Chapter 7 — That Night of Fire

Thieu Minh placed a stack of documents on the nightstand: "This is the public process explanation that we can provide, the rest needs a lawyer to extract according to proper procedures." He left, Luong Sach still stood in place. He whispered: "Sister-in-law, Mr. Chu has gone crazy these past few days, smashing all the things that Hua Nhuy gave him in the office." I coldly replied: "If breaking things worked, there would be no need to build a prison." Luong Sach's face turned pale and he didn't say another word. In the afternoon, Chu Nghien arrived. He walked around skinny-dipping, his beard was scraggly, and his eyes were full of blood. In his hand, he held a transparent plastic evidence bag, containing a pair of small, charred socks inside. Yellow. My breath stopped for half a beat. His voice trembled: "I went home to get my things, I saw this in the drawer..." I stared at those socks, my throat felt like broken glass was stuck. Chu Nghien lifted the evidence bag up to his chest, suddenly swung his hand and slapped himself hard in the face. A harsh sound rang out. "You deserve to die." Another one. "You really deserve to die." I watched as one side of his face quickly swelled, there was not the slightest disturbance in my heart, only noise. "Don't fight anymore." He raised his head, a ray of hope flashing in his eyes. I said: "If you want to fight, go to the police station and fight. Don't dirty my hospital room." That light went out. He put the evidence bag at the end of the bed, not daring to come close to me: "Te Hoa, I will cooperate with the investigation, I admit guilt. But the divorce... can it wait a little longer?" I raised my eyes: "Why?" His throat slid up and down: "I want to take care of you." "I'm more used to taking care of Hua Nhuy." His face stiffened. I picked up the document on the nightstand and threw it in front of him: "Divorce agreement, sign it." He bent down to pick it up, turned to the last page, his finger stopped at the signature, hesitating forever. "I don't want a divorce." "What right do I have to say I don't want to?" His eyes turned red: "I love you." I stared at him, suddenly feeling that these three words were dirty. "Chu Nghien, do you know what I was thinking before I jumped down?" His breathing stagnated. "I thought, if I died, would you receive a phone call with the news while standing in front of Hua Nhuy's birthday cake? Then you would frown and say: 'What trouble will Lam Te Hoa cause me again?'" The clear piece of paper his hands were crumpled. I continued: "It's not that you don't love me, it's that you think I won't die, you think I will forever be there waiting for you to turn around." Chu Nghien's knees softened and she knelt down. "No..." I turned on the recording pen on my pillow. This is what Tan Chieu told me to prepare. I asked him: "Is the safety latch locked by you?" Chu Nghien raised his head to look at me, his eyes broken: "Yes." "Did you tell your colleagues and relevant staff in advance that I might maliciously call for help?" "Yes." "Do you know that I am a woman with a conscience?" His voice was like being rubbed by sandpaper: "I told you, but you don't believe it." "Do you know that locking the door will prevent me from escaping in the event of a fire?" He closed his eyes, tears in his eyes. whispering: "I know." I turned off the recording pen. Chu Nghien opened her eyes: "Te Hoa?" I handed over the recording pen to Tan Chieu. Tan Chieu walked in from outside the door, his face cold and scary: "Mr. Chu, thank you for your cooperation." Chu Nghien staggered and stood up: "Are you setting me up?" I looked at him: "I'm just asking for the truth." The blood on his face faded little by little. "Te Hoa, I've admitted my mistake, do you still want to go to this step?"