Nights at the Vũ estate were always silent.
But the silence of a tycoon's residence was not the same as peace.
It was more like an emptiness where, if someone stood still long enough, they could hear ambition and secrets flowing through the stone walls.
Tonight… was the night fate would branch into different paths.
/Awakening — The First Premonition/
Dĩ Yến suddenly woke.
The space beside her was empty.
Ngạo Thiên was not there.
She sat up and called softly,
"Thiên…?"
No answer.
The room was too quiet.
A strange feeling rose inside her — as if an invisible force was pulling her toward a certain place.
She wrapped a light robe around herself and stepped into the corridor.
The hallway of the Vũ residence stretched long and empty, golden lights casting endless shadows across the stone floor.
She stopped when she saw a faint light coming from Ngạo Thiên's study.
She stood outside the door for a second.
She didn't know why her heart was beating faster than usual.
She knocked.
No response.
So she pushed the door open.
The room was filled with cold light — not warm like the bedroom.
/The Laptop — And the Truth She Never Expected/
The study was empty.
Ngạo Thiên was not there.
Documents were neatly arranged, as always.
The air carried the faint scent of mint and sandalwood — the same scent that always surrounded him: calm, deep, and impossible to read.
And the laptop on the desk…
was open.
Its screen glowing.
The instinct of a woman — of a CEO, of someone seasoned by the business world — pulled her toward it like pure reflex.
She stepped closer.
Sat down.
Placed her hand on the touchpad.
No password.
No protection.
As if whoever left it open never imagined she would touch it.
She opened the file displayed on the screen.
And the world inside her collapsed.
The file name:
Project: Erase — TG Conglomerate
(Project: ERASE — Tống Group)
Inside were:
– capital flow schematics
– timelines of market disruptions
– strategies to damage reputation
– plans to make Tống Group dependent on ÉCLAT
– liquidity collapse scenarios
– the role of "Using Dĩ Yến" as the key to access the market
– and the final line:
/Final Stage — After Marriage: Complete Control/
Her hands trembled.
Her breathing broke apart.
Her mind felt as if ice water had been poured into it.
Every line on the screen felt like dozens of arrows piercing her chest.
"So… everything was a plan…"
She tried to stand.
Her hand gripped the edge of the desk to keep from falling.
The man she had loved since she was seven years old.
The man she trusted.
The man she placed her heart and hope into.
The man she believed was her sky.
Was the very person planning to destroy her family.
The disturbances at Tống Group.
ÉCLAT's strange growth.
His gentle reassurances.
His quiet words:
"Don't worry."
His care.
His tenderness.
All of it…
had been preparation.
Preparation so she would never suspect him.
She choked.
She could barely breathe.
Her heart shattered into thousands of fragments.
And in that moment—
she remembered her father's words.
"If you could choose again… would you choose Vũ Ngạo Thiên… or Ngạo Thần?"
"I never hoped the man you chose would be Vũ Ngạo Thiên."
Her father's voice tightened around her heart like a thread.
/Ngạo Thần Appears — And Her Heart Finally Breaks/
The door opened quietly.
Ngạo Thần stepped inside.
Still composed.
But his eyes were darker than usual.
He was about to say,
"Brother, are you still—"
Then he froze.
Because he saw her.
Her eyes red.
Her face pale.
Her hand gripping the desk.
And the laptop screen glowing.
His heart dropped.
"…Sister-in-law?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
Dĩ Yến looked at him.
Her gaze was not just pain.
Not just loss.
Not just shock.
It was shattered.
Grief.
Fury.
Guilt.
And one silent question:
Why would he do this to me?
Ngạo Thần swallowed hard.
The pain stabbed through him.
He knew.
He knew this day would come.
But he never imagined it would come like this —
with her standing before him, so broken she could barely stand.
He stepped forward.
"Yến—"
Footsteps sounded in the corridor.
Both of them turned.
Ngạo Thần reacted instantly.
He shut the laptop.
Closed the file.
Pulled Dĩ Yến away from the desk.
For a second she nearly collapsed into his arms.
He steadied her gently, holding her shoulders so she could stand.
The door opened.
/Ngạo Thiên Appears — The Mask Is Worn Again/
Ngạo Thiên stepped into the room.
His eyes moved across the two of them.
No emotion.
No visible suspicion.
"What are you and Thần doing here?"
His voice was soft.
But cold like metal.
Ngạo Thần answered first, calmly as if nothing had happened.
"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. I saw your light on and came to look for you."
Ngạo Thiên looked at his brother.
His gaze unreadable.
Then he looked at Dĩ Yến.
She had already regained the composure of a CEO.
Cold.
Sharp.
Perfect.
"I woke up and didn't see you," she said.
"So I came to check."
Her voice was steady.
So steady it made Ngạo Thần's chest ache.
She was standing upright even though her heart had just been crushed.
Ngạo Thiên watched them for a long second.
As if measuring the truth.
But his perfect mask hid everything.
Then he said softly to her,
"From now on… don't enter my study when I'm not here."
At that moment Dĩ Yến felt completely numb.
She said nothing.
Showed nothing.
She only nodded and turned away, her heart cold as steel.
Her steps were steady.
But inside, her heart had shattered into shards of glass.
Ngạo Thần watched her leave.
His hands clenched.
But he did not dare step forward.
Did not dare comfort her.
Did not dare touch her.
Because if he touched her at that moment…
he was not sure he could stop himself.
/That Fateful Night — The Night Her Heart Would Never Be Whole Again/
Dĩ Yến walked down the long corridor under pale golden lights.
Every step.
Every breath.
Felt like knives cutting into her heart.
So… everything was a plan.
So… he never loved me.
So… I was only a chess piece.
She remembered:
– the first time she met him
– every moment he protected her
– every gentle kiss he placed on her forehead
– the embrace on their wedding night
– the soft warmth of his words
All of it…
had been preparation.
Preparation to place her exactly where he needed her.
The key piece on his chessboard.
She remembered her father's warning:
"Vũ Ngạo Thiên is not the man I wished you would marry."
Her eyes burned.
But no tears fell.
She would not allow herself to be weak.
Not now.
Not in front of anyone.
From that moment on, even though she still did not know the entire truth, that night marked the beginning of every tragedy that would follow.
Message of Chapter 18
When premonition begins knocking at the door, the truth rarely just hurts.
It destroys the faith we carried for an entire lifetime.
Some nights, we are not killed by others.
But by the truth glowing from a screen in the dark—
until our hearts quietly die on their own.