At twenty-seven, Vong Sovathrithy stood tall—broad-shouldered, sharp-jawed, and graceful in every movement. He was the image of quiet power, the kind of man whose presence turned heads the moment he stepped into a room. The media often called him "The Ice Prince of Phnom Penh," and the title suited him. Behind those piercing eyes and a face sculpted like stone was a mind cold and calculating—trained not just for business, but for retribution.
After the death of his foster parents—Vong Sovann and Ratana—Sovathrithy inherited not only the legacy of the Vong family but also the full control of their vast business empire. Real estate, banking, logistics—he ran it all with an iron fist and a perfectionist's eye.
The weekend is only two days long, and it is also the businessman's day off. He has chosen a natural lake on the outskirts of the city for a relaxing trip. When the weekend arrives, many people come here to unwind and breathe in the fresh air, free from the smoke of cars and engines in the city. The noble man, dressed in civilian clothes and relaxing alone by the lake, is Vong Sovannrithy, the owner of Sovann Group. The beautiful natural scenery inspires thoughts only of good things. The man is immersed in the gentle breeze that caresses his body. Nearby, a group of young women stands taking group selfies, showcasing their civility on popular social media. The nobleman continuously walks forward to change the atmosphere. His eyes gaze at the afternoon landscape, where golden light shines on the plants and buildings, creating a paradise-like scene. Vong Sovannrithy stares at the scenery, oblivious to the woman holding a couple of ice cream cones in her hand. She walks as swiftly as a bird, her eyes likely distracted as she gazes at her friends taking pictures. Rithy walks slowly, his eyes fixed on the scenery until a woman bumps into him, staining his clothes with ice cream. "Oh! I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to!!" The woman turns to the man and quickly apologizes... "It's you!!" The woman's eyes widen in recognition, as they had known each other before... "It's you!!" The man replies without hesitation: "We've been apart for a long time, but still!"
The two had known each other before, and had been...
"How?! What a stubborn person, with a bad character, bad words, a stubborn and rigid attitude, arrogant, blunt words, and a greedy person. A stubborn person, a strong person, not afraid of anyone, acting like an angel, holding a great attitude like an angel fallen from the sky."
"What a nerd; introverted behavior, bad attitude, bad words, arrogant-prideful personality, fierce eyes, always debates, always knows all things. Prideful, power-grabbing, fear no one, holding a great attitude like a prince who falls from heaven. "
"Women with harsh words, a fearsome character, fierce as a tiger, a hoarse voice like a baboon, short heads, talkative, arrogant, not afraid of anyone, a mouth full of lies, good at cursing and never losing, big faces, curly hair, stingy. Likes to be helped, good at making fun of others but acting strong, wants to compete and win, uses cursing as a rule, not gentle like other women! Drama queen has thousands of tricks, fiery hands, chicken legs, crazy beyond remedy. If anyone gets you as a girlfriend, he would rather find a doctor and treat himself!"
The woman bit her lip, clenched her fists, trembling because the man's words that were thrown at her in pieces were no less than the words she had given him.
" Vong Ritthi! You dare to curse me?!!"
" What?!" The man replied.
" YOU...."
" You big, powerful lady! Are you going to stop talking?!"
" I hate you so much, Vong Ritthy! I don't want to see your face!!"
The man walked closer to her, frowning and showing her clothes that were stained with butter, which she had made them like that.
" What is this?! Or did you intend to do it?"
The civilized noblewoman was also silent because she already knew her mistake. She was embarrassed that he was trying to show his dirty clothes because of her. The man looked at her without feeling sorry. Her empty hand, which had thrown away the ice cream while she was furious by the man's rude words, reached out and took out her own handkerchief and handed it to Ritthy, "Take it and wipe it! Sorry!". The man grabbed the handkerchief and wiped it gently on all the dirty spots. "I'm leaving!" The woman turned and walked away. "Phon Saipin!" Ritthy called her name out loud, both last name and first name. Because they knew each other well, in the past, they had been classmates who had studied abroad together. The woman turned back, feeling uncomfortable. "What??" .The man threw back the handkerchief to her and said, "Take yours! I don't need it." She bit her lip and walked away.
"Where is Ice-Cream? Saipin!"
"Ice-Cream, I bought it, but on the way I met a crazy man!"
The female friend covered her mouth with her hand and opened her eyes wide because she probably knew something about the person Saipin, the high-class woman, was talking about:
"Don't tell me you met Mr. Ritthy?!"
"Of course, who else! Besides that arrogant man!"
The friend Manya suddenly became excited when she heard who it was, "Where? Where was he going, Sayphin? We want to see him! The man with handsome looks and rich. Oh! We want to meet him." At the same time, another female friend added, "Hey, Sapin! How can you talk about him so badly? You guys are so stupid! You've been living abroad! You've come to Cambodia and come together and fight until today." Saipin frowned, folded her arms, and replied to Phang:
"I don't want to meet him that much! It's hard for us to talk to each other."
"But we remember that after he changed colleges, you missed him too."
"No! I missed Bong Piseth!"
"Hmm... okay! We've stopped talking, never win you over anyway."
Saipin furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips because it was true that she was good at debate. The woman picked up the phone and dialed the man she loved the most...
"Hello Bong Piseth!"
"Yes," the man's voice answered softly and politely, always for her. Saipin replied with a shy but gentle face...
"It's me... um..."
The man spoke instead of the words she hadn't said yet, "I miss you so much, my dear! Is it right?"
"Yes," the woman laughed, making all the friends around her blush.