Chapter 4 — Sentence for Traitors

The guilty look on Chu Nghien Chau's face was quickly replaced by an annoyed look.

“Tham Tri Vi, do you have to stand outside and eavesdrop?”

"I went to deliver something and stood in front of the door to hear it. Is that called eavesdropping?"

“So what do you want?”

“I want to know… now do you see that I am very entangled?”

Chu Nghien Chau put down his chopsticks and looked at me, his eyes cold.

“If you must understand like that, I have no choice.”

I nodded.

“Understood.”

“What do you understand?”

“I understand… I don't want to act anymore.”

He looked at me, his lips pursed.

“Tri Vi, adults solve problems, not by saying sarcastic words.”

I smiled softly.

“Adults solve problems… by secretly buying a house for another woman, opening a hotel room, using company money to pay, and then standing on high and saying that's just normal communication?”

“Do you have proof?”

“You think I don't have one?”

We looked at each other for a long time. In that moment, I could almost feel… for the first time he began to seriously consider how much I knew. But in the next second, he still chose to bet. Bet I can't bear it. Bet I won't make a big deal out of it and rip it all apart. Bet I'm still Tham Tri Vi... the one who will save his face. He stood up, his voice cold as ice:

"I'll say it for the last time, Lam Van Y and I don't have the relationship you think. If you continue to be so suspicious, this life won't continue."

I raised my head to look at him.

"Okay."

Maybe because I responded too quickly, he instead froze a bit.

"Didn't you say this life should not continue anymore? Okay."

Having finished speaking, I bowed my head and continued eating, my voice calm as if I was saying that today's food was a bit salty. Chu Nghien Chau stared at me. In his eyes, for the first time, something that could not be named appeared. Maybe surprising. It could also be... insecurity. But that feeling quickly passed. He turned cold and walked into the office. At two o'clock midnight, he did not return to the bedroom. I'm not looking either. I lay on the bed, opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling. Near morning, I texted Duong Ninh a message.

“If there is a divorce, will his company shares… be counted as common property?”

Duong Ninh responded immediately.

"Whether it counts or not depends on the time of formation and specific evidence. But there is one thing I can tell you in advance, the thing men are most afraid of is not you crying and causing trouble... but you actually starting to calculate."

Three days later, Chu Nghien Chau's mother arrived. She carried a thermos and walked in the door, her face full of smiles, as if completely unaware of how tense things were between me and Chu Nghien Chau.

“Tri Vi, mom stewed the soup for you.”

I took it, but didn't drink it. She sat down on the sofa, asked me briefly what projects I was working on, how my health was, and then quickly moved on to the main topic.

“Lately, Nghien Chau is preparing to raise a new round of capital, do you know?”

I said yes.

"There are some requirements from the investor side, saying that the family property boundaries need to be a bit clearer. I think your relationship with Nghien Chau is so stable, maybe you should sign a marital property agreement in advance, it will also save you trouble in the future."

I looked at her.

“What content to sign?”

She took out a printed contract from her pocket. I Flipping through two pages, I almost burst out laughing. The idea is that the company's shares are in Chu Nghien Chau's name, future dividends, profit growth... all belong to him personally, unrelated to the marriage period. Even the house purchased after marriage was recorded as being paid for by the Chu family. I raised my head to look at her.

“Mom, do you think I'm stupid… or do you think I never went to college?”

The smile on her face stiffened.

"Tri Vi, what do you mean by that? Isn't it just for the good of the two of us? It's not easy for a man to go out and make money. As a wife, you should understand, right?"

"I don't sympathize... that's why Chu Nghien Chau went to find Lam Van Y to sympathize, right?"

Her face changed. Obviously she didn't expect me to say it so bluntly. A few seconds later, she lowered her voice, her tone carrying the teachings of an elder.

"Tri Vi, it's very normal for men to go out to socialize and have a few female friends around. If you keep staring like that, what man can stand it? You should also look at yourself. It's been so many years and you still haven't given birth to a child. Your mind is all about checking on your husband. Is this house still peaceful?"

I looked at her, suddenly feeling ridiculously funny. It turns out that in the eyes of mother and daughter, Chu Nghien Chau crossed the line into normal social relations. As for me asking for the truth... but I don't know what to do. They pushed away the responsibility and ended up stepping on me. I folded the contract and pushed it back.

"First, the children were not born by me alone. Second, before I signed, no one was allowed to touch the things that belonged to me in marriage. Third, your son did not go out because of my strict control, but because his heart was no longer clean."

Her face completely turned cold.

“Tham Tri Vi, don't talk too harshly.”

I looked at her, word by word.

“The harsher words… I haven't said them yet.”

That day, she slammed the door and left. In the evening, when Chu Nghien Chau came home, the first thing he said was:

“What did you say to my mother?”

“Do you know that my grandmother's heart is not good?”

“So did you know… your wife is also human?”

He was stopped by me, stunned for a moment, then laughed coldly.

“Tham Tri Vi, you are becoming more and more unreasonable now.”

“The agreement was that you told her to bring it, right?”

"So what? The company is at an important stage, I don't want family matters to affect fundraising."

“So you plan to cut off all marital assets… then divorce me?”

He looked at me, said nothing. There are times when silence... is even crueler than admitting it. I looked at him, suddenly understanding everything. It's not like he's recently thought about divorce. He had already begun to calculate. Personality to withdraw money cleanly. My personality lets me suffer. Personality saves face, resources, future for himself... and for the woman who "understands his career". I suddenly no longer wanted to say another meaningless sentence to him.

“Chu Nghien Chau, let's meet in court.”

He frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“The meaning is as true as the words.”

“Do you think that when you get divorced, you just mess up and get more money?”

“So you try it.”

Maybe he didn't expect me to actually turn around, my face was extremely unsightly.

“Don't regret it.”

I looked at him, smiling.

“The person who regrets… will not be I."