were full of anger and confusion.
“Rong Chi.”
I looked at him.
“President Xie.”
His face froze.
“You’re calling me that?”
I smiled.
“Isn’t that appropriate?”
“We are not married.”
“We are not family.”
“We are nothing.”
His jaw tightened.
“You really want to end seven years because of one joke?”
One joke.
Those three words made me laugh softly.
“Xie Wenzhou.”
I stood up.
“Do you know what hurts the most?”
He looked at me.
“It isn’t that Su Nian wore my dress.”
“It isn’t that she stood where I was supposed to stand.”
“It isn’t even that you held her hand.”
I paused.
“The most painful thing is that when I walked away…”
“You didn’t ask why.”
His expression changed.
“You only cared that she cried.”
Silence.
For once…
He had nothing to say.
Then I placed a folder on the table.
His eyes moved.
“What is this?”
“The wedding expenses.”
He frowned.
“I don’t need this.”
“You do.”
I opened the folder.
“Everything related to today’s ceremony was paid by Teyan.”
“The venue.”
“The flowers.”
“The decorations.”
“The staff.”
“Even the media arrangements.”
His face slowly changed.
Because he finally understood.
The wedding he thought was a Xie family event…
Was actually mine.
“The farm…”
I looked at him.
“Mine.”
“The flowers you walked through…”
“Paid by my company.”
“The guests who praised the Xie family…”
“Many of them came because of my invitation.”
He stared at me.
“You hid all of this?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I answered honestly.
“Because I wanted to know if you loved Rong Chi.”
“Not the Rong family.”
Not the money.
Not the influence.
Just me.
And now I had my answer.
Before leaving, Xie Wenzhou suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Chi Chi.”
His voice was lower.
“Give me another chance.”
I looked at his hand.
Then slowly removed it.
“Do you know what Su Nian said before she walked down the aisle?”
His expression changed.
“What?”
“She asked if she could replace me.”
I looked directly at him.
“And you told her it was just a joke.”
“But Xie Wenzhou…”
“You were the one who made her feel like she belonged there.”
His eyes turned red.
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“You were.”
“But some mistakes don’t need forgiveness.”
“They need consequences.”
Three months later, Teyan announced a major international expansion.
My name appeared on every business magazine.
Rong Chi — The Young President Who Cancelled Her Own Wedding And Built A New Future.
People asked if I regretted leaving Xie Wenzhou.
I always gave the same answer.
“No.”
Because the woman who stood outside that wedding hall loved him.
But the woman who walked away…
Loved herself more.
And somewhere far away, Xie Wenzhou finally understood something too late.
He thought he lost a bride.
But the truth was…
He lost the only person who had ever chosen him before knowing his name, his power, or his family.
And this time…
Rong Chi would never return.
