Chapter 14 — From Grandmother to Capitalist Queen

"Last night you called me eight times. This morning you called me three more times." She tilted her head, revealing half of her profile, her cold features like a carving knife, "This is the twenty-four hours you actively contacted me the most during our seven years of marriage."

She stopped for a moment.

“Don't you find that ironic?”

Then, she pushed the door open and walked out. In the hallway, Tieu Tran was sitting solemnly behind the secretary's desk, pretending to process documents, but his ears were red - clearly having heard part of the conversation. When Lam Tri Y passed by, she stopped walking.

“Tieu Tran.”

“Boss Lam?” He raised his head, his expression tense.

"You are a smart person. Working at Dinh Xuyen Group, and working alongside Co Dinh Xuyen, are two different things. I hope you can differentiate clearly."

Tieu Tran was stunned for a moment, then nodded. Lam Tri Y stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to go to basement B1. The moment the elevator door closed, she leaned her back against the elevator wall and let out a long breath. My hands are shaking again. She stuffed her hands into her vest pockets, clenched them, and waited for the trembling to pass. During the recent negotiation, she used psychological warfare. She couldn't show any hesitation, any weakness, or any "I'm actually really sad" feelings. She must be like a pure, rational, cold commercial negotiator. But she's not like that. She is a betrayed wife, sitting across from her cheating husband, calmly calculating how much he must pay for that betrayal. This feeling is very strange — like cutting out your heart, placing it on the operating table, using a surgical knife to cut each layer to observe the grain patterns and pathology, then without changing expression write down the medical report. She knows, this "calmness" has its price. Wait for everything to end, she will collapse. I will cry loudly, I will lose sleep, I will doubt my entire life of the past seven years. But not now. It's wartime now, she has to keep herself awake. The elevator arrives. She walked towards the parking lot when she suddenly heard someone calling behind her.

“Tri Y.”

She turned around. It's Co Dinh Xuyen. He came down the stairs without realizing it, standing in front of the emergency exit, shirt sleeves still rolled up, two buttons undone at the collar, looking somewhat disheveled.

“What's wrong?”

"I..." He hesitated, "To Van Tinh's matter, I'm sorry."

Lam Tri Y looked at him. This is his "sorry" look - his eyes avoiding, his lower jaw tense, as if someone used pliers to pry these three words out of his mouth.

“You don't need to say sorry.” Lam Tri Y replied.

Co Dinh Xuyen was stunned.

“Because I don't really feel guilty.” Her voice was very light, like the winter wind rustling through bare tree branches, "The thing I feel guilty about is - being discovered. Not the affair."

Co Dinh Xuyen opened his mouth, speechless.

“Co Dinh Xuyen, your biggest problem is not betraying me.” Lam Tri Y said, "My biggest problem is - I don't consider it a betrayal. I think if I give me a house, a car, a bank card, I should be reasonable. I think my body and loyalty are my own, I can give it to anyone I want."

She bowed her head, looking at the flat shoes on her feet, with a little dust on the toes.

"But you forgot one thing. When I married you, I was not someone who needed you to 'give' anything. I am a whole individual. integrity, independence, and unique value. I choose to be with you because I love you — not because you can give me anything.”

She raised her head, her eyes as calm as water.

“Now I don't love anymore. So your house, car, card, no longer mean anything to me. What I want is something I made with my own hands - 5% of Dinh Xuyen Group's shares, including my seven-year dedication. Board seat, that is the right to speak up that I deserve.”

She turned around, opened the car door, and sat inside.