Chapter 10 — Fascinated by the Rooster Farmer Raising His Children

Three months after the grand engagement ceremony, Chu Nha Dinh's married life began to show the first cracks. At first it was just secret phone calls that To Khai Van always avoided listening to in front of her, times when he used excuses to come home late because he was busy with work, and big expenses that he never explained clearly.

Nha Dinh once dismissed all doubts, convincing himself that it was just the normal work pressure of a successful man. She didn't want to admit that, right from the first weeks of living together, there were unusual signs that she deliberately ignored because she didn't want to face the possibility that she had chosen the wrong person.

Everything broke down one evening, when Nha Dinh accidentally heard her husband's phone call through the speakerphone, which he left in the bathroom.

"Mr. Van, the bank has sent the final notice. If you don't pay the two hundred billion debt in three months, they will sue and seal the mortgage." A man's voice sounded worried. "That real estate project is considered bankrupt, what do you think?"

"I'm looking for a way to raise capital from my wife." Khai Van's voice replied, no longer sweet like when he talked to Nha Dinh. "If I just convince the old man's wife to lend me a loan, everything will be fine."

Nha Dinh stood dumbfounded outside the bathroom door, her hands trembling on her chest. She couldn't believe what she just heard. The man she trusted, the man she sacrificed her sisterly love for, turned out to be in huge debt and married her just because he needed money from the Chu family.

She rushed into the bathroom and confronted him directly. "How much debt are you in? Tell me the truth!"

Khai Van was stunned when he saw his wife standing there, a flash of panic flashed across his face before regaining his familiar fake calmness. "You heard wrong. It's just normal company business, nothing serious."

"Stop lying to me!" Nha Dinh screamed, tears began to flow. "I clearly heard you say two hundred billion, talking about using me to borrow money from my father! You married me just for money, right?"

Khai Van was silent for a long time, then sighed, throwing away his fake mask. "Okay, I'm telling the truth. My company is having serious financial difficulties, it's true that I need capital. But you're not marrying me out of pure love, we both have our own calculations when entering this marriage. You want status and reputation, and I need capital. Let's be fair."

Khai Van's cold words were like a bucket of ice water thrown straight at Nha Dinh's face. She realized that, while she was engrossed in enjoying the false glory of this marriage, she completely neglected to learn about the true nature of the man she married.

"So what you said to me before the wedding, about wanting to give me the life I deserved, was all a lie?" She asked, her voice trembling, tears rolling down uncontrollably.

"It's not a complete lie." Khai Van replied, his voice was now cold and scary, there was no longer any trace of the sweet man she once fell in love with. "It's just that everyone has their own motives when it comes to marriage, honey. You think you love me because of who I am, but really you love me because I give you the status you've always wanted, more than your sister. I'm just being a little more honest than you."

Nha Dinh took a step back, feeling like the entire foundation she built for her new life was collapsing right before her eyes. She wanted to refute, wanted to confirm that her feelings for Khai Van were real, but deep inside, she knew he was not completely wrong.

*

In the following days, Nha Dinh discovered many other heartbreaking truths. To Thi Group was not only heavily in debt due to loss-making real estate projects, but was also facing the risk of being sued by creditors, and assets were at risk of being frozen at any time. The flashy, wealthy appearance that the entire Chu family once admired was just a cover maintained by piling up loans.

"Dad, I need you to help me." Nha Dinh came to Mr. Trong Nghiep, her voice full of panic. "My husband is in a lot of debt, can you give me a loan to help him pay off the debt?"

Mr. Trong Nghiep looked at his youngest daughter, a complex feeling of pity and disappointment arose in his heart. "Did you know the true financial situation of your husband's family before the wedding? I already had an appraisal report before the engagement, but at that time I didn't want to hear anything unfavorable about Khai Van."

Nha Dinh was stunned. "Dad already knew and didn't tell me?"

"Dad was about to say it, but I was too passionate at that time, too confident in my choice." He replied, his voice a bit tired. "Dad didn't want to intervene, afraid that you would think he was biased towards Khanh Vy. But looking back now, maybe dad was wrong to stay silent too many times in this family."

His words touch on a painful truth that the entire Chu family was gradually having to face - the silence and compromise of those with the right to speak had created conditions for personal plots and calculations to run rampant, causing serious consequences for both sisters.

"So why didn't dad stop me from the beginning, when I decided to swap engagements with my second sister?" Nha Dinh suddenly asked, her voice mixed with unreasonable resentment, as if she was trying to blame others instead of admitting her own mistakes.

Mr. Trong Nghiep was stunned by that question, a feeling of guilt rose up in his throat. "Dad... you were wrong for not having the courage to stop that. But you also have to understand, you actively participated in that plot, no one forced you. Dad cannot take all the responsibility for the choices you made yourself."

His rare straightforward words made Nha Dinh silent, not knowing how to respond. Deep down, she knew he was right, but her pride and bitterness over her current difficulties made her not brave enough to admit it.

Mr. Trong Nghiep finally agreed to lend his daughter a small amount of money to solve the immediate urgent situation, but firmly refused the request for a larger loan on behalf of the group, making the relationship between Nha Dinh and Khai Van increasingly tense.

*

Meanwhile, news of To Khai Van's financial difficulties gradually spread among the upper class, causing Nha Dinh's reputation to be affected as well. The friends who once flattered and admired her now began to stay away, and the gossip behind her back became more and more frequent.

During a charity party where she eagerly prepared her outfit all week, Nha Dinh realized that no one proactively came to talk to her like before. The looked of pity mixed with secret mockery made her feel more humiliated than any direct criticism. She left the party earlier than planned, sitting alone in the car, tears rolling down her elaborately made-up face, without any trace of the radiant confidence the day she announced her engagement.

One evening, sitting alone in a luxurious but empty room, Nha Dinh remembered the image of her sister living a simple but happy life on a green farm in Binh Xuyen. For the first time, a feeling of jealousy mixed with bitterness arose in her heart — not because Khanh Vy had any material things more than her, but because it seemed like her sister was finding true happiness, while she, who seemed to have won, was drowning in a marriage full of lies and calculations.

"No way." She muttered, clenching her hands into fists. "I can't let her be happy while I suffer like this. If I'm miserable, she has to pay the price too."

The seeds of jealousy and bitterness, which had long been smoldering in Nha Dinh's heart, now began to sprout into a dangerous determination - the determination to destroy the happiness of the sister she once deceived, regardless of the consequences that would follow.

She reopened the secretly taken photos of Binh Xuyen farm, this time looking at them with a completely different mood. It was no longer contempt like before, but a fierce jealousy mixed with a sense of extreme injustice. Why was her sister, whom she once considered a "loser", able to find true happiness, while she, who seemed to have it all, was on the brink of financial and emotional collapse?

She tightened her grip on the phone, a vague but sinister plan beginning to form in her mind. If she cannot be happy, she would find a way to ensure that someone else — even her own sister — was not allowed to keep that happiness completely.