Chapter 1 — Ex-Wife Takes Power

The company's director took his lover abroad for a survey, but half a year later suddenly called and ordered his wife to send the company's confidential documents. On the other end of the phone, the woman's voice was cold without a trace of warmth: "May I ask who you are?" He was so angry that he lost his voice: "Co Van Ninh, what are you pretending to be confused about?" She smiled, very lightly, very briefly: "Luc Canh Tham, we have been divorced for 192 days. I personally gave the document you needed yesterday to Phuong Dich Than." Chapter 1

"Co Van Ninh, in the safe there is a brown leather bag, inside is a document stamped 'Top Secret', send it to me immediately to Berlin, express delivery!"

Luc Canh Tham's voice rang out from the phone speaker, both urgent and stiff, like he was telling an errand boy to call yes and say yes. I held a cup of coffee and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass door, my fingertips still lingering a bit of warmth from the rim of the cup.

“Who are you?”

I spoke very softly. The other end of the line was silent for two seconds. Then came Luc Canh Tham's voice, lowered, carrying uncontrollable irritation: "What did you say?"

“I asked, who are you?”

“Co Van Ninh!” He suddenly raised his voice, "We haven't seen each other for half a year, don't you even recognize my voice? Don't play tricks on me anymore, quickly go get your things, I'll send you the address later."

I raised my cup and took a sip. The coffee is still hot, but that little bit of heat passes through your throat and disappears.

“Luc Canh Tham.”

I bit these three words very slowly, spitting them out one by one, like chewing an expired piece of gum. They had no taste but still hurt my teeth.

“We've been divorced, it's been one hundred and ninety-two days.”

"Legally speaking, between you and me, we are not even strangers."

"Strangers can at least say hello to each other. As for you, you don't even have that qualification."

He let out a short laugh, filled with clear contempt.

"Divorce? Have I signed the papers? Co Van Ninh, I'm not in the country so you play these useless tricks? Who gave you that confidence?"

“The court grants.”

My voice was as calm as reading a weather forecast.

"You are in Berlin, the court served you a notice according to law, you did not appear in court, you were tried in absentia. The effective date of the judgment is the ninth day after you left the country."

"If you don't believe me, go online and look it up yourself. Trial documents online."

After speaking, I hung up the phone. The screen went dark, reflecting my face. No tear stains. No expression. Even the breathing is as regular as a machine. Half a year ago, he told me that the company had a cooperation project abroad and had to personally go to Berlin to supervise and might have to stay for more than half a year. I believe. Even the luggage was packed into my suitcase one by one. Shirts are arranged in color from dark to light, pants are wrapped in anti-wrinkle bags, ties are rolled up and stored in a box. I squatted on the ground and packed things for two hours, my knees were numb and I didn't change my position. The day I sent him off to the airport, I stood on tiptoe and hugged him. There was a faint scent on his neck. Dior. J'adore. Two years ago Tham Nhuoc Huyen came to my house to deliver documents, wearing a white dress, smiling and calling me "sister-in-law". This scent is on her body. Besides him that day, there was another person standing next to him. The cap is pressed very low, the mask covers it Half of his face was hidden, revealing only his eyes with slightly slanted tails and a tear mole under his right eye. Luc Canh Tham introduced him as "newly arrived project assistant". I'm not exposing it. I just turned around, walked out of the station, sat in the car, and called Ha Thanh Duong.

“It's me.”

“Help me do something.”

“I want a divorce.”

Luc Canh Tham, you're not dead yet. But in my life, his role has already ended. Even the name running in the end credits of the film, he doesn't deserve to be included. Chapter 2 The phone rang again. It wasn't a call, it was a WeChat message, message after message, densely packed, like a swarm of angry hornets.

“What do you mean by Co Van Ninh?”

"Who has your back? What can you accomplish alone?"

“You quickly restore everything to the way it was before!”

"I'm telling you, if you dare to touch a blade of grass belonging to the company, you'll know when I get back!"

I didn't click to view, nor did I reply. Press and hold the chat frame, select "Do not disturb", swipe your finger, pushing his avatar to the bottom. Place the phone face down on the table. Clack. It's like turning over a page of old debt. The door was knocked three times. Ms. Lam pushed the door open and walked in, wearing a neat black suit, holding a square file of documents in her hand.

“Chairman Co, the cooperation agreement between Thien Thinh, the legal and finance departments have all been approved, just waiting for you to sign.”

I took it, my fingertips brushing the cover. The two words "Chairman Co" are stamped right at the title position, yellow and heavy. Half a year ago, everyone called me "Lady Luc". Not called by name, but called by title. A Luc lady lives in a penthouse in Phi Thuy Loan area, drinks hand-ground coffee from a bone china cup, arranges flowers using only petal flowers transported by air, and even boils water at exactly 85 degrees. Luc Canh Tham was very prosperous at that time. Thirty-two years old, he sits firmly in the position of General Director of Hang Nghiep Group, his suit never has wrinkles, his cufflinks are from Cartier, and wherever he goes, people bend down to give him business cards. Everyone is jealous and says I married a good husband. But no one saw, on the fifth day of every month I received a transfer: fifteen thousand yuan (about 50 million VND), the note read "Living expenses this month". Even if no one knows, I have to use a small notebook to record each expense. Buying a bottle of sunscreen for one hundred and eighty yuan, he asked to see the receipt. Taking a taxi cost another twelve yuan, he asked, "Why don't you take the bus?". I bought a bag of food for the stray cat downstairs. He stared at me for a long time: "Are you sure this money is supposed to be spent by you?" To celebrate my wedding anniversary, I reserved a room at Quan Lan Cac half a month ago, chose the wine he liked, and even told the sommelier about the wine's breathing time in advance. At five o'clock in the afternoon, he texted back: "I have something to do, change to another place." At seven o'clock in the evening, he took me to a noodle shop in an alley. The plastic table was full of grease, the chopsticks were sticky, the hostess screamed: "Beef noodles are eighteen yuan a bowl, plus eggs for two yuan!" He flipped through the menu and shook his head: "How many thousand does a meal cost? Too crazy." Before he finished speaking, he bent down to look at the phone, tapping his fingers a few times. Thirty eight thousand yuan (about 130 million VND). Pass it on Tham Nhuoc Huyen. The note read: "Happy birthday, don't let yourself suffer." I looked at the fat floating in the bowl of noodles, the heat rising, my eyes were dry and stinging. I didn't touch a single bite of that bowl of noodles. I later learned that the password to the safe in his study was Tham Nhuoc Huyen's birthday. There are no trade secrets inside. It's all jewelry boxes, platinum cards, real estate contracts. The beneficiary section on each document has three words written: Tham Nhuoc Huyen.