Chapter 4 — Diary of Someone Who Shouldn't Exist

Her voice trembled every now and then, as if she were convincing herself more than convincing me. I looked at her, her face cold as ice. There was a strange feeling in my heart, both empty and heavy, but also like... a storm was coming. Because… I know, today is just the beginning. My mother's hand held mine tightly, each finger trembling, cold as ice. I looked at her, my eyes empty, not saying a word. In my mind, the memories on the rooftop were chaotic, like broken pieces of film, leaving only one image - her desperate face. “Nim Niem… why didn't you say anything?” “You were scared, right?” Her voice trembled, her warm hand gently stroked my forehead: "Mom is here... no one will be able to hurt you anymore." But I just felt... a cold stream running down my spine, making my scalp numb. The door opened and my uncle - Mo Than walked in. He looked at me, his eyes filled with anger, the corners of his lips tightened, each word like a cold knife: "Mo Uyen, why are you going to care about him anymore?!" “Because of it, I almost died!” “The company is all in chaos now, and you still…” “She's inherently ungrateful!” The sound was sharp, seemingly tearing through the already tense atmosphere. My mother immediately turned around, her voice hoarse from injury, but her majesty made the whole room tremble: "Mo Than!" “You are not allowed to say Niem Niem like that!” Her voice cracked, trembling but extremely strong: "She is my daughter!" “It's just…sick!” “It suffered too much shock, its psychology... needs time to adjust!” She turned to me, her teary eyes seemed to contain a sky of tears, her voice was soft and gentle, but mixed with it was a painful plea: "Nim Niem, don't be afraid... Mom has invited the best psychologist in Hai Thanh." “They will help you… everything will be okay, daughter.” I looked at her, my heart sinking like a heavy stone falling into an abyss. Psychiatrist. No… I can't. I can never go back to that place. Absolutely… no. The corners of my lips curled up into a faint smile, but my chest ached like a deep knife blade. I tried to control my voice and said hoarsely: "I'm... hungry." Mother's eyes immediately lit up, as if seeing hope after a long night of despair. She held my hand tighter, her voice urgent, almost happy: "What do you want to eat?!" “Mom, go buy it for me now, anything is fine!” I looked straight into her eyes, slowly, each word as clear as a sharp knife cutting through the air: "I... want to drink the fish soup mom cooked." Here, the sentence "I want to drink the fish soup my mother cooked" has two layers of meaning: 1. To outsiders, it is just a warm request from a child. 2. But to her mother, and to Tham Niem's secret that had been hidden for two lifetimes, this was a hint, a "knife" that stabbed straight into the bottom of her heart. The light in her mother's eyes disappeared at that moment. The expression on her face stiffened for a second, but soon after, it was replaced by a determination stronger than ever. "Okay... okay! Mom... I'll go cook right away." “Wait a minute, Niem Niem.” She turned her back, her steps staggered, and she quickly ran out of the room, her figure trembling slightly, smaller than ever. My uncle stood next to me, his cold eyes staring at me. His voice lowered, each word cutting like a knife: "What are you planning to do again?" He approached the hospital bed, bent down, Her eyes flashed with warning: "Tham Niem, I advise you... not to cause trouble anymore." “Your sister has already contacted the nursing home in the suburbs.” “When your wound heals, you will be… transferred straight there.” A soft knock sounded on the door, and the smell of hot fish soup spread in the air. My mother walked in, her eyes were still red with blood, her eyes were swollen, and her left hand was still covered with a Band-Aid. “Nim Niem, mom has finished cooking.” She carefully placed the soup tray on the table, sat next to me, her voice choked, mixed with anticipation: "Mom... I've been studying all afternoon... Try it." She carefully scooped out a small bowl, blew on it to cool it, and then gently brought it close to my lips. I looked at her, said nothing, took the bowl... Take a sip. The scent of fish drifts across the tip of the tongue — a strong, unmistakable fishy taste. I turned around, picked up the bowl, and poured it straight into the trash can right in front of her. “It's so fishy.” My voice was so calm and cold that even I felt strange. The forced smile remaining on my mother's lips suddenly froze. The light in her eyes went out, leaving a deep void. She trembled but still tried to hold back her tears. Mo Than finally couldn't bear it anymore, he walked quickly, raised his finger and pointed straight at my face, his voice almost screaming: "Tham Niem! Don't be so unreasonable!" “Do you know that your sister burned her hand because of this bowl of fish soup?!” I bowed my head, my eyes stopped at my mother's hand. The tip of her finger was covered with a tiny, pale pink band-aid but... there was still a faint red streak seeping out. I said nothing. Just quietly, stubbornly shook his head: "I... don't drink." My mother's face became increasingly pale, as pale as a piece of paper, her lips trembled, and her eyes contained countless pain. “Nim Niem…” “What… what exactly do you want me to do?” “Tell me… what do you want… I… I'll give it to you.” Her voice trembled, as fragile as if about to break, filled with helplessness and despair, like a string stretched to the limit, with just the slightest touch... it would snap. I looked straight at her and suddenly burst into laughter. A cold smile, as light as a blade, slid across his throat. “I want to go home.” Pausing for a moment, I looked into her eyes and slowly pressed each word: "About Lam Kien Quoc's house." "What?!" My uncle and my mother's voices sounded at the same time, almost mixed together, sharp as the sound of broken glass. "Nim Niem! Do you know what you're saying?!" My mother rushed over, grabbed my hand tightly, her eyes were red, the blue veins on the back of her hand were tense. “That place… is not where humans live!” “That man will kill me!” Her voice was hoarse, choked and panicked, her shoulders trembling constantly. She hugged me tightly, her eyes looking crazy: "Even if I die... I will never let you return to him!" Mother's emotions seemed to burst, tears rolled down, her voice choked and broken: "I did all of this... for you!" “Why don't you understand?!” “What good is that man?!” “It only knows how to hurt me!” Then she squeezed my hand tighter, her voice almost screaming: "Only Mom! Only Mom truly loves me!" My uncle stood next to me, his whole body shaking with anger, his eyes bloodshot: "Tham Niem!" "Are you crazy?! You want to force your mother to die so you can be satisfied?!" He pointed at me, his voice low and hoarse but full of weight: "Your sister blocked the knife because of you! She almost lost her life." for you! She can give up everything to protect you... What about you?!” My uncle almost roared: "Why... did you choose that scumbag... instead of being with your mother?!" I looked at them, silent. In my heart, a faint laugh like ripples passed through the bottom of my heart: Why? Even if I said it... they wouldn't believe it. At that moment, “click” — the hospital room door was pushed open. Lam Kien Quoc walked in. He wore a wrinkled shirt, bruises on his neck that had not yet healed, but his face was filled with pride. His eyes swept across the chaotic room, saw Mo Uyen crying, then looked at me lying on the hospital bed. The corner of his lips curled up into a contemptuous smile: "Oh... what's going on?" “It turns out that General Manager Mo also lost control like this?” He walked over, stopped in front of the hospital bed, raised his hand to touch my face, his voice chuckled softly, admiringly: "It's still my daughter who knows best..." "You know who is truly good to you, right?" “Pop!” A white shadow rushed straight forward - Mo Uyen was like an agitated mother lion, violently shaking his hand away, pushing his whole body backwards. Her voice was hoarse, trembling but filled with murderous intent: "Get out!" “Who let you in here?!” Lam Kien Quoc paused for a second, then spat on the floor, his eyes flashed with mockery, saying each word: "I came to visit my daughter," "What the hell does it have to do with you?!"

“The court has given me custody!” "I see my daughter whenever I want, no one has the right to stop her!" Lam Kien Quoc's voice rang out, full of defiance and challenge. He took a step forward, his red eyes streaked with blood, his chest heaving violently. “Mo Uyen, I warn you!” “Don't try to use dirty tricks to take Niem Niem away from me!” Mo Uyen laughed, her smile was cold, her eyes were covered with a layer of ice: "Lin Kien Quoc..." "A scum like you... is also worthy of opening his mouth to say the word "trick" to me?" Each sentence, each word was like a dagger piercing straight into his pride. Lam Kien Quoc's face turned red, his chest heaved violently, and his eyes clearly showed anger that had been suppressed for many years. “It's all… because you forced me!” He screamed, his hoarse voice tearing at his throat: “Mo Uyen! You wicked woman! You've ruined half of my life... Now you want to harm my daughter too?! Don't dream!”