Chapter 3 — The day I signed the divorce petition, I won the bid for a 30 billion VND project

On the other end of the line came Khuong Niem's voice, soft and sweet like a pill coated in sugar.

"Congratulations on signing the divorce agreement. Tu Hanh told me, he said... he feels very sorry and hopes you can sympathize."

Those two words coming out of her mouth sounded especially harsh.

"Sympathy about what?"

I calmly asked again.

"I sympathize with the feelings between you and Tu Hanh. There is no love between the two of you. Being forced to be together will only make both of you miserable. Ms. Nghien Thanh is so talented, she will definitely meet someone better in the future."

I counted silently in my heart. In just that short paragraph, she used three different ways of addressing her: Ms. Nghien Thanh, Tu Hanh and the two of you. Each calling has its own meaning. Calling me Ms. Nghien Thanh to create a feeling of intimacy, implicitly saying that she has no ill will towards me. Call Luc Tu Hanh Tu Hanh to prove the intimate relationship between the two. Also using the word two people is to cut off all ties between me and Luc Tu Hanh, as if to confirm that we have completely become the past. Just three sentences, but each layer of thought is clearly calculated. As expected, Khuong Niem is worthy of studying psychology.

"You're right."

I smiled softly.

"Indeed, I will meet someone better in the future."

"That's good." She laughed softly. "I'm still afraid you'll be sad."

"Sad?" I also laughed. "Khuong Niem, do you know where I am now?"

"On my way to my new home." I calmly replied. "A place that she can't afford in her entire life."

The other end of the line was silent for exactly two seconds.

"Nien Thanh really knows how to joke." Her voice was still as gentle as before, but no longer as natural as before. "Didn't Tu Hanh prepare a house for you?"

"I will return that house to you two."

"Give it back to us?"

"Because I don't need it anymore."

After hanging up the phone, I looked at the streets rushing backwards outside the window and suddenly remembered something. Three years ago, when Luc Tu Hanh pursued me, Khuong Niem went abroad. At that time, he said there was nothing going on between him and Khuong Niem, just friends who grew up together since childhood. And I believed. Because at that time I still didn't understand what it meant to not be able to let go of someone. Only later did I realize that if a person always has the image of another person in their heart, no matter how hard they try to hide it, they cannot hide it. He will unconsciously call her name when drunk, his eyes will light up every time he hears news about her, and he will also remember memories related to her on each special day of the year. Those seemingly small details quietly pierced my heart like needles. At first it was so painful that I couldn't breathe, but over time, I gradually no longer felt the pain. Not because the wound has healed, but because my heart has become calloused. The car slowly stopped in front of the new apartment building. I paid for the car, picked up my bag and walked into the building. While the elevator slowly went up, I looked at my face reflected on the glass wall. Twenty-eight years old. Not too young, but not too old either. There are still no wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, it's just that the eyes are filled with too much fatigue. Three years of marriage left me... A face that seems to have never changed. And a heart that was soon broken. The elevator door opens. I walked into my new apartment and turned on the lights. The house is not big, only two bedrooms and a living room, but extremely bright. Outside the ground-level glass window is the city skyline, and in the distance you can see the winding river flowing by. I walked to the window and quietly looked at the scenery outside. Each light in the city lit up one after another, like countless stars falling to the ground. Among those countless lights... There is a light that belongs to me. Even though it's very small. Even though it's very normal. That's mine. It's not the villa I got by marrying into the Luc family. It's not a life that depends on one man. Nor is it anything given as alms by others. Something I took with my own hands. I opened my computer and began to rearrange all the blueprints from the past three years. For the past three years, Luc Tu Hanh has never known what I was doing. He always thought I was at home drawing all day just to kill time, and sometimes even smiled faintly and sarcastically:

"Tham Nghien Thanh, you're twenty-eight years old, do you still dream of being a designer?"

He never investigated. Also lazy to investigate. Because in his eyes, a woman he doesn't love doesn't matter at all. But little did he know, the first commercial complex I designed was officially put into operation, welcoming more than ten million visitors each year. That project is located right in the busiest area of the city center. Every day he goes to work and passes by there. But... He never raised his head to look once. He also did not know that the landscape bridge I designed had won an international award. It's just a pity... The name on the design is someone else's. Because the Luc family does not allow their daughter-in-law to appear. Luc's mother once said:

"Women of the Luc family don't need to work. Going out and showing your face will only make people laugh."

I don't object. But I quietly signed that design contract. Use an English name. To this day, that bridge still spans the river. Every day tens of thousands of people pass by. But... No one knows who the real designer is. No problem. One day I will get those names back. As for those works... Forever belong to me. Over the past three years, I have learned the most important thing. Never put your expectations on others. If you want something... Go get it yourself. If you can't get it, change direction. If you can't change direction, use the ladder. If you can't build a ladder, dig a tunnel. Don't ever stop. At one o'clock in the morning, I turned off the computer and went to bed. White ceiling. No crystal chandeliers. There are no elaborate carved patterns. There aren't any extra decorations either. Exactly like my life right now. I closed my eyes. Very quickly fell asleep. I'm not dreaming. It's just that when I woke up I forgot.