Chapter 2 — My Lover and Best Friend Betrayed Me Together

“I thought Nguyen Duong was lawyer Tan's girlfriend, it's too obvious a bias…”

“Now you know? Haven't the three of them always been like this?”

Tan Tu Viet looked at them, then patted my head and softly advised:

"Sorry, don't make things awkward for Duong Duong. I'll cook delicious food for you tonight."

I listened to him and felt the warmth from his palm. His eyes were so bitter that he wanted to cry. From the time I went to school until now, he has patted my head countless times. One time I argued with the teacher on my behalf, taking advantage of the opportunity to retake the exam for me. One time he carried me under the cherry blossom tree and asked me if I agreed to be his girlfriend. And now, for Nguyen Duong's dignity, you force me to apologize for something I didn't do. For the first time, I avoided his hand. I bowed before Nguyen Duong:

“Sorry.”

“Gia Gia, you don't need to do that…”

If she really didn't want me like that, she wouldn't have waited until now.

“Don't pamper her. Everyone has to be responsible for what they do.”

“A Viet…”

The familiar sound of arguing surrounded me again. I stand in the middle. Like a fool. The glass of iced Americano I had just finished suddenly began to ferment, churning in my stomach, causing me to tremble in pain. No one saw the cold sweat I broke out in. No one saw my pale face.

“A Viet, I already told you, as long as you show up, Duong Duong will definitely apologize.”

"For dinner tonight, I will cover..."

The sound of laughter grew farther and farther away. But my chest felt like it was being pierced. I had a stomach ache that made my whole body tremble, and the two people I cared about the most were betting on whether I would apologize or not. My nails dug deep into the edge of the table, I shouted hoarsely:

“Tan Tu Viet, let's break up.”

But in response to me, there was only the sound of a heavy door closing. That night, I waited until midnight but couldn't wait for him to come home. Waiting for countless messages asking questions.

“Gia Gia, Tan Tu Viet and Nguyen Duong are sleeping in the same room, don't cling to him anymore.”

"To be honest, the two of them are better suited together. Don't be stubborn anymore, let go."

I looked at each line of that message. In my head, it felt like someone had mixed it up and fried it to pieces. No wonder you didn't answer my phone calls last night, and you didn't answer my text messages. Turns out it's inconvenient. Tears fell from the corners of my eyes onto the screen, blurring those two lines of text into a messy array. I sniffled, rubbed my eyes, and reopened Nguyen Duong's post. Two pure white bathrobes were stacked on the floor. Obviously don't say anything. But it's like it's all been said. I stared at that photo, feeling my whole body tremble. That's right, Nguyen Duong is excellent, smart, and beautiful. I'm not as capable as her, not as talented as her, not even as good as her in any way. But in college, when I saved her from the hands of thugs, I never thought that one day she would target my man. At that time, she was weak and skinny and could not even pay her tuition. I gave all my summer work money and living expenses to her. At that time, she was so moved that her eyes turned red, she grabbed the corner of my shirt and sobbed, saying that no one had ever been so kind to her. I stupidly patted my chest and said:

"Don't worry, I will protect you from now on!"

I say I do. Later, whether it was an internship or a date, I would take her with me. Even after deciding to go to Shanghai, I forced Tan Tu Viet to open the back door and take her into the law firm. A senior once reminded me:

“On a date between three people, problems will arise over time.”

I didn't care and laughed:

“They won't.”

But later, as their business improved, the person who became a small tail was me. I slid down the corner of the wall, unable to stand up for half a day. Wait until Tan Tu Viet returned, it was already morning.