Chapter 5 — No Resentment, No Forgiveness

I dragged my suitcase upstairs, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it. The door swung open, and I stepped inside. The living room was occupied by two people. The first was Chu Minh Hien. His face was deathly pale, his eyes glued to the glowing screen of his phone. The other person… was a girl I had never met in person. She looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, with long hair and an appearance that was undeniably pretty. Her eyes curled into sweet crescents when she looked up, a kind of charm that usually made people feel an immediate sense of kinship. I had seen her before, though—in the curated gallery of a social media feed. It was Lam Tu Vu.

When she saw me enter, she froze. Instinctively, she retreated a step, pressing herself closer to Chu Minh Hien. He bolted up from the sofa as if burned, staring at me with a bewildered intensity. His mouth opened and closed several times, struggling to form a coherent sound before he finally managed to exhale a single word.

"You..."

"You already know?"

I pulled my suitcase further into the room and shut the door behind me with a calm, practiced motion. I answered softly, "Yes. I have known for three months."

The living room descended into a sudden, suffocating silence. Lam Tu Vu frowned, turning her gaze toward Chu Minh Hien. "She... she has known for three months?"

"Nhuoc Tinh," Chu Minh Hien started, but I cut him off with a flat, composed tone.

"Chu Minh Hien, pack all of your belongings. I want you to move out today. Immediately."

His expression shifted into one of frantic desperation. He stepped toward me, reaching out a hand. "Nhuoc Tinh, please, listen to my explanation. The situation between Tu Vu and me is actually..."

"I have no interest in hearing an explanation," I said, looking directly into his eyes, my voice cool and devoid of emotion. "What I need is for every trace of you to disappear from this home."

Lam Tu Vu suddenly spoke up, her voice tinged with a rehearsed concern. "You should calm down. The complexities of adult relationships cannot be reduced to a few simple words. Between him and you..."

I turned my head and fixed my eyes on her. I did not say a word, simply watching her in silence. That steady, unblinking stare caused the polite smile on her face to stiffen and vanish. She opened her mouth to argue, but the words failed her.

"You are Lam Tu Vu, aren't you?" I asked, my voice indifferent. "The name written on the marriage certificate."

Her complexion paled noticeably. I continued, "Does Chu Minh Hien’s mother know about the fact that you two are married?"

The effect was instantaneous. Chu Minh Hien’s face turned the color of ash. I already knew the answer. His mother was completely unaware. In front of her, he had spent all this time playing the role of the devoted boyfriend to me, and in her eyes, I remained the daughter-in-law she had sanctioned and adored.

I walked into the bedroom, threw open the wardrobe, and began pulling down his clothes, one hanger at a time. I folded them neatly and shoved them into his duffel bag. Chu Minh Hien followed me, his voice a continuous stream of desperate pleas. "Nhuoc Tinh, calm down. We can talk about this. What we have..."

"There is nothing left to say," I interrupted coldly. He stood frozen for a few seconds, stunned, before asking in a hoarse whisper, "Then why... why didn't you say anything sooner?"

I yanked the zipper of his luggage shut and tossed the bag onto the bed. I looked up at him, my expression iron-clad. "Because I was waiting. I was waiting for you to tell me yourself. I waited for three long months, but you never did."

I walked to the desk, pulled the key from the drawer, and set it down on the wood surface. "Here. Your key."

Chu Minh Hien stared at the metal key but did not reach for it.

"There is one more thing," I said, reaching deep into the back of the drawer. I pulled out a heavy tan envelope and threw it toward him. Two photocopies of the marriage registration slid out, fluttering onto the floor. Standing near the doorway, Lam Tu Vu caught sight of the documents, and her expression curdled instantly. Chu Minh Hien slowly knelt to pick them up, his fingers trembling.

"Nhuoc Tinh... I know I was wrong... but..."

"But what?" I looked straight at him. "Did you truly think I would never find out? Or did you think that even if I did, I would be too weak to ever walk away from you?"

Chu Minh Hien raised his head, his eyes meeting mine.