Chapter 10 — The Husband in the Household Registration Book

There is a text message on my phone from a number I blocked. It was my mother who used someone else's phone to send it.
"Tinh Tinh, I know I was wrong. Can you... come back to visit me?"
I looked at that message and deleted it without any expression. Evil people will be punished by evil people. Chau Kien Dan and Phuong Vien, the two people who wanted to drag me into the abyss, ended up tearing each other apart, both suffering heavy losses. The mother who tolerated all this also received her punishment. She lost her husband, lost her home, and forever lost her daughter. That's very fair.
12
I moved house. Moved to a completely new apartment complex, changed phone number. I leave the entire past behind. New life is like a blank sheet of paper. Clean, simple, but also a bit empty. I began to devote all my energy to work and life. I signed up for a yoga class, went hiking on the weekend, and visited an art museum. I took out part of the money I had previously saved to buy a house, bought myself a beautiful dress and a bouquet of expensive sunflowers. Flowers are arranged in glass vases in the living room. The sunlight shines in, so bright it's blinding. One day, I received a package delivered within the city. No sender information, just my name and new address. I opened it, inside was a letter. The handwriting on the envelope was crooked and extremely familiar to me. It's my mother's handwriting. I don't know where she found out about my new address. I held that letter and stood in the living room for a long time. I think what's written inside is nothing more than repentance, apologies, and crying words about how miserable her life is right now. It was the intention to use blood and family ties to bind me once more. I don't open mail. I pulled out the bottom drawer of my desk and threw the letter inside. Place it with the business card with the name “Phuong Vien” and the civil status certificate stamped “deleted”. That place is where I buried my past. I will never open it again. In the fall, I once again entered the bank. It's still the same bank, the same transaction counter. The person who welcomed me was still the previous teller. Seeing me, she was stunned for a moment and then quickly realized. Her eyes carried curiosity and scrutiny.
“Sister, we meet again.” She smiled.
"Hello."
“The loan… are you still doing it?” She asked carefully.
I looked at her, then laughed. That was the first comfortable smile that came from the bottom of my heart in the past few months.
"Do."
I brought all the documents over.
“Only in my name.”