Chapter 1. The Silent Pause Before the Wind
Duy had never believed in “fate.” To him, love was something you could grasp with your hands, something tangible and understandable. But everything changed the moment he met Mai.
She wasn’t just beautiful; she was a mystery. Every detail about her, from the intricate gold embroidery on her veil to the way her eyes avoided his gaze, made Duy feel as though he was walking into a world he didn’t belong to. Her presence was like a shadow, something that pulled him in despite the distance she kept.
The first time their eyes met, something inside Duy stirred. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt an undeniable connection. Mai, standing there amidst the crowd, seemed to exist in a different space—distant and elusive. There was sadness in her eyes, a depth that intrigued him. It wasn’t the kind of sadness that could be fixed with words, but something deeper, something that Duy wasn’t sure he could even touch.
He couldn’t understand why a girl so beautiful, so full of life, would choose to live in solitude. Every time their eyes met, a strange warmth surged within him, yet he always watched as she quickly looked away, closing herself off once again. The more he saw of her, the more Duy became consumed by the need to understand her. He wanted to know why she kept herself hidden, why she refused to let anyone in.
It wasn’t just her beauty that drew him in—it was the mystery, the inexplicable feeling that something profound lingered beneath the surface. And though Duy had never considered himself a romantic, he found himself slowly falling for her, despite her constant distance.
