Chapter 4 — I Never Thought We'd Get Divorced

When we were young, Tinh Viet Ly's parents were incredibly forgetful, often neglecting to pack him any lunch. That kid ended up freeloading off my lunchbox for years. Now that he had become a massive celebrity, he actually had the nerve to bring up that old debt himself. A kind soul like me naturally had to give him a chance to make amends. When Cam Lieu heard that I had agreed to have dinner with Tinh Viet over the weekend, she laughed and teased me, calling me a master manipulator. "Van Thong Mac just got into a fistfight for your sake, and yet here you are, immediately dating another handsome young guy!" I didn't even bother to deny it; I simply arched my brows and smiled. Before I officially became Trach Nguyen Pho's wife, I had never been one to tie myself down in romantic matters. I loved making friends and wanted to be a warm little sun for everyone. For Trach Nguyen Pho's sake, I had suppressed that part of my nature for all these years. But now, I could finally live as my true self again. Divorce was truly a beautiful thing.

The day after the fight, I received a video call from my parents, who were living abroad. My father—a traditional patriarch, his face as hard as stone—immediately began to scold me.

"Years ago, you refused to move abroad with us, insistently clinging to Trach Nguyen Pho. Now, after ten years of marriage, you want a divorce? Mat Mat, do you think you're still a child? Haven't you thrown enough of a fit?!"

I hung my head as I listened through the video call, sitting as obediently as a misbehaving student summoned to the principal's office. Halfway through his lecture, tears began to stream down my face uncontrollably. Seeing this, my mother quickly urged my father to stop. She spoke softly.

"Mat Mat, Trach Nguyen explained it all to us. He admitted his mistakes, and he even fired that intern. Why don't you both reconsider?"

I wiped away my tears and asked in a choked, trembling voice, "Mom, do you know what Trach Nguyen Pho was doing when I got into that car accident?"

I gave my thigh a sharp pinch to force more tears out, sobbing as I spun the tale—embellishing the facts just enough, of course—about how, while I was fighting for my life in the hospital, he was taking Tu Tu Hua abroad for a pleasure trip. My parents fell dead silent. Seizing the momentum, I pressed on. "So, this isn't me acting on a whim. How could you two bear to let me keep living with a man like that? Besides, I was planning to move in with you after the divorce..." Hearing this, my father frowned, cleared his throat, and fell silent for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Fine, then... from childhood until now, we've never been able to control you anyway. I'll book the plane ticket for you."

I cheered with delight. "Yes! Thank you, Dad! I want business class, okay?"

The days flew by. Finally, the day before we were scheduled to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to officially sign the divorce papers arrived. Just as I was drafting a text message to set a time with Trach Nguyen Pho, the doorbell rang. Opening the door, I found a visibly thinner Trach Nguyen Pho standing hesitantly on the threshold, clutching a massive bouquet of sunflowers—my absolute favorite.

"Can I... come in?"

Seeing that I let him in without a single word of protest, his face instantly brightened. Spotting a takeout box on the table with only a few bites taken, he didn't say a word or ask any questions, but walked straight into the kitchen. Moments later, a bowl of fragrant scallion oil noodles was placed in front of me. Knowing my passion for good food, Trach Nguyen Pho had once spent a fortune learning how to cook from a renowned chef. I didn't even need to taste the noodles he made to know they would suit my palate perfectly. I slumped onto the sofa, resting my chin in my hand, and asked lazily, "What's the meaning of this little show?" Trach Nguyen Pho fell silent for a few seconds, forcing a fragile, uncertain smile as he spoke.

"You've always been such a picky eater. Eating takeout these past few days must have been miserable for you, right? Mat Mat, eat the noodles first, then we can talk."

He knew me well—I never wasted food, and I certainly couldn't reject a delicious meal. While I ate the noodles, Trach Nguyen Pho turned on the television, sat on the single armchair opposite me, and tuned into an English Premier League match. The atmosphere between us felt exactly as it used to—natural, comfortable, and normal. For a few brief minutes, it felt as though nothing had ever changed. That was, until I finished the very last sip of the broth.

"Pick me up at nine tomorrow morning. We'll get the divorce finalized."

Upon hearing my words, Trach Nguyen Pho muted the television volume click by click. His voice was filled with desperation.

"I don't want a divorce, Mat Giang. I know I was wrong. Can you give me another chance? I've realized that I still love you, and I always have."

I looked at him and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"There are plenty of people who love me. Trach Nguyen Pho, stop acting like a child. Face reality; it's better for both of us."

I knew perfectly well he had come today to sue for peace. Just as he knew perfectly well what it meant for me to start dating other men. Reason was reason, and emotion was emotion. Trach Nguyen Pho had sat alone in a hotel room for an entire week, thinking. Yet no matter how much he pondered, he couldn't comprehend how I could be so cold as to quietly abort our unborn daughter. And then, less than a week later, to be seen out with Van Thong Mac, even letting another man wrap an arm around my waist in front of everyone at our class reunion...

"Mat Giang, did you never love me? Did you only marry me because you were used to having me around?"

Seeing my silence, Trach Nguyen Pho suddenly let out a distorted laugh, burying his face in his trembling hands.

"I really don't understand. It has only been a month! Just one month! How can you completely wipe away ten years of my devotion to you, leaving me with absolutely no dignity? Mat Giang, how did you become like this... Was that decade nothing but a joke to you?"

"No, those ten years were not a joke. I have never regretted marrying you."

I walked over, crouching down in front of him. Looking up with a trace of mockery hidden deep in my eyes, I gently pried his hands away from his tear-stained face. Looking straight into his eyes, I smiled sweetly.

"Trach Nguyen Pho, does hearing me say that make you feel any better? Stop crying, it's just a divorce. It's not the end of the world. You still have your career, loving parents, and, oh, that woman out there who is always waiting for you. Honestly, you've got it pretty good."

My words were soft as silk, yet they pierced his heart like a dagger. Realizing that I was only saying this to make him sign the divorce papers more easily, Trach Nguyen Pho froze, stunned into silence.

"Mat Giang, do you hate me that much?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You aren't even qualified to earn my hatred."

Neither love nor hate remained. To me, Trach Nguyen Pho was nothing more than a passing cloud. Just then, his phone rang, the screen flashing with two words: "Tu Tu". I stood up, intending to give him some privacy, but he grabbed my hand and sank to his knees on the floor. He answered the call. On the other end came the incessant sobbing of Tu Tu Hua. She begged him to come to the university, threatening to jump from the rooftop of the main lecture hall if he didn't show up. Facing her desperate threat, Trach Nguyen Pho replied with cold indifference.

"I've returned to my wife. If you want to die, that's your business."

With that, he hung up and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist from behind. It wasn't long before I felt my shirt growing damp with his hot tears.

"Mat Giang, I've loved you since we were children. I have loved you for twenty whole years. You will never understand the agonizing pain I felt when I learned our daughter was gone. Holding those two faded marriage certificates, even the clerk sincerely advised us not to rush into a divorce... You can't just throw me away like this, telling me you don't need me anymore."

I turned around and kicked him, sending him sprawling onto the floor. I stepped onto his chest, grinding my shoe against him. With a faint, mock-tender smile, I delivered his final sentence.

"You aren't the only 'little brother' in my life. If you don't have what it takes to keep me, you have no one but yourself to blame."

The next day, Trach Nguyen Pho failed to show up at the Civil Affairs Bureau. That night, he had gone out drinking to drown his sorrows, gotten into a brawl with some thugs in a bar, and ended up hospitalized with severe injuries. His mother personally came to my house, begging me to visit him in the intensive care unit, claiming he had completely lost the will to live. I refused to go.

A week later, during a gathering with my friends, Cam Lieu told me that Trach Nguyen Pho had slipped into a vegetative state. Seeing that I wasn't the least bit saddened by the news, she cheerfully moved on to share the aftermath of Tu Tu Hua's suicide attempt.

"That little homewrecker refused to let the firefighters rescue her and ended up slipping off the rooftop. Luckily for her, she landed on a staircase banister, so she didn't die, but she'll be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life."

"Oh, how shocking."

Seeing me scroll through my phone with absolute indifference, not caring at all who lived or died, Cam Lieu curiously leaned over to peek at my screen and clicked her tongue.

"Tsk tsk... Tinh Viet Ly—who knew that quiet guy would go for such a direct, aggressive approach? So, did you agree to be his girlfriend yet?"

"Nonsense. My husband is still lying in a hospital bed. I'm too busy fighting the war over the division of our marital assets to find time for dating."

"Hahaha! You really have a wicked tongue, Mat Mat. Your husband is on the verge of death, and yet you still want to squeeze every last penny out of him."

Amused by my best friend's praise of my ruthless pragmatism, I set my phone down and took a gentle sip of my pistachio Starbucks drink. Looking up, I squinted at the sky.

"The weather really is beautiful today."

The sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue. Even if dark clouds were to gather occasionally, they could never permanently obscure the sun that reigned supreme above. To become one's own sunshine—no matter how deeply the heart had been wounded, there would always come a day when it would heal.