Chapter 2 — New Marriage Annulment Date

The sliding glass door on the balcony was conveniently closed by Tran Muc, blocking out the noise in the living room. The late autumn wind blew, bringing with it a bit of coldness. "Welcome." He looked at me, his tone gentle. "We are about to have a wedding, we will be husband and wife in the future." "Nhiem Nhiem is a junior that I sponsored, can also be considered half of our younger sister." "You are the female owner of this house, if something happens, please be a little tolerant of her, don't always compare with her, okay?" He looked into her eyes. I advised with sincere eyes. "What happened today is that she doesn't understand the rules, but after all, she is a guest." "After closing the door, we can do whatever we want. But in front of guests, please give in a little." "When you go out later, smile at her, don't make her too embarrassed." He didn't say a harsh word. No blame at all. He just honestly felt that this was just a small matter not worth mentioning. He felt that we were family, so he asked me to yield, be tolerant, and protect face for an outsider. It's like the uncomfortable feelings that just arose in my heart were all because I wasn't generous enough. I looked at his face and couldn't find any flaws in him. Suddenly I felt that the feelings of the past three years were like the wind on the balcony. Blown through, leaving nothing behind. I took a step back, just as I was about to open my mouth. "Whoa!" An extremely shrill sound came from the living room, followed immediately by a woman's screams. I immediately turned around, pushed open the balcony glass door and quickly entered the living room. In front of the display shelf in the middle of the living room was a chaotic scene. It's a family photo of three that my mother specially found an older photographer to take, placed in a custom-made real wooden frame, and was just displayed today. At this time, it fell to the ground, the photo frame broke into many pieces, and the glass scattered everywhere. Sharp pieces of glass often cut across the faces of my father and mother in the photo. Ly Nhiem Nhiem stood a meter away, covering her mouth, her face pale, tears rolling around her eyes. My mother sat on the sofa closest to the display shelf, looking at the pieces of glass on the ground, her eyebrows furrowed. She was not affected, only her face was slightly gloomy. A gust of wind passed through me. Tran Muc passed me and strode towards the place where the incident happened. He did not look at my mother sitting on the sofa, nor did he look at the family photo torn apart on the ground. He walked straight in front of Ly Nhiem Nhiem, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the glass pieces. "Are you cut?" He held Ly Nhiem Nhiem's hand, looking at her from top to bottom, his voice carrying clear tension. Ly Nhiem Nhiem shook her head, tears falling. "Brother Tran Muc, I didn't mean to..." "I saw that the vase was a little dusty so I wanted to use a tissue to clean it, but it was too heavy, my hand slipped..." She cried until she couldn't breathe: "Do you blame me, Sister Nghenh? That vase looks very expensive..." Tran Muc breathed a sigh of relief. He turned his head to look at the debris on the ground, then looked back at my mother sitting on the sofa with her ankle still bleeding. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed but quickly relaxed. "It's just a photo. If it's broken, it's broken. Tomorrow, take the original film and re-process it and replace the frame with a new one." "It's good that you're okay." The living room was as silent as death. No one among my relatives dared to speak up, all eyes were focused on me. I stood in place, looking at Tran Muc. Look at his hand that is tightly protecting Ly Nhiem Nhiem's body. Looking at his face, he thought everything was natural.

It's just a photo. Is it necessary? This is the priority in his heart. His junior girl being scared was more important than the family photo I treasured. The harmony of the so-called "family" is more important than the photo of my parents being torn apart. I said nothing. Suddenly I felt so meaningless. The flow of emotions that had been swirling around in his heart for three years, always trying to find reasons to justify him, suddenly disappeared completely. I let go of the corner of my shirt that was always held tightly by me. Then, I passed Tran Muc and walked towards the debris that covered the ground. I didn't get angry, nor did I question it. I just very calmly squatted down, pushed aside the pieces of glass and picked up the torn photo. "Ngh Nghenh, don't be like that." Tran Muc frowned, reaching out to pull me: "Tomorrow I will go wash a new one..." A thick hand placed on my shoulder. It's my father. He pulled me up, conveniently took the torn photo from my hand and placed it on the table next to me. "No need to wash it again." My father's voice was very calm. 5 My father stood in the middle of the living room, looking at the chaotic scene on the ground. He did not look at Tran Muc, nor did he look at Ly Nhiem Nhiem. He bent down and took the photo from my hand that had been crushed by glass. In the photo, my mother and I each held one of his arms, smiling extremely brightly.