Chapter 2 — A Retreat Called Love

He gave the phone back to me. Before I could receive it, screams came from the other end of the line.
"Are you crazy?"
"Just because of such a small thing, you want me to ask for money?"
I turned on the speakerphone. Let everyone in the room hear.
"Small matter?"
Chu Nghi immediately responded:
"Didn't I just tell you to go home and cook?"
"I've been doing it up until now."
I suddenly felt funny. Up until now it's been me doing everything. Every morning he gets up at five o'clock to cook porridge for his mother. At noon, take a break to cook dinner. In the evening, after working overtime, I still have to go to the market to buy food. His mother has a headache. I took him to the doctor. His mother was hospitalized. I'm on duty. Even the cost of medicine comes largely from my salary. Yet in their eyes. All of that is obvious. It's what I have to do. Because I am the daughter-in-law. Because I'm a wife. I slowly took a breath.
"Chu Nghi."
"Do you remember how I broke my leg?"
The other end of the line immediately went silent. I smiled faintly. Of course he remembers. That day his mother insisted on eating shrimp dumplings from a store more than ten kilometers away from home. Smooth road. I finished work and immediately ran to buy it. On the way back. I was hit by a motorbike. I broke my leg. Yet from start to finish. What he cares about is not whether I'm in pain or not. It's whether his mother gets to eat on time or not. The phone on the other end suddenly rang with a high-pitched female voice.
It's my mother-in-law.
"Are you still ashamed?"
"You only have legs and you act like you're about to die!"
"If you want to divorce, then divorce!"
"Let me see who would want to marry a crippled woman like you!"
The whole hospital room immediately fell silent. Even the two police officers frowned. I finished listening. Suddenly felt strangely relieved. I finally heard clearly all the words they kept hidden in their hearts. I hung up. Blocked all phone numbers of mother and daughter. Then turned to look at the doctor.
"I want to check in at the hospital."
"And after leaving the hospital..."
I bowed my head and looked at the wedding ring in my hand. Then slowly take it down.
"First thing I do."
"It's to the civil affairs department."
The older police officer sighed softly.
"Okay. We have confirmed that you are safe, and the mission is considered complete. In private matters between you and your husband, we cannot interfere too deeply. Please remember to take care of your health."
Having finished speaking, the two turned around and left. The emergency room door closed. The space once again fell into silence. I lay on the hospital bed, looking at the white ceiling. The mind is not empty. On the contrary, I have never been so alert. Three years of marriage. Over the past three years, I have been like a cog constantly turning for Chu Nghi and his family. My job. My friends. Hobbies used to make me happy. All are eroded little by little in familiar sayings.
“Mom said this…”
“Just hold on for a bit…”
I used to naively think it was love. It is a compromise between the closest people. But only today do I understand. That was just a pre-arranged trap. Step by step I lost myself. Fifteen minutes later, Chu Nghi appeared. And he didn't come alone. The door was pushed open, hitting the wall with a loud bang. Chu Nghi's face distorted by anger appeared right before his eyes. Behind him is his mother
my husband, running and panting. Chu Nghi took a few steps and rushed to the hospital bed. The finger almost poked me in the face.
"Very good! Did you even get the police involved? Do you know how embarrassing it is for me?"
From the moment he walked in until now, his eyes only glanced at my leg in plaster exactly once. Not even a second. The mother-in-law also immediately joined in. As soon as she walked through the door, she clutched her chest and pretended to faint.
"Oh my god! What bad karma!"
The sound of crying echoed throughout the hospital room.
"What's wrong with us in the Chu family to marry a comet like you! My son is working hard to make money outside, you're not happy enough to stay at home, now you're leaving home! You want to force me and my son to death before you're satisfied, right?"
With his mouth, he cried and lamented his fate. But her eyes looking at me were cold. There was not a single trace of worry. There is only calculation and resentment. Watching the mother and daughter perform one act after another. I suddenly felt sad
laugh.
“Chu Nghi.”
I spoke up. The voice was so hoarse that even I felt strange.
“Look closely at my feet.”
Only then did he reluctantly glance over. Then smiled faintly.
“It's just a broken leg.”
“Is it worth threatening you with divorce?”
"To Tinh, I'm telling you, don't think you can threaten me with this!"
"Your mother also has high blood pressure! If something happens to her because of me, even if I break ten legs, I won't be able to pay for it!"
The phone is still placed next to the pillow. Right from the moment Chu Nghi burst into the hospital room. I silently turned on the recording. I nodded slightly.
“It turns out that in your eyes, your mother's high blood pressure is more important than my broken leg.”
“But what else!”
Chu Nghi responded almost immediately.
“My mother only has one!”
“As for the wife, she can marry someone else, right?”
I asked calmly. He immediately choked up. The face turned red. I don't know if it's because of shame or anger.
“Don't intentionally cause trouble!”
He shouted loudly.
“Quickly call the police to explain that this is just a misunderstanding!”
“Then follow me home, apologize to my mother!”
I looked at the man in front of me. It feels like looking at a stranger.
“Chu Nghi.”
I said slowly.
“We are finished.”