Chapter 7 — Hundred Million in Exchange for Freedom

To put it bluntly — let people know at a glance that I'm pregnant, but not too much. A very fitting presence. When we arrived at the hotel door, the signing table was covered with fresh flowers. When the receptionist girl saw my name, her expression stiffened.

“Are you... Ms. To Duong?”

“Yes, here is the invitation.” I passed it over.

The girl's hand holding the card was shaking, her eyes kept losing control and glancing down at my stomach. I pretended not to see, smiled and walked in. The banquet hall was very large, many guests had arrived. They are all business partners, friends, and relatives of Tran Dien. There were a few people I knew, the moment I walked in, loud and small whispers could be heard in every corner of the room:

"Is that Tran Dien's ex-wife?"

“Really coming? Why is she not ashamed to come?”

“Look at her belly... are you pregnant?”

"Divorced and still pregnant? This..."

I ignored all eyes and calmly walked to the front row, looking for a seat. Then take out the bag of nutritious seeds from your bag and start biting. For pregnant women, it's normal to feel hungry quickly. About 5 minutes later. The side door of the banquet hall opened. Lam Tu Vien walked out holding Tran Dien's arm. She wore a white silk dress, her hair tied up in a bun revealing her slender neck, and sparkling diamond earrings. Pretty. It's truly beautiful. I admit. Her eyes scanned the entire yard, and when they reached me — she stopped. The curvature of the corner of the mouth freezes for 0.5 seconds. Then, her gaze moved down, falling on my stomach. That 0.5 second freeze lasted for a full second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Tran Dien followed her gaze and looked over. See me. See my belly. His steps stopped. Only a very small pause, but I saw it. I raised the bag of seeds towards him, moved my lips and silently whispered two words:

“Congratulations.”

His face darkened. Lam Tu Vien withdrew his gaze, pulled his hand, and the two continued to walk up to the main platform. But I saw her nails digging into the cuffs of his vest. The grip is very strong. In the first half, I won without fighting. The engagement ceremony officially begins. The MC on the podium rambled some useless congratulations, I sat down quietly biting the nuts. Next to me was an unfamiliar middle-aged woman, covered in jewelry, who kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye. Finally, unable to bear it, she leaned over and asked softly: "Are you... Tran Dien's ex-wife?"

“Yes.”

She evaluated me from top to bottom, her eyes finally stopped at my stomach, she took a deep breath: "What are you..."

“Pregnant.” I generously admit.

“Pregnant before divorce?”

“Yes.”

"The baby is... Tran Dien's?"

“Yes.”

Her expression became extremely unique. The feeling of being shocked, excited, and wanting to eat melon was clearly written on his face. Surely she's thinking - Tran Dien's pregnant wife got dumped, so he immediately turned around and got engaged? This drama is big. I smiled friendly at her, held out the bag of nuts: "Do you want to eat?" She took it. While eating, his eyes flashed, not knowing what words he was arranging. I don't care. If something needs to be rumored, it will run on its own. The ceremony is halfway done, until the ring exchange. Lam Tu Vien's hand shook slightly when Tran Dien put the ring on her. Not because of emotion. But she kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye. Want to see my reaction. Want to see me fall, jealousy, pain. I pulled out my phone, bowed my head and scrolled through the shopping app. Coincidentally, I saw a baby stroller on sale. If you have triplets, you have to buy a double stroller plus a single stroller. Yes, this company is also good. Add to cart. When the whole hall applauded, I followed suit and clapped twice before continuing to shop. The ceremony is over, it's time to freely drink wine. I was planning to sneak out to the buffet area to get some food (pregnant with 3 kids, it's really easy to get hungry) when I heard a voice behind me.