Chapter 3 — The Husband's Secret

"This really can't be said." I said. "The last name is Tham, right?" The other end of the line was silent. It was the silence of that moment that gave me the answer. I hung up the phone. In the room, only the sound of Vien Vien flipping through cloth books remained. The child still doesn't understand. He doesn't know how many words adults have hidden behind doors, how many things are hidden in paper bags. At noon, Aunt Khuong returned. She buys vegetables, fish, fruit. Seeing me sitting in the living room, she smiled and asked. "Ma'am, do you want to eat a little frugally today?" I also smiled. "Whatever." I didn't mention the maid company. No mention of the invoice either. After she went into the kitchen, I turned on my phone and looked at the recording saved last night. I turned the volume down to the lowest level and listened again and again. Listening to the end, finally before she answered the phone, when she heard Vien Vien's voice, Aunt Khuong softly said a name. "Tieu Du." Not a way to call her. It's the name. She said, Mr. Tieu Du is about to return. I cut this sentence out and saved it to the cloud. At four o'clock in the afternoon, Tham Nghien sent me a text message. Festival Friday, may come home very late. I stared at that line for a long time. Then answer with one word yes. In the evening, after Aunt Khuong left, I took the bill with that address out of the house. The convenience store is located at the gate of an old apartment complex. The salesperson remembered Aunt Khuong. "That aunt, comes often." "Buying things for a little boy." I asked. "How old is that boy?" "About five or six years old." The salesperson thought. "Quite thin, eyes very similar to your husband." My whole body stiffened. The salesperson thought he said something wrong and quickly closed his mouth. When I walked out of the convenience store, it was already dark. The phone suddenly beeped. A strange number sent a photo. In the photo, Tham Nghien is standing in front of the gate of a kindergarten. He bent down and picked up a little boy. The boy held the Ultraman card in his hand, looking up at him. Below the photo there is also a text. Don't ask Aunt Khuong, ask her husband, five years ago outside the delivery room, he signed his name.04I stood outside the convenience store, the wind blowing into my collar. I zoomed in on that photo over and over again. The letters on the kindergarten gate are very clear. Thanh Duong Kindergarten. Tham Nghien held the baby, his palm supporting its back. That's not a polite, social hug. It's a holding position that I've done countless times, knowing which side the baby will lean on, knowing how to make the baby most comfortable. The boy looked up at him, his eyes sparkling. I looked at those eyes, my stomach churned. Like Tham Nghien. Just like Vien Vien. I saved the photo in three copies, remembering that strange number again. Called back, inside there was only a cold signaling voice. Turn off the machine. I stood for a long time before taking a taxi home. When I arrived at the gate of the residential area, I first let the wind dry my face. Do not have red eye sockets. The voice should not tremble. When the door opened, Tham Nghien was sitting in the living room looking at her phone. Yuan Yuan was already asleep. He looked up at me. "Where are you going?" I changed my shoes. "Go downstairs to buy fever-reducing patches." He glanced at my empty hand. "Can't you buy it?" "The drugstore is closed." This lie was said so lightly, even hearing it made me feel guilty. But Tham Nghien did not ask. He just bowed his head and continued to look at his phone. At this moment, I suddenly understood. When people are hiding a bigger secret in their hearts, they will not pay attention to a small lie from others. I walked into the bedroom and closed the door. Vien Vien slept in the crib, her small mouth slightly open. Her hand was clenched into a small fist, as if holding on to a pleasant dream. I sat next to her, looking at that photo again. Five years

before. Outside the delivery room. Already signed. These words are like nails, hammered into my brain one by one. Five years ago, I had not yet married Tham Nghien. But at that time we were together. I remember very clearly. That fall, we had just introduced our parents. My mother asked him when he would decide to get married. Tham Nghien grabbed my hand and said he wouldn't keep me waiting too long. When he said that, his eyes were so clear that it made me believe all these years. I flipped through the calendar backup in my old phone. October 21, five years ago. That day, I originally made an appointment with the wedding dress shop to try on sample photos. Tham Nghien temporarily reported that the company had an emergency and had to go on a business trip to another province. I sat alone on the sofa of the wedding dress shop, drinking two glasses of cold lemonade. The store clerk asked me when her husband would arrive. I smiled and said, he's busy. At ten o'clock at night, he called me. He said the signal was weak and his voice was very tired. I still feel sorry for you, tell you not to work too hard. Thinking back now, that night his breathing was very heavy, as if he had just escaped from a major event. I stared at that date, my palms sweating. If you were outside the delivery room that day. If another woman was giving birth to his child that day.