The Yan Si'an villa arrived at exactly the right moment—like a tranquilizer placed precisely where it was needed.
After that day, Dĩ Yến trusted Ngạo Thiên completely.
She trusted him with her heart, with her emotions, with the gentleness he gave her, and with the way he seemed to understand parts of her she had never spoken aloud.
She did not know that this calm… was only the quiet before the storm that Ngạo Thiên himself had already chosen the day to unleash.
/Peace Carefully Created — To Prepare for the Wedding/
For the next two weeks, there were no tremors.
No market fluctuations.
No sudden "coincidental" problems.
The business world of Vân Hải was calm like a still lake.
Tống Group continued to grow steadily.
ÉCLAT reached the peak of its reputation.
Investment flows from Europe and Northern China moved smoothly.
It felt as though heaven itself had blessed the union between the two great families.
But the only person in the world who knew the truth was Ngạo Thiên.
This peace had been deliberately created by him.
To prepare for the wedding.
To ensure that no one would suspect anything.
To make everything appear perfectly aligned with the future he had designed.
Within that calm, Dĩ Yến spent her time preparing her wedding dress.
/The Wedding Dress — The Moment That Made a Man of Revenge Tremble/
On the day she tried on the dress, she stood before the mirror.
The white gown fell softly along her figure, her bare shoulders elegant, her gaze gentle like moonlight.
She had designed the dress herself.
It was not extravagant.
Not flamboyant.
But every cut followed her own design philosophy—subtle, precise, powerful enough to stand beneath the gaze of the entire world.
Ngạo Thiên entered the room at that moment.
Only a brief instant.
Yet his heart… trembled.
Just once.
A tiny flicker.
But enough to make something inside him waver, as if the hatred he had carried for twenty years had suddenly been pierced by that light.
He blinked once, quickly concealing the feeling.
He was not allowed to love her.
That was the rule.
The discipline.
The boundary carved into his bones.
"Beautiful," he said, his voice so steady that even his heart seemed jealous of the control of his mind.
She smiled, her face radiant.
That smile—was the only thing capable of making the beast of vengeance inside him hesitate for a single moment.
He turned away before emotion could lead him astray.
/Ngạo Thần — Watching the Wedding Like a Wound Within Himself/
At the Vũ residence, news of the upcoming wedding spread through the household.
During breakfast, his mother said casually,
"The wedding banquet will probably be held at the end of the month. Remember to prepare your speech as best man."
The glass in Ngạo Thần's hand nearly slipped.
But he steadied it.
Then smiled politely.
"Yes."
Yet deep inside him, a small crack widened into something far deeper.
She would become his sister-in-law.
The woman he had loved all his life would stand beside his brother on the most important day of her life.
He lifted his tea, but the taste was bitter.
His father, Vũ Chính Thành, glanced at his younger son and sensed something.
He said nothing.
But his gaze lingered for a moment.
Triệu Ái Huệ, his mother, sat quietly beside him, watching him for a long time.
In her eyes was an understanding no mother ever wishes to possess.
She knew.
She had known since the way he looked at Dĩ Yến during the engagement.
She had known from the way he stood silently on the balcony that night.
She had known from the unnatural calm of his silence.
But she also knew… nothing about this could be changed.
Dĩ Yến had loved Ngạo Thiên since childhood.
And Ngạo Thần could only offer his blessings in silence.
Remain in his place.
Even if his heart would never again be whole.
⸻
A Father's Words — A Prophecy of Fate
Ten days before the wedding, Tống Hành called his daughter into the study.
His voice was neither stern nor cold.
It was the voice of a father trying to say the hardest thing in his life.
She sat beside him.
He looked at her with a mixture of pride and unease.
"Yến… I have always hoped that Tống Group and the Vũ family would become relatives through marriage."
He paused.
His breathing heavy.
"But I never hoped… the man you would marry would be Vũ Ngạo Thiên."
She looked up, surprised.
"Father…?"
"I know you've loved him since childhood."
He turned toward her, his gaze deep like the ocean.
"But if you had the chance to choose again…
Would you still choose Vũ Ngạo Thiên?
Or would you choose… Vũ Ngạo Thần?"
The question cut straight into her heart.
Her father continued quietly.
"I've seen the way Ngạo Thần looks at you."
He sighed.
"There is a depth in it… that Vũ Ngạo Thiên does not have."
She froze.
Not because of the name Ngạo Thần—
but because her father had touched something she herself had never dared to name.
He continued,
"Vũ Ngạo Thiên is a man whose intelligence is frightening.
But Vũ Ngạo Thần… is a man whose heart knows how to ache for you."
Her heart trembled again.
Like a needle pricking lightly.
But enough to steal her breath for several seconds.
She smiled, forcing calm.
"Father… I trust Brother Thiên.
Don't worry. I will definitely be happy."
Tống Hành looked at his daughter.
He saw her determination.
He saw the faith in her eyes.
And he saw the innocence still lingering there, even though she was already the CEO of ÉCLAT.
"Alright."
He gently patted her head.
"Then believe that. I hope you are right."
But when she turned and left the room, Tống Hành stood quietly, watching her back as she walked away.
And he whispered softly:
"Vũ Ngạo Thiên… don't let that child suffer."
It was the warning of a father.
And also a prophecy for the fateful day that was approaching.
Message of Chapter 14
A father's words are sometimes more than advice.
They are premonition.
The instinct of someone who has survived storms.
A bell warning of tragedy that the young cannot yet hear.
And sometimes… warnings arrive too late.
Because people only understand them once the storm has already entered their lives.