The hotel doors closed behind me.
I walked out barefoot into the cold night.
The dress shirt I wore underneath was wrinkled, and the wind cut through the thin fabric.
But strangely…
I felt lighter than ever.
For four years, I had stood beside Ky Hoai Lac believing that one day he would see my sincerity.
I believed that patience could become love.
I believed that if I gave enough, sacrificed enough, and stayed long enough…
I would eventually become his family.
How ridiculous.
In the end, I was nothing more than a convenient person he could abandon whenever the woman he truly wanted returned.
My phone kept vibrating.
One message after another.
From the company.
From relatives.
From people who had witnessed the engagement ceremony.
Everyone wanted to know one thing:
Was the engagement canceled?
I didn’t answer.
Because for the first time, I didn’t care what they thought.
I went directly to the apartment I had rented secretly six months ago.
The apartment Ky Hoai Lac didn’t know existed.
The apartment where I kept everything he never valued.
My paintings.
My documents.
My real identity.
I opened the safe hidden behind the painting on the wall.
Inside were two things.
A passport.
And a folder.
The folder contained the documents I had planned to give him during the engagement ceremony.
Not a dowry request.
Not a demand.
Not a list of expensive gifts.
It was a transfer agreement.
Twenty percent of my shares in Lo Corporation.
The shares my grandfather left me.
The shares worth hundreds of millions.
I had planned to transfer them to a joint family trust after our marriage.
Because I believed:
When two people build a family, they shouldn’t count who gives more.
I wanted to give him my trust.
He only saw greed.
I closed the folder.
Then I burned the last page.
Not because I was angry.
Because that version of myself no longer existed.
The next morning, Ky Hoai Lac arrived at my apartment.
He looked exhausted.
But still arrogant.
As if he believed I would eventually apologize.
—Lo Nhiem.
I opened the door but didn’t invite him in.
—What do you want?
His expression changed slightly.
Because my voice was different.
Cold.
Calm.
No love.
No disappointment.
Nothing.
—You really want to end everything because of a piece of jade?
I looked at him.
—You still don’t understand.
He frowned.
—Then explain.
I smiled.
—It was never about the jade.
—It was about the fact that when everyone was watching, you chose to humiliate me.
His face became uncomfortable.
—Huyen Huyen was sick.
—She had nightmares.
I nodded.
—And I had dreams too.
A pause.
—For four years, I dreamed that one day I would stand beside you as your equal.
My voice remained steady.
—But yesterday, you showed everyone that I was only someone standing behind you.
Ky Hoai Lac clenched his jaw.
—You are exaggerating.
I laughed softly.
—No.
—You are just used to me accepting everything.
That sentence made him silent.
Because it was true.
I had always forgiven.
Until yesterday.
—Come back.
He finally said.
Those two words surprised me.
Not because they touched me.
Because they sounded like an order.
—The ceremony can continue.
I stared at him.
—With Giang Doanh Huyen wearing the jade?
His eyes moved away.
—That was just a misunderstanding.
—A misunderstanding?
I repeated.
—You gave another woman the symbol of the Ky family’s future wife in front of everyone.
—And now you call it a misunderstanding?
He became impatient.
—Nhiem, don’t make things difficult.
There it was.
The same sentence.
The same attitude.
As if my pain was an inconvenience.
I took out a document.
His expression changed.
—What is that?
I handed it to him.
He opened it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then froze.
Because it was not what he expected.
It was a termination agreement.
Between Lo Corporation and Ky Group.
—You are ending the partnership?
I nodded.
—Yes.
His face finally changed.
Because for the first time, he realized something.
I was not leaving his side.
I was leaving his world.
—You can’t do this.
His voice became lower.
—Why not?
—Because you need me.
Silence.
That answer hit him harder than anything else.
Because he knew it.
For years, he had depended on my ability.
My connections.
My judgment.
My work.
But he never introduced me as someone important.
Only as his fiancée.
The woman lucky enough to be chosen.
—Nhiem…
I interrupted.
—Don’t worry.
—You still have your talented assistant.
A cold smile appeared.
—The woman who is “completely worthy” of the Ky family’s jade.
His expression darkened.
Then my phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
My assistant.
I answered.
—President Lo.
Her voice was excited.
—The international investors have approved the acquisition proposal.
—They want to meet you personally tomorrow.
Ky Hoai Lac heard every word.
President Lo.
Not Miss Lo.
Not Ky’s fiancée.
President Lo.
His eyes changed.
Because suddenly he remembered something.
I had never depended on him.
I had simply chosen him.
And he had mistaken my choice for weakness.
After the call ended, he stared at me.
—You hid this from me?
I looked at him calmly.
—No.
—You never asked.
That sentence left him speechless.
At that moment, his phone rang.
Giang Doanh Huyen.
He hesitated before answering.
I watched him.
Waiting.
For years, I had waited for him to choose me.
Now I wanted to see what he would do.
He answered.
Her crying voice immediately came through.
—Hoai Lac, where are you?
—Everyone online is saying the engagement was canceled.
—What should I do?
Ky Hoai Lac looked at me.
For the first time…
He didn’t know who to choose.
But then I turned away.
Because I finally understood.
A person who truly loves you will never make you fight for a place in their heart.
And Ky Hoai Lac had already shown me mine.
The only problem was…
He didn’t realize the price of losing me yet.
But he was about to find out.
Because the next morning, the entire business world would know one truth:
The woman he called dependent…
Was the person who had secretly controlled the future of both families.
