Chapter 32 — The Former General's Ex-Wife Was a Genius Advisor

“You are truly willing to volunteer.”

“You shouldn't be like that.”

He looked at me. Those clear eyes, at this moment, were no longer cold and distant like before, but became something extremely naked, as if their cover had been completely stripped away.

“Van Tinh, that thousand nights ——”

"I looked at To Mien Nguyet's photo. I know."

He shook his head. My hand froze. “What did you say?”

“What you see is not To Mien Nguyet's photo.”

He took out his phone from his pocket and opened the photo gallery. An encrypted folder. Inside are all screenshots. Photos of emails. W sent emails to Trieu Due —— each one was copied by him. The period lasted for 5 years.

“Trieu Due forwarded each of your emails to me.”

My heart suddenly contracted.

“From the first letter, I knew there was W. I didn't know who W was, but I read every analysis, every advice, every model.”

His voice lowered even lower. “Those nights, standing on the balcony, what I saw —— was not To Mien Nguyet ——” He paused. “It's W's email.” The world seemed quiet at that moment. I stood in front of the door, holding a cup with the words "3rd place in the entire department" printed on it, in front of me was a man who I once believed had never loved me.

“So every night I go to the balcony to smoke ——”

“It's to read things written to you by someone you don't even know. Those words are so professional, so calm, so restrained, but between the words... it's as if they understand you better than anyone." His hand tightly grasped the seam of his pants.

"Sometimes I wonder what kind of person W is. Is he male or female, how old is he, what city is he in."

“And then I thought ——” He looked deep into my eyes. “If W were a woman —— in a married situation, and he developed this kind of feeling for someone he had never met —— would it be considered betrayal?”

My hand holding the cup trembled. “I ——”

“Then I told myself, it doesn't count as betrayal. Because I will never know who W is. That person only exists in emails. As long as I don't know, it doesn't count.”

He bitterly raised the corners of his lips. “In the end, W fell asleep right on the pillow next to me.” The cup almost slipped out of my hand. I had to hold on to the door frame to stand steady.

“You… when did you know?”

"From the moment you said on the phone, 'I am W'."

He took a step back.

"I've been thinking for a whole week. I've thought through a lot of things. For example —— why every time I finish reading W's email, return to the bedroom, and see your sleeping appearance, I feel an indescribable feeling of peace of mind."

“For example —— why after Mien Nguyet returned home, I clearly had countless opportunities to leave you, but never left once.”

“For example —— why the night you proposed a divorce, I agreed, but the next day I had to catch a very early flight, so I stood frozen in the living room for more than ten minutes.”

By the end, his voice was almost nothing but breaths.

“Because the person who makes me feel most secure —— not To Mien Nguyet, not W —— is you. It's the three years you've been by my side.”

My vision blurred. Not because I want to cry. But there are too many emotions flowing surging, pressing down to the corners of the eyes.

“But you chose her,” I said.

“I thought I chose her,” he replied, “But actually I never really chose anyone. I was just avoiding the fact that I wasn't good enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“With Mien Nguyet, I am 'the one who pursues white moonlight'. With you, I am 'the one who thanks to family arrangements to get a wife'.”

His expression seemed like he was tearing apart something deeply hidden.