Chapter 24 — Contract of the Heart

With two weeks left until the celebration of life party, Thảo Nguyên knew she couldn't delay any longer. She invited Việt Anh to come to her house one weekend evening. When Mrs. Xuân had finished eating and was relaxing in the living room, they both decided to face the most difficult part of the truth together.

"Grandma," Thảo Nguyên started, her voice trembling more than ever before, "Việt Anh and I have something important to confess to you."

Mrs. Xuân looked at the two of them, immediately recognized the seriousness in the atmosphere, put down the tea cup, her eyes focused entirely on her granddaughter. "What's going on? Just say it, I'll listen."

Thảo Nguyên took a deep breath and held Việt Anh's hand tightly under the table to gain more courage. "Do you remember the afternoon I told you I had a boyfriend, right before the blind date with Uncle Tam's son?"

"Remember," Mrs. Xuân nodded, not understanding the problem. "What's wrong, child?"

"At that time," Thảo Nguyên said, her voice choked, "I lied to her. I never had a boyfriend. I was just so tired of being forced to go on blind dates constantly, so I blurted out a lie, and when she asked for his name, I saw Việt Anh's photo in the school newspaper, so I said his name indiscriminately."

The room fell into a heavy silence. Mrs. Xuân looked at her granddaughter, her face gradually changed from surprise to a fleeting pain that Thảo Nguyên could clearly feel, even though she tried not to reveal too much.

"So," she said, her voice slow, trying to stay calm, "from the beginning until now, your relationship has just been..."

"At first it was fake, grandma," Việt Anh spoke up, his voice shaking but still maintaining the necessary certainty. "I agreed to play the role of Thảo Nguyên's boyfriend in exchange for her helping me practice writing my scholarship essay. We made a contract, with clear terms, the deadline ended after your birthday party."

"A contract," Ms. Xuân repeated, her voice a bit bitter. "You guys even made a contract for this."

"I want everything to be clear, to avoid future misunderstandings," Việt Anh explained, his voice shaking but still trying to maintain absolute honesty. "That's the way I usually do with every deal, I didn't think it would hurt you so much when you found out the truth."

Mrs. Xuân laughed dryly, a laugh that was not happy at all. "So all those weeks, every time you came to my house to eat, every time you politely called her 'uncle', it was all just acting out the terms of the contract?"

"At first it was like that, uncle," Việt Anh admitted, not avoiding it. "But the politeness and affection I have for you, from the very beginning, are all real. You don't need to act to respect a kind, warm person like me."

"I'm sorry, grandma," Thảo Nguyên said, tears began to fall uncontrollably. "I know this is bad. I lied to her all these months, letting her believe something that wasn't true. I don't know how to apologize enough."

Mrs. Xuân stood up, walked to the window, turned her back on them both for a long time, saying nothing. Thảo Nguyên and Việt Anh sat silently, not daring to speak, giving her time to handle this shock in her own way. Outside, the chirping sound of cicadas on the summer night echoed through the open window, contrasting strangely with the heaviness that enveloped the small living room.

Time seemed to last forever. Thảo Nguyên looked at her skinny back on the window, her heart ached at the thought that she was the reason why the person she loved the most had to endure this shock. She wanted to run to hug her, but was afraid that doing so at this time would make her feel pressured to forgive immediately, while she needed space to accept the truth herself.

"I'm not angry because you guys tricked me," she finally said, her voice still shaking but calmer. "She was angry because she had proudly told so many people about her grandchild's beautiful love story, when in fact it was just a carefully staged play."

"But ma'am," Thảo Nguyên quickly said, standing up and approaching her, "the next part is no longer a drama. I truly love Việt Anh, I don't know exactly when, but it's the truth, it no longer has anything to do with the original contract."

"Me too, uncle," Việt Anh said, also standing up, his voice sincere. "I truly love Thảo Nguyên. That contract was just the initial excuse for us to meet and get to know each other. But the feelings that arose after that were completely real, I would like to use my honor to guarantee that."

Mrs. Xuân turned back to look at them both, her eyes were still filled with tears but had softened somewhat. "So what about your grandfather," she asked Việt Anh, "was that also in your plan from the beginning?"

"No, ma'am," Thảo Nguyên quickly replied. "It was a completely unexpected coincidence, only discovered after Việt Anh and I had developed true feelings. It was that coincidence that made us believe that perhaps, this was not simply a coincidence."

Ms. Xuân remained silent, sat down in a chair, held her head in her hands, trying to sort through all the information she had just received. Thảo Nguyên knelt down next to her, held her hand, tears still falling.

"Grandma, I know I was wrong," she said, her voice choking. "I was wrong for lying, wrong for dragging Việt Anh into that lie, and wrong for not having the courage to tell the truth sooner. But I don't regret what happened afterward, because thanks to that, I found true love, and both of our families had a chance to find each other again after all these years."

Mrs. Xuân looked at her granddaughter, her eyes filled with complex emotions, between hurt, disappointment, and a deep love that nothing could shake, the love that had raised Thảo Nguyên since the first days away from her parents.

"I need time," she said finally, her voice less shaky. "I won't be angry with you guys forever, but I need time to accept this whole thing, to understand that my trust was in the right place, even if it didn't start out the way she thought it would."

"I understand, grandma," Thảo Nguyên said softly, even though her heart was still heavy with worry. "I will wait, as long as it takes, as long as you forgive me. I just hope you know that, no matter how wrong things start, my love for you has never been fake, and will never change."

Mrs. Xuân reached out to gently stroke her granddaughter's hair, a familiar gesture from childhood, although her eyes were still slightly sad. "I can't help but forgive you," she said softly, her voice gentle again. "You are my only grandchild, my whole world. It's just that I need time to get used to the fact that sometimes, the most beautiful things in life start from the most imperfect things."

Thảo Nguyên and Việt Anh looked at each other, both feeling a great relief spreading in their chests, even though they knew that the road to completely regaining her trust still needed more time and persistent sincerity. But at least the most important truth had been told, there was no longer any need to hide it or fear of being discovered at an unexpected time.

Việt Anh stood quietly observing, her heart filled with gratitude for the tolerance of the elderly woman in front of her, who, in just a few short minutes, had to face one of the biggest shocks in her life, but still chose to forgive instead of blaming, choosing love instead of bitterness.

"Uncle," he said softly, kneeling down next to Thảo Nguyên, "I'm sorry for contributing to making you endure this shock. If you need me to keep your distance for a while so it's easier for you to accept everything, I'm willing to do as you wish."

"No need," Mrs. Xuân waved her hand, her voice somewhat warm again. "I don't want to push you away just because of a mistake that you both bravely confessed to. What I need now is just time, not separation."

She stood up, walked to the shelf, took out a familiar small wooden box, opened it, took out an old photo of herself and Mr. Bảo Tín, and placed it on the table next to the two of them. "Look," she said, her voice thoughtful, "even her story with his started with imperfect things — family opposition, separation due to war, lost letters. Perhaps, no love is absolutely perfect from the beginning. What matters is how one chooses to face it and fix it later."