Chapter 2 — Returning to Husband's House for Tet

I stood in the middle of the kitchen and asked in a harsh voice:

"I won't cook anymore today, let me see what you can do for me? I've been cooking since I came here and haven't been able to eat a single bite. Now you're full and then you turn around and point at me?"

The mother-in-law heard this and immediately followed her son, her voice full of reproach:

"What are you talking like? Do you know that you are the daughter-in-law of the family? A daughter-in-law has to worry about making sure her husband, children and guests are full first, and she eats last! I don't understand simple things like that, it's really bad luck to marry you as a daughter-in-law!"

I lowered my head to look at my newly bought coat, covered in grease, and thought about the relatives still waiting outside. In the end, I threw the shovel straight into the pot:

“Whoever wants to cook can come in and cook, I won't serve you anymore!”

The mother-in-law screamed with wide eyes when she saw a huge hole in her beloved pot. She angrily scolded:

"You trash! Your cooking is full of grease and I still haven't blamed you, but now I'm angry and throw it away!"

Hearing that, my anger increased even more.

"There's too much grease, right? Then don't eat it!"

I started smashing everything in the kitchen. Spice jars, bowls, chopsticks, pots and pans... I threw them all on the ground, breaking into pieces. Truong Nien shouted in panic:

“Lam Gia Gia, haven't you caused enough chaos?!”

I turned my head and smiled coldly:

"Isn't that enough chaos? It's you and your mother forcing me!"

At that moment, a burning pain spread to my cheek. I was stunned. It took me a few seconds to realize it. Truong Nien... slapped me. I couldn't believe the man in front of me. I quickly walked out of the kitchen and went straight to the dining area.

“Get out of the way! Get out of the way!”

I pushed Truong Nien's relatives away from the table, then threw over the entire tray. Bowls and food spilled onto the ground. I pointed straight at Truong Nien and said coldly:

"That's it, let's divorce!"

4

After saying that, I turned around and walked straight out, without looking back. I took the car keys from my pocket, slammed the door, got in the car, and started the engine—all in one go. But just as I was about to drive out of the gate, Truong Nien rushed in to block the car. He shouted angrily:

"If you step out of this door today, you will no longer be the Truong family's daughter-in-law! Decide for yourself!"

I looked at him standing right in front of the car, not saying a word, just honking continuously. The sound of car horns echoed throughout the area, relatives and neighbors began to come out to watch. Seeing this, her mother-in-law turned pale, quickly pulled Truong Nien aside, and shouted in a low voice:

"Let it go! Let's see who will still want to take it after the divorce!"

Hearing that, Truong Nien gritted his teeth and reluctantly stepped aside. I stepped on the accelerator and drove away from this stuffy place. I drove straight to the nearest hotel, ate a full meal and then slept deeply. After eight hours of driving plus five hours of standing in the kitchen, I had been awake for more than thirteen hours. If I tried to continue driving, I would definitely cause an accident due to exhaustion. When I woke up, my phone was flooded with messages and missed calls. I glanced at the clock—I had been sleeping all day. I quickly called my parents. As soon as they heard my voice, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yesterday, Truong Nien called home and told me that you were angry and wanted a divorce. You couldn't call me anymore. Mom and Dad were so worried!"

Hearing that, my heart was filled with guilt and I quickly said:

"I'm okay! I'm just so tired I fell asleep."

Then, me recount the whole incident. After hearing this, my parents were so angry that they were shaking.

"This guy! Before getting married, he pretended to be nice, but after less than two years of marriage, his true nature was revealed! Gia Gia, no matter what you do, Mom and Dad will support you!"

These words warm my heart, all the resentment and fatigue from before have all disappeared. That's right! No matter what, my parents will always be my strongest support.

5

When I got home, my parents had already cooked a tray of rice, waiting for me to come home and eat with them. Seeing their worried eyes, I laughed and teased:

“Mom and dad, don't worry, I can still eat, run, and jump!”

I picked up a piece of food, chewed it thoroughly and smiled:

“Still the best rice my parents cook!”

My mother put food into my bowl and gently said:

“Eat more if you like! You've lost weight and your face is so pale.”

So I stayed home to celebrate Tet, and during that time I did not receive any messages or calls from Truong Nien. After Tet, I returned to work. As soon as I entered the house, I saw two people I didn't want to meet the most. Seeing me, Truong Nien rushed over to hug me, his mouth still soft as before:

“Wife, I miss you so much! Do you miss me?”

I moved aside, avoiding his hug. Seeing that, Truong Nien showed a warm expression:

"What's wrong? Are you still angry about Tet? At that time, I was just worried about my mother's health. If my mother was so angry that she got sick, you wouldn't want to see it, right?"

His mother also spoke up:

"Gia Gia, it's your bad mother that makes you angry. If you want to blame me, blame me! As for Nien Nien, at that time he was drunk like that, now he has promised his mother that he will never do that again. Please forgive him!"

I smiled coldly, looked at her and asked:

"What are you to promise me? What are you to me?"

Hearing that, Truong Nien's face immediately turned red with anger:

"Lam Gia Gia! How can you talk to your mother like that?!"

I looked at the man in front of me—the person I thought would spend the rest of my life together—but I didn't expect that in less than a year, our marriage would reach this point. I didn't have the strength to argue, I just coldly said:

"I texted you to move out, why are you still here?"

Truong Nien couldn't believe it and looked at me with wide eyes:

"This is my house! Where do you want me to move?"

I curled my lips and smiled sarcastically:

"It used to be your house, but now it's not! This apartment was bought for me by my parents, it has nothing to do with you even a penny!"

Truong Nien's face darkened and he roared:

"Nonsense! We're married, according to the law, you also have half of this house!"

His mother also jumped up and screamed:

"What's yours, mine? If you're married, your property is common! If you want to divorce, you have to leave this house behind!"

Seeing their mother and child showing their greedy faces, I realized how right my parents were in their foresight. As soon as I announced I was getting married, my parents found a lawyer and spent most of their savings to buy this apartment outright. Houses in this area are very expensive. My parents were afraid that if they divorced in the future, Truong Nien would demand to divide their assets, so from the beginning they gave it to me in their own name. At that time, I still felt that my parents were overly worried, thinking that Truong Nien and I would definitely be happy forever. I never even told Truong Nien about this, afraid he would misunderstand that his parents didn't trust him. But unexpectedly... Less than a year later, We have reached the point of divorce. And even more unexpected—when we broke up, he actually asked for half of my house. I don't know if I should be happy because I kept the house or sad because I was too stupid to recognize this man's true face.

6

I looked at Truong Nien—who was both familiar and strange—and calmly said:

"This house has never had anything to do with you! Before getting married, my parents consulted a lawyer and decided to spend all their money to buy it outright. They gave it to me in their own name before marriage. From beginning to end, you are not the owner of this house!"

Truong Nien's face immediately changed, he rushed up and screamed:

"No way! You're lying, right? How is that possible! This house is mine! It's mine!"

"You definitely want a divorce, so you made up this story to trick me. How can it not be my part?!"

I looked at the man in front of me—almost crazy because of the house—for the first time I realized, maybe there was never love between us, only now I understand that. Suddenly, my father's voice rang out from the door:

"What are you guys going to do? Stay away from Gia Gia!"

I was afraid that Truong Nien and his mother would hurt me because they were too excited, so while he was still stunned, I immediately ran towards my parents. My parents were worried that the divorce negotiations would not go smoothly, and were also afraid that Truong Nien would strike again, so they took time off work to go with me. The appearance of his parents clearly surprised Truong Nien, he suddenly became confused.