Chapter 1 — Cheating Marriage

A petite young woman named Nhiep Oanh. 20 years old, radiant and confident, a beautiful and vibrant age, without elaborate makeup but still attractive. She of course also understood that. Otherwise, she wouldn't have rushed in front of me, bragging about her beauty. "Miss Co," she said, "I recently found a very good spa. Here's their membership card. You see, once a woman is over 30, she needs to take more care of her skin."Over the years, by Co Nam Son's side, I have met many beauties and heard sarcasm like this many times. I never bothered. Just smiled slightly, took the card from her hand, but when I saw the name of the spa, I stopped. That's the shop that Co Nam Son mentioned to me a few days ago. That day he came home late, lying on the sofa, a bit sleepy, still holding that membership card in his hand. "Thanh Mien, this is for you," he said. I asked him why he remembered me saying I wanted to work as a skin care worker. He frowned and said that recently this spa had been advertising continuously under the company building, which made him feel annoyed so he recharged his card for me to try. His expression at that time was a bit urgent, just like before, every time he bought me a gift, he was always shy and pretended to be forced to buy it. For a moment, I felt like I was back in the summer when we were 20 years old. The innocent boy stood under the tree, holding a slightly cheesy bouquet of roses. Although he was clearly shy, he still tried to act calm. "The owner of the flower shop told me they were about to close, so I gave it to you," he said. At that moment, I suddenly felt a little emotional. It's been a long time since Co Nam Son has cared about me like that. That night, I felt a bit of long-forgotten love. Unexpectedly, it was just a card that he conveniently took home after paying for that little girl. I raised my head, looked at Nhiep Oanh, and looked closely at her beautiful face for a long time. Finally I said one sentence: "Thank you." Perhaps because her tone was too sincere, the girl opposite revealed a strange expression. I know, she's probably thinking to herself: "Is this girl crazy?" But I really thank her. Finally, she helped me see some things clearly. I always find excuses for him. "He's just busy, wait for him to stop being busy and everything will be fine." But unfortunately he's been busy over and over again. I also found one reason after another for him. I cling to the love of the past to survive day by day. But now, I suddenly understand that there are things I've been waiting for forever that won't come. When I got home, Co Nam Son still hadn't returned. The whole house was dark. I'm used to it. Since he started his business and had some success, he rarely comes home before 10pm. I even forgot the last time we had dinner together. On our 10th anniversary, we arranged to go out to dinner. But in the end, he missed the appointment because of work. I waited for him all night at the restaurant I had reserved, until morning. But now it doesn't matter anymore. I didn't turn on the light and slowly walked to the window. The night view of Bac Thanh is beautiful. Sparkling neon lights, bustling and noisy streets. I remember the first day Co Nam Son and I arrived in Bac Thanh, he raised his head and looked at the brightly lit buildings. "We will also have a house here." I didn't look at the building in front, I just looked at him. I know you can do it. Now, ten years have passed, we actually have a home in Bac Thanh. 200 square meter apartment in the city center, just bow your head and you can see the panoramic view of Bac Thanh. Now, he has become a stylish Director Co,

power. As for me, I have become what everyone calls "Miss Co with good fortune." They said that I was only by Co Nam Son's side during his most difficult days, but enjoyed glory and wealth for the rest of my life. Every time I hear that, I just smile faintly. They never knew that, when I was 22 years old, to collect enough money to treat Co Nam Son's illness, I had to stand and wash dishes for 8 hours in the -20 degree cold of Bac Thanh. Wash until your hands can no longer feel. The next day, my hands were covered in cracks from frostbite. However, the next day I continued to wash dishes for another 8 hours. On the third and fourth days, I also forgot how many days I washed. That winter, when we couldn't find a job and didn't have a stable source of income, I washed each bowl one by one to earn a few thousand dong for medicine for Co Nam Son. They always said I was lucky, but they never mentioned the hardships during those ten years. If it were another girl, Co Nam Son would not have been able to overcome that winter of illness. Perhaps because I heard too many compliments, Co Nam Son also began to think that I was "Miss Co with good fortune" and didn't need to do anything. He constantly emphasized to me that he was busy to give me a better life. But he forgot that before, I was also busy and miserable because of our good life together. But it's okay. I sat on the sofa, holding a pillow in my hand. I often do this many times, counting the stars in the sky and thinking about when Co Nam Son will return. Sometimes I'm lucky, I haven't finished counting before he comes back. Sometimes unfortunately, I counted until I fell asleep and he still hadn't come home. In the beginning, I was always lucky. After that, I always had bad luck. Gradually, I could no longer distinguish between lucky and unlucky. Just like now, when Co Nam Son stood in front of me and said he was home, I couldn't give a genuine smile. It's also impossible to hug him like before. I looked at him for a long time, and in the end I could only dryly utter a few words: "I'm home." He looked at me, his eyes full of confusion. "You haven't hugged me for a long time." As he spoke, he opened his arms. But I avoided it. Co Nam Son's face still showed no emotion, but his voice carried a bit of helplessness. "Why are you sulking again? Because of that girl? Her father is a major shareholder of the company, just arranged for her to come for an internship. Don't..." I interrupted him before he could finish. I know what you're going to say. That girl just came to practice, there was nothing between them, he just wanted me to stop being jealous for no reason. I'm not a 20 year old girl anymore. I have heard this sentence countless times. It's unclear when, Co Nam Son was always surrounded by girls. Some are the partners' daughters, some are the prestigious ladies of Bac Thanh. In the past, I was often angry because of them, causing many conflicts with Co Nam Son. Every time we quarreled to the point of madness, I used all my strength to let him know I was very sad. But he never seems to understand.