Chapter 8 — Long-term Contract Marriage

"Everyone's family matters, everyone discusses it themselves. I'll go upstairs to get my things." I turned around and went to the second floor. Halfway up the stairs, I heard Khuong Van Nhu sobbing and softly saying: "Nghien Tu, please help me..." I didn't turn around. While cleaning out my mother's closet, I found an old photo. When she was young, she hugged me as an infant, sitting under the camphor tree, smiling until my eyes widened. I looked at the photo for a long time and then put it in my pocket. When he went downstairs, Luc Nghien Tu was alone in the living room. He stood in the mysterious entrance, holding an unlit cigarette between his two fingers. Seeing me coming down, he raised his hand and put the cigarette in his pocket. “Nguyen Nhu.” I don't stop walking. “You really refuse to see me?” I pulled the door open, turned to look at him: "Luc Nghien Tu, are you telling me these things now because you regret it, or because Khuong Van Nhu is not the biological child of the Khuong family?" His throat moved. "I've always wanted to explain. Since the day you left five years ago, I've wanted to explain." “So what have you been doing for the past five years?” "After you left, I looked for you for three months. After that, Van Nhu gave birth and her health was always bad, so I couldn't leave." “So I chose her.” He clenched his fist: "I don't choose." “I married her, had children with her, and even wore a wedding ring.” I looked at him. “Isn't that still called a choice?” "That child..." I interrupted him: "No matter what the cause is, the truth is still right in front of your eyes. You say you don't have a choice. Luc Nghien Tu, are you fooling yourself or me?" He was silent. The wind from the hallway rushed in, blowing the shirt against his back. “Wait until you agree to listen, I will speak.” Finally, he spoke: "I owe you, I will pay." “I can't pay.” I pulled the door open and went out. Three days later, Khuong Van Nhu's true face was completely torn apart. It was the weekend. I went to the rehabilitation center to eat with my mother. Her appetite is much better and she can slowly drink porridge on her own. She said she wanted to return home. I told her to take care of it for another week. She sighed, saying I was too worried. After leaving the rehabilitation center, my phone received a text message from an unfamiliar number. It was a recording file, accompanied by a sentence: 【Miss Khuong, this is the recording of your sister's phone call at the coffee shop five years ago. I think you should listen.】 I leaned against the railing on the side of the road and pressed open. Khuong Van Nhu's voice rang out from the phone, carrying her characteristic weakness and calculation at that time: "...He was so drunk that he couldn't remember who was who. When I wake up tomorrow morning, I will say that he took the initiative. He is a responsible person, he will definitely take responsibility. Your Khuong Nghien Nhu's possession of him will be useless. As long as I get pregnant, this marriage will definitely belong to me... Yes, the amount of blood is the best. I have it under control. His health is good, nothing will happen..." There were a few more sentences behind, but I didn't continue listening. My hands were shaking so much I could barely hold the phone. The voice in the headset overlapped fragments of memories from five years ago. The day Luc Nghien Tu returned from a social gathering five years ago. He said he drank a little wine and had a severe headache, so he went to the living room early to rest. It turns out that's the case. Drugs, conspiracy. He doesn't remember what happened at all. I stood on the side of the road, took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. Knowing the truth doesn't make me feel any better. It was true that he had been plotted, but the choices that followed were all his own to decide. He married her, protected her, had children with her, and wore that wedding ring for five years. Even though at first it was just a mistake, five years later it was still a path he walked step by step on his own. I saved the recording, turned off my phone, and took the car back to the hotel. On the way, I sent a text message to Co Dien Chau: 【Are you free tonight? I invited you to drink.】 He immediately replied: 【Yes. You choose the location.】 I took him to a quiet bar by the river. There are not many customers, sitting next to the window can see the lights reflecting on the water. I ordered a glass of whiskey. He ordered lemonade and said he had to drive tonight.

I played the recording for him to listen to. After listening, he didn't say anything and was silent for a long time. “So your ex-fiance is abandoned.” "YES." “Does he know?” "I don't know. Maybe he always thought he lost control after drinking." “So are you going to tell him?” I gently shook the wine glass. "Having said that, how can it be? The marriage has ended, the child has been born, can he divorce and start over? Will Khuong Van Nhu let him go?" Co Dien Chau looked at me for a moment. “Actually, in my heart, I still favor him.” "Do not have." "I just hated him and then chose her. But after knowing that he was planned, the weight of my hatred changed." He took a sip of lemonade. "It's okay, this is very normal. Years of love cannot be erased with just one sentence." I drank in silence. The ice in the bottom of the glass collided with each other, making small cracking sounds. “But I have to remind you one thing.”