Chapter 1 — Love Dissolves Into Clouds

I wanted to surprise my husband so I secretly flew to France to go to his painting exhibition. As soon as I entered, what caught my eye were paintings hanging on the wall - eighteen portraits of a naked girl with her body covered. At the exhibition center, An Ngon and To Kieu Thien stood next to each other, looking like a perfect couple, receiving interviews from the media.

"Mr. An, I heard that this exhibition is a special maturity gift for Miss To on the occasion of her 18th birthday. The kind of love that is nurtured from a young age is truly admirable!"

To Kieu Thien bowed her head shyly. An Ngon didn't say anything to explain, just gently looked at the girl next to him with love. I picked up my phone, took a photo of this "warm" moment and sent it to An Ngon:

“After the exhibition ends, sign the divorce papers.”

1

The paintings on the wall depict each stage in To Kieu Thien's life, from the time she was born until she was ten years old. From when she was just a child to a graceful young woman, she only covered the necessary positions and posed seductively. An Ngon pushed his golden glasses up the bridge of his nose, his tone bland:

"This is an exhibition I specially organized for Kieu Thien, the neighbor girl that I have watched grow up every day. Kieu Thien did not want me to waste such effort, but unfortunately the control in the country is too tight, I had to choose a romantic country like this."

“When Kieu Thien was born, I was only fifteen years old. I promised to give her a very special coming-of-age ceremony, of course I couldn't go back on my word.”

I took a photo of this moment and sent it not only to An Ngon but also to my lawyer.

“Lawyer Hinh, if I want to divorce An Ngon, can this be considered evidence of adultery?”

The other end of the line was silent for a long time, then gave an affirmative answer. An Ngon was immersed in his and To Kieu Thien's world, and didn't call me until evening. As soon as he picked up the phone, his voice was full of annoyance:

"Du Lam, why are you here? Are you following me?"

After a twenty-hour flight, I was exhausted:

“If I knew I would have to witness these dirty things, I wouldn't have come.”

An Ngon didn't say anything, but I heard To Kieu Thien's voice from the phone:

"Mr. Ngon, what are you doing? Come over here, the water in the bathtub is ready. Before, you still helped me make soap bubbles, but you can't help me anymore because I'm an adult!"

An Ngon heard To Kieu Thien calling and immediately lost patience with me:

"Don't think we are so dirty. Kieu Thien is just a child to me, I watch her grow up, how can I think differently?"

"Okay, you've come all the way here, let's have lunch together tomorrow. I'll send you the address later."

After speaking, he didn't wait for me to answer and hung up immediately. It wasn't until two hours later that I received a text message from him with an address. I laughed to myself. Who could remember every detail of a child's body from birth to adulthood, then publicly display them in an exhibition? Really dirty. I didn't care about An Ngon's messages, nor did I bother to look at the location or time. Because I was so tired, I fell asleep. At the time Woke up, it was the next afternoon. On the phone screen in silent mode were more than ten missed calls from An Ngon. When I was not completely awake, a strange phone number called. Seeing that the number was in a domestic area, I thought the company had an urgent matter so I picked up the phone.

“Sister-in-law, it's me, Kieu Thien.”

Her voice was lazy, but carried a hint of challenge.

"Sister-in-law, Mr. Ngon said we would eat together this afternoon, why didn't you come? Is it because yesterday I asked him to help me make soap bubbles that made you angry? It's all my fault, I always forget he's married. But... every time I can't reach my back, I unconsciously call him for help..."

I was so disgusted when I heard it, I immediately interrupted her: "Excuse me, are you calling just to describe in detail the bathing scene of the two of you? I don't have such perverted hobbies." Suddenly, To Kieu Thien's phone was snatched by An Ngon. He was angry because I let him climb the tree. After all, up until now, I've been the only one waiting for him, but he's never had to wait for me.

"Du Lam, how long are you going to cause trouble? This exhibition is just a promise I made to my sister, but you think so nonsense! You are Kieu Thien's sister-in-law, how can you be so narrow-minded?"

"Because you didn't come, Kieu Thien thought you were angry with him, so you cried until your eyes were swollen! Come here quickly and apologize to him, then we can talk directly!"

I immediately booked the earliest flight back home, not wanting to waste even a second more in this place.

"Sorry, we only have divorce to discuss. I'll go home tomorrow, if you want to say anything, just wait until I get home and say it later!"

2

While waiting for my flight at the airport, I accidentally saw To Kieu Thien's post last night on her personal page.

"The feeling of someone always remembering an unintentional word from childhood is great! Thank you my beloved brother, we will forever be a family!"

The attached image is of her sitting in a bathtub filled with flower petals, cutely tilting her head to take a picture with An Ngon standing behind her. Below, some mutual friends left comments:

"Isn't An Ngon already married? You two... what's going on?"

To Kieu Thien pretended to be angry and replied:

"Where are you thinking of going? Mr. Ngon watched me grow up, is there anything that he hasn't seen before? If he had any intentions towards me, why did he marry someone else? What a dirty-minded person, everything he sees looks dirty!"

Ah... so I am that "other person". Before turning off the phone, I conveniently clicked like on her post. I was adopted by the An family when I was young. If we consider our childhood relationship, I am the one who truly grew up with An Ngon. We are the same age, we grew up together. An Ngon has a great talent for painting, while I have no artistic talent at all, only passionate about extreme sports. But since he said that the things I liked were too "rough", I stopped pursuing them. After An Ngon's father passed away, his mother forced him to give up painting to take over the family business, causing him to fiercely resist. Finally, the An family turned to place their hopes on me.

"Linh Linh, you grew up with Tieu Ngon, you understand him best. Or you two should get married, the entire An family's property will be left to you to manage."

I agreed immediately, because I was a child I have always admired An Ngon. He thought I helped him save his dream. And actually, for a while, we loved each other sincerely. But I didn't expect that the little girl from the To family, whom I didn't care much about, had such great ambitions. To Kieu Thien, since he was 5 years old, has known how to play tricks. She intentionally injured herself, then ran to tell An Ngon that I was bullying her. An Ngon immediately became angry, blaming me for bullying a child. At that time, I just thought she was simply a spoiled child who didn't care. But when she was in middle school, I realized I had underestimated this kid. That day after school, To Kieu Thien, looking disheveled, rushed to hug An Ngon and sobbed:

"Mr. Ngon, why does my sister-in-law hate me so much? On the way home, a few boys blocked my way and even pulled my shirt... If I hadn't secretly recorded it, I wouldn't have known she hated me to this extent!"

Having said that, she turned on the recording. In it, the other male students read each sentence as if they were memorizing it: "Du Lam said I have to teach you a lesson today." An Ngon's face immediately darkened, his eyes were red with anger. Without listening to my explanation, he rushed straight to the company, in front of many employees, and slapped me hard.

"You are truly an evil woman! So jealous of young Kieu Thien that you plotted to harm her! Why don't you just die?"

Later, when everything became clear and proved that I was wronged, that it was just a drama set up by To Kieu Thien, An Ngon still did not feel guilty.

"Hmm, so it's because you usually treat Kieu Thien too harshly, scaring her so much that she had to use this method to protect herself."

From then on, I stayed as far away from To Kieu Thien as possible. With An Ngon's dedicated guidance from a young age, To Kieu Thien naturally became an art student. The day she took the aptitude test, An Ngon was at the hospital with me for a pregnancy test, but received a call from her, crying and saying she suddenly had her period, asking him to bring her clothes and sanitary napkins urgently. An Ngon immediately drove away, only having time to tell me to check and then take the car home. On the way home, the taxi I was in was hit by the car behind me. I lost my baby who was in my womb for more than five months. Although this matter is not directly related to An Ngon, it would be a lie to say I don't blame him. I angrily blamed him. Seeing that I couldn't calm down, An Ngon gradually lost patience:

"If a child dies, you can give birth to another child! But Kieu Thien's aptitude test is a lifelong matter, how can I leave her?"

At that moment, I was speechless.