“Take me to the Civil Affairs Bureau.”

The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“Miss Hua, at this hour?”

“Yes.”

I glanced at the time.

There were still forty minutes before closing.

Three years ago, Lu Canh Xuyen had told me that the wedding banquet was only a ceremony.

What mattered was whether two people truly wanted to spend their lives together.

I believed him.

That was why I had waited.

Waited for his company to stabilize.

Waited for his parents to choose an auspicious date.

Waited while he postponed our registration again and again.

Now I finally understood.

A person who truly wanted to marry me would never need three years to find the time.

When I arrived, someone was already waiting outside.

A tall man in a dark coat stood beneath the steps.

Tran Minh Khai.

The eldest grandson of the Tran family.

And the man my grandfather had once chosen for me.

He looked at me for several seconds.

“You called me after three years just to ask whether my proposal still counts?”

“Yes.”

“And if I say yes?”

I held his gaze.

“Then let’s register our marriage.”

He didn’t ask about Canh Xuyen.

He didn’t ask whether I was angry.

He only opened the folder in his hand.

“My documents are here.”

For the first time that night, I laughed.

“You came prepared.”

“I’ve been prepared for three years.”

Twenty-seven minutes later, two red marriage certificates were placed in front of us.

I stared at mine.

There was no grand ballroom.

No flowers.

No carefully designed dessert table.

No man complaining that I was spending too much money.

Yet strangely, I felt lighter than I had during all three years of preparing to marry Canh Xuyen.

When I walked outside, Minh Khai asked:

“Where are you going now?”

“Home.”

“The Lu residence?”

I shook my head.

“My home.”

He seemed to understand.

“I’ll take you.”

I didn’t refuse.

The next morning at exactly nine, I returned to Van Lan Hotel.

Manager Phuong was already waiting.

The moment she saw me, she led me directly into a private office.

On the table was the complete cancellation file.

I opened it.

The electronic signature supposedly belonging to me was there.

But the authorization code wasn’t mine.

Neither was the registered device.

“Who submitted this?”

Manager Phuong lowered her voice.

“Mr. Lu’s assistant.”

“And you accepted it?”

“He said you were traveling and had authorized Mr. Lu to handle everything.”

I turned another page.

The banquet deposit was nearly 600,000 yuan.

Three years of arrangements.

Flowers.

Lighting.

Imported wine.

Custom decorations.

Almost seventy percent had been paid from my personal account.

Yet Canh Xuyen had transferred the entire package to Lam Vi’s birthday banquet as though it belonged to him.

I closed the folder.

“Cancel everything.”

Manager Phuong blinked.

“Everything?”

“Flowers, food, alcohol, stage, lighting, musicians. Everything I paid for.”

“But Ms. Lam’s birthday is tomorrow.”

“I know.”

She hesitated.

“And the ballroom?”

I slid the old business card toward her.

Yesterday she had only seen the seal.

Today she finally understood what it meant.

Van Lan Hotel belonged to a hospitality group controlled by my maternal family.

My mother had transferred a minority ownership interest to me years earlier.

I had never mentioned it to Canh Xuyen.

He believed my family had fallen into decline after my grandfather retired.

I never corrected him.

“Keep the ballroom reservation,” I said.

Manager Phuong looked confused.

“For Ms. Lam?”

“No.”

I placed my new marriage certificate on the table.

“For a family dinner.”

Her eyes widened.

I smiled.

“My husband and I need somewhere to eat.”

That afternoon, Canh Xuyen finally called.

“Hua Duong, where have you been?”

“At work.”

“Why didn’t you come home last night?”

I almost laughed at the word home.

“Is something wrong?”

He became irritated.

“Why are you talking to me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m a stranger.”

I remained silent.

Perhaps because he finally was.

He exhaled impatiently.

“Listen, about Van Lan…”

I waited.

“I had to temporarily change the wedding banquet.”

Temporarily.

Even now he couldn’t say the truth directly.

“Lam Vi has just returned. This birthday is important to her.”

“And our wedding?”

“We’ll hold it somewhere else.”

“When?”

“Why are you making this difficult?”

His voice hardened.

“I already told my assistant to find another hotel. We can postpone for a few weeks.”

I looked down at the red certificate beside my hand.

“No need.”

He misunderstood immediately.

His tone softened.

“I knew you’d understand.”

I almost admired his confidence.

Then he added:

“I’ll compensate you later. Pick any honeymoon destination you want.”

“Canh Xuyen.”

“What?”

“Enjoy Lam Vi’s birthday.”

I ended the call.

He called back.

I blocked him.

The next day, Van Lan Hotel was filled with guests.

Lam Vi arrived in the silver dress she had promised to wear.

Canh Xuyen came personally to receive her.

But the moment they entered the ballroom, both stopped.

There were no birthday decorations.

No champagne tower.

No silver roses.

No orchestra.

Nothing.

Only empty tables.

Lam Vi’s face changed.

“Canh Xuyen… what happened?”

He immediately called the manager.

Manager Phuong arrived calmly.

“Mr. Lu.”

“What is this?”

“The decorations and catering were canceled.”

“By whom?”

“By the person who paid for them.”

His expression froze.

“Hua Duong?”

“Yes.”

His jaw tightened.

“Fine. Restore them.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”

“I’ll pay.”

Manager Phuong shook her head.

“The ballroom is no longer available.”

Canh Xuyen stared at her.

“What do you mean? I reserved the entire floor.”

“No, sir.”

She opened the booking system.

“The original reservation belonged to Miss Hua. Your assistant altered the event details without valid authorization.”

His face slowly changed.

“Where is she?”

Manager Phuong looked toward the private elevator.

“Upstairs.”

Lam Vi grabbed his sleeve.

“Canh Xuyen, forget it. We can celebrate somewhere else.”

But he was already walking toward the elevator.

Perhaps he thought I was upstairs crying.

Perhaps he expected me to demand an apology.

Perhaps he thought I had canceled everything because I wanted him to chase me.

He still believed my world revolved around him.

When the private-room doors opened, I was sitting beside Minh Khai.

Both families were there.

My parents.

His parents.

My grandmother.

Even my grandfather, who rarely attended private gatherings anymore.

A red marriage certificate rested beside my hand.

Canh Xuyen stopped at the doorway.

His eyes moved from me to Minh Khai.

Then to the certificate.

His face went completely blank.

“Hua Duong.”

Nobody answered him.

He stepped inside.

“What is this?”

Minh Khai calmly poured me tea.

I picked up the certificate.

“Didn’t I tell you yesterday?”

Canh Xuyen stared at me.

“You said you were going home.”

“Yes.”

I looked at the man beside me.

“With my husband.”

The color drained from Canh Xuyen’s face.

“Your what?”

Lam Vi appeared behind him.

When she saw the certificate, even she stopped smiling.

Canh Xuyen suddenly laughed.

It was an ugly, disbelieving sound.

“Stop joking.”

I opened the certificate and turned it toward him.

The official seal was clearly visible.

His eyes fixed on the registration date.

Yesterday.

His breathing stopped.

“You registered a marriage yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Three days before our wedding?”

I found the question almost absurd.

“Our wedding?”

“You know what I mean!”

His voice rose.

“You were supposed to marry me!”

I looked directly at him.

“No.”

The room became silent.

“You canceled our wedding without asking me.”

“That was only the banquet!”

“Exactly.”

I nodded.

“To you, it was only a banquet.”

“Just like the necklace was only a necklace.”

“Lam Vi was only a childhood friend.”

“My feelings were only me being unreasonable.”

“And three years of preparation were only something you could give away because she wanted a birthday party.”

His lips parted.

For once, he had nothing to say.

I continued quietly:

“You wanted to test whether I loved you enough to tolerate it.”

I glanced at my marriage certificate.

“Now you have your answer.”

Canh Xuyen stepped toward me.

“You married another man just to punish me?”

Before I could answer, Minh Khai stood.

He was taller than Canh Xuyen.

Calmer too.

“My wife doesn’t need to use our marriage to punish anyone.”

Canh Xuyen’s eyes sharpened.

“Stay out of this.”

Minh Khai smiled faintly.

“You entered my family’s dinner and shouted at my wife.”

“I’m already being very polite.”

My grandfather finally put down his teacup.

The tiny sound silenced everyone.

“Enough.”

Canh Xuyen stiffened.

He knew my grandfather.

Everyone in the city did.

But what he didn’t know was why several senior executives from his own company had suddenly arrived outside the private room.

His father appeared behind them.

The older man’s face was terrifyingly pale.

“Canh Xuyen!”

Canh Xuyen turned.

“Dad?”

His father walked inside and slapped him.

The sound echoed across the room.

Lam Vi gasped.

Canh Xuyen stood motionless.

“What are you doing?”

His father pointed at me with a trembling hand.

“Do you have any idea who you’ve offended?”

Canh Xuyen looked confused.

“She is Hua Duong.”

“Yes!”

His father almost shouted.

“She’s Hua Duong!”

Then he turned toward my grandfather.

His anger disappeared instantly.

“Chairman Hua, please give us an opportunity to explain.”

Canh Xuyen’s face changed.

“Chairman?”

My grandfather didn’t look at him.

Instead, he looked at me.

“Duong, this is your matter.”

I understood.

For years, the Lu family believed their biggest upcoming project had been secured through Canh Xuyen’s connections.

They were wrong.

My grandfather had quietly supported it because I was going to marry into their family.

The final contract had never been signed.

And this morning, I had withdrawn my personal guarantee.

Canh Xuyen slowly understood.

His father had apparently explained enough on the way upstairs.

He turned toward me.

“You…”

His voice sounded unfamiliar.

“That project…”

I smiled.

“Was never yours.”

His phone suddenly rang.

Then his father’s.

Then three executives’ phones outside.

One after another.

His father checked the message.

His face collapsed.

The financing agreement had been suspended.

But that wasn’t what made Canh Xuyen look terrified.

His assistant rushed into the room moments later, holding another document.

“Mr. Lu…”

He could barely speak.

“The hotel has formally reported the forged authorization used to alter Miss Hua’s wedding reservation.”

Canh Xuyen turned toward him.

“What?”

The assistant’s hands began shaking.

“I… I only did what you told me.”

For the first time, Lam Vi quietly released Canh Xuyen’s arm.

And I realized something almost funny.

Yesterday, everyone had laughed because they believed I was the woman held firmly in his palm.

Twenty-four hours later, the wedding was gone.

The contract was gone.

I was married to someone else.

And the assistant he trusted most had just admitted, in front of both families, that the forged document had been created on his orders.

But then Manager Phuong hurried into the room.

Her expression was far more serious than before.

“Miss Hua, there’s another problem.”

She handed me the original electronic record.

I looked at the authorization history.

My smile disappeared.

Because the person who had first requested that my wedding reservation be transferred to Lam Vi was not Canh Xuyen.

The request had been submitted two weeks earlier.

From an account registered under Lam Vi’s name.

And attached to it was a message addressed directly to Canh Xuyen:

“If she really loves you, she’ll forgive this too.”

Below it was his reply.

Only four words.

“Then let’s test her.”