Chapter 3 — I Never Thought We'd Get Divorced

Before I even had the chance to explain that we had only been on a few dates and were still in the early stages of getting to know each other, someone clapped a heavy hand onto Mac Van Thong's shoulder. Before he could turn around, a devastating punch struck him, nearly sending him sprawling to the floor. The crowd scattered in a panic as someone shrieked, "Pho Trach Nguyen! What do you think you're doing?!"

His eyes were pitch-black, the veins on his neck bulging. I had never seen him lose control to such a furious degree. Pointing accusingly as he hurled curses at Mac Van Thong, his gaze remained locked onto me. "Giang Mat is my wife! You bastard, how dare you lay your filthy hands on her waist right in front of me!" He spat, "You son of a bitch!"

Pho Trach Nguyen grabbed the collar of Mac Van Thong—who was still dazed—and raised his fist again in a blind rage. But this time, I quickly stepped between them, my gaze as cold as ice. "Have you lost your mind, Pho Trach Nguyen? Who is your wife? You and I are divorced."

He was the one who had demanded the divorce. He was the one who had told me not to bother him, not to disturb him. He was the one who had taken his mistress to dine at the very restaurant filled with our most beautiful memories. Yet now, he was acting like a madman, trying to police my relationships as if he had never done anything wrong. For a brief second, I genuinely wanted to pry open Pho Trach Nguyen's skull to see what disgusting thoughts resided inside that could make him lose all sense of human decency.

"Giang Mat, are you seriously yelling at me over an outsider?" Pho Trach Nguyen pointed at himself, his face a mask of sheer disbelief before he let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Have you forgotten? We aren't officially divorced yet. As of this very moment, you are still my legal wife! Let me ask you again—how am I in the wrong for hitting him?"

To hell with the so-called "divorce cooling-off period." I frowned, impatiently preparing to fire back, when Hua Tu Tu quickly pushed her way through from behind. With tears welling in her eyes, she whimpered to Pho Trach Nguyen, "Trach Nguyen, there is something I wasn't planning on telling you... because I was afraid of hurting you. But seeing how Sister Giang Mat doesn't show you a shred of respect today, all for the sake of another man... I can't keep it a secret anymore."

Right there, in front of Pho Trach Nguyen and everyone in attendance, Hua Tu Tu casually revealed that I had undergone an abortion under the care of Doctor Trinh Vu. In her tearful, heavily embellished narrative, I was painted as a shameless, cold-hearted woman who was having affairs with multiple men while still married. She even heavily implied to Pho Trach Nguyen that I had been secretly seeing Trinh Vu long before we ever set foot in the Civil Affairs Bureau. After all, why else would I have agreed to the divorce so easily? Men in a fit of rage are easily manipulated when you pour oil on the fire. I wasn't the least bit surprised to see Pho Trach Nguyen's face turn crimson. Gritting his teeth, he asked me in a hoarse voice, "Did you really get an abortion? Was that baby mine?"

One second... two seconds... three seconds... Pho Trach Nguyen had never felt so acutely what it meant for "every passing second to feel like a year." The air around him seemed to turn to poison, leaving him suffocating. A crushing pain settled in his chest, heavy as lead. I did not blink, keeping my eyes quietly fixed on him. I watched the progression of emotions play out across his face—shifting from fury to panic, and finally settling into an agonizing heartbreak that pierced his very soul.

"Giang Mat... say something... I don't believe anyone else, I only believe you. I want to hear it from your own mouth—did you really get rid of the child we waited ten years for?" The once proud and arrogant man now bowed his head, his desperate eyes like those of a drowning man grasping at the last straw of hope. It was to the point where even Lieu Cam—who usually cursed him as trash and wished for his early demise—couldn't bear to watch. She turned her head away and quietly wiped her eyes. Unfortunately... reality is always the most brutal.

I curled my lips slightly, devoid of any guilt, and spoke coldly to Pho Trach Nguyen. "Your precious Miss Tu Tu didn't see wrong. I did indeed go to the hospital for the procedure." I paused, then added, "Pho Trach Nguyen, take a guess... I asked the doctor... They said it was a baby girl."

In the past, Pho Trach Nguyen loved to talk to my flat stomach. Even when there was no sign of pregnancy, he would still whisper foolish but loving words to my belly: "My little rose, stop playing hide-and-seek with Mommy and Daddy." "To welcome you, Daddy has already prepared a room for his little princess." "My princess, run to Mommy quickly... You will surely be the happiest little girl in the whole wide world."

Hearing me mention a "baby girl," Pho Trach Nguyen's eyes went completely blank. He stumbled back several paces. Hua Tu Tu reached out to steady him, but he ruthlessly shoved her away, sending her sprawling onto the floor. Before she could even get up, I stepped forward and, looking down at her, raised my hand and slapped her across the face with a resounding crack. She froze, staring at me in utter disbelief. Unable to hide her true colors, she hissed, "Giang Mat, how dare you hit me?!" In response, I delivered an even harder, sharper slap.

"You played your games, fabricated stories, and pulled all these underhanded tricks right in front of me—wasn't it all just to provoke this exact reaction from me? Now that I've given you exactly what you wanted, why are you still acting like a pitiful victim?" Having her filthy motives exposed in front of the crowd, Hua Tu Tu realized she could no longer maintain her innocent facade. She could only crawl back to Pho Trach Nguyen's side, clinging to his arm while cradling her swollen face and sobbing pathetically.

"Trach Nguyen, it's my fault for talking too much... Sister was right to hit me... I'm so sorry, boohoo..." When a situation becomes utterly ridiculous, the only response left is laughter. It wasn't just me; most of the women present were amused by Hua Tu Tu's pathetically clumsy acting. Some of our classmates couldn't help but speak up on my behalf.

"Pho Trach Nguyen, what kind of act is your little green tea bitch putting on here? Who among us doesn't know Giang Mat's character? If she were the type to play around, with so many guys pursuing her back then, why would she have stuck with a crooked tree like you? In terms of capability, do you honestly think you're better than Mac Van Thong? Laughable!"

"Exactly. And Lieu Cam already told us everything. You were the one who demanded the divorce, and now you're acting like your love is deeper than the ocean? This was supposed to be a nice class reunion, but you and your little side piece turned it into a circus. You two should just get out. We don't welcome scumbags and home-wreckers here."

Those blunt words left nobody willing to stand up for Pho Trach Nguyen. And it made perfect sense. During our four years of university, I excelled academically, lived well, and made friends everywhere. When anyone mentioned Pho Trach Nguyen, they only remembered one thing: "Giang Mat's husband." That was it. As for Hua Tu Tu—who was once a minor campus goddess at some obscure, third-rate college—she was now surrounded by waves of critical, disdainful glares. For someone accustomed to being flattered, this public humiliation was a bitter pill to swallow. She trembled with rage, unable to hold back. "Trach Nguyen, they..."

Before she could finish, Pho Trach Nguyen cut her off with a cold expression. "Go home. I have something to say to my wife." The thing she least expected happened—not only did he not say a single word in her defense, but he walked right past her to grab my wrist, demanding that I go with him to find a quiet place to talk. "Pho Trach Nguyen, are you insane?!" I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. My soon-to-be ex-husband was behaving like a madman right in the middle of my class reunion.

Pho Trach Nguyen possessed an unnerving strength. No matter how much I struggled, his grip remained ironclad as he tried to drag me away. "Didn't you hear Giang Mat say she doesn't want to go?!"

Mac Van Thong finally lost his temper. The usually calm and mature man rushed forward to pry Pho Trach Nguyen off me—and the two of them instantly lunged at each other. This was no ordinary scuffle. Both men fought with everything they had, throwing punches as if they intended to kill each other. The situation grew so chaotic that the hotel staff was forced to call the police. The officers arrived quickly. Together with several men in the room, they had to expend a great deal of effort to finally pull the two apart.

Two hours later, Mac Van Thong and I left the station after filling out the necessary paperwork. Since it was a personal dispute with no severe injuries and both were first-time offenders, the police decided against administrative penalties. To prevent any further altercation, Pho Trach Nguyen was detained for an extra half hour after I left. Mac Van Thong looked at me with deep regret. "It's my fault, I lost my temper... I'm so sorry, Giang Mat."

I shook my head. "No, I should be the one thanking you. Truly, I'm grateful that you stood up for me." Seeing that I wasn't angry, Mac Van Thong let out a sigh of relief. He drove me all the way back to my apartment. Before leaving, he looked at me hesitantly and asked softly, "Am I still allowed to keep pursuing you? Because... you are my first love."

He continued, "You might think I just want to rekindle an old flame. But after today, I am even more certain that my feelings for you are not a passing phase. Giang Mat, you are far stronger and more wonderful than I ever imagined." I gazed at him for a long moment before replying softly, "I need some time to think and sort things out. Thank you for driving me home."

Truth be told, it was a bit embarrassing because up until now, I had only viewed him as a high-quality date for casual companionship. It seemed Mac Van Thong understood this as well. He smiled and said gently, "Alright, whatever you say. It's cold outside, so hurry inside. Goodnight, Giang Mat." Once inside my apartment, I opened the refrigerator, threw my head back, and downed a glass of ice water. The refreshing chill spread through me, making me curl my lips into a satisfied smile.

My phone screen lit up with a friend request on WeChat. The profile information was minimal, showing only a male name: Ly Tinh Viet. I thought about it for a moment before a vague memory of his face finally surfaced in my mind. Oh, heavens... Annoyed, I placed a video call to Lieu Cam. Unsurprisingly, she was the one who had given my WeChat contact to Ly Tinh Viet.

"Mat Mat, he's a highly popular young actor now, you know! He's not that little kid from the children's drama club anymore. He asked me directly, so how could I refuse? Hehe."

"I bet you got something out of this, didn't you? Confess now and I might be lenient. Lie to me and you'll face the consequences. You know what I mean."

"Alright, alright! He just gave me a few hard-to-get concert tickets. Besides, if you don't want to talk to him, you can just leave the request there for a couple of days and quietly delete it."

Before I could scold Lieu Cam for selling out her friend for some concert tickets, a message popped up from Ly Tinh Viet: [Mat Mat, are you free this weekend? I still owe you a few meals.]