Chapter 6 — The Invisible Girl

“But after Giai Giai was born, her parents always mentioned that she was the youngest, so I got used to following them.”
"Sorry, Tieu Tinh. I forgot you are also a child who needs to be loved."
I didn't say anything, because I didn't need an apology that came too late. Before hanging up the phone, my father's voice came.
“Tieu Tinh…”
I don't know if it was my hallucination or not, his voice seemed much older, carrying a weak plea.
“Can I go home?”
“What are you doing here?”
Dad was immediately speechless. But very quickly, he said impatiently:
"Isn't it good to go find a job near home that's safe and where you can see your loved ones?"
I shook my head, saying no.
"Why?"
He was filled with confusion. To this day, he still asks me why. I suddenly smiled.
"Going back to wash the never-ending pile of dishes? Doing the housework that never gets done? Watching everyone forever favor the younger sister and older brother?"
He remained silent, not even finding a reason to refute.
“Dad…”
As soon as I spoke, I still couldn't help but choke up.
"Why do people never take me on trips? I also want to go to Japan."
Dad's breathing suddenly became rapid. He faltered but couldn't say anything. In this house, he knew clearly how biased his mother was, but he still tolerated and even made that tendency more serious. He thought that I would never expose everything, so it could be as if nothing had ever happened. He did not expect that this second daughter, who was dull, not good at speaking, always patient and invisible, was also a normal person. There is also happiness, anger, sadness, joy. So vivid that his selfishness had nowhere to hide.
“Sorry, Tieu Tinh.”
In the end, dad still burst into tears. I hung up. Chu Tinh Le hugged me, little by little sharing his sadness with me. After that day, I blocked all my family members. My sister once sent me a letter more than a thousand words long. In the letter, she expressed her apology and heartache for me. She saw my hardship when going to work, my patience when doing housework. Also see the parents' biased actions. She also admitted that she didn't let her parents tell me about the house. Because she wanted to choose the room first. She admitted a lot of things and honestly felt guilty. But what effect does that have? Those words cannot penetrate the pain I have endured for twenty-four years. It can only prove that my feelings are real, not the imagination of a dull and narrow-minded person like they say. After being unable to contact me, my brother created many secondary accounts. Occasionally send me a few messages. I block them all. At the end, he very humbly said to me:
"I'm not asking you to answer. Just let us confirm that you're safe. Isn't that okay?"
I still didn't answer. Half a year later, Chu Tinh Le and I returned to our country to register our marriage. There was no wedding, nor my family. But I honestly feel happy. After my parents found out, the whole family was in complete chaos. They even reported me to the police, saying I was kidnapped and sold by someone else. When they went to the police station to verify, they were see me.
“Tieu Tinh!”
Mom rushed to hug me tightly. In his puffy eyes, there was both anger and sadness.
“Silly child, what are you thinking?”
When his father and brother saw Chu Tinh Le, their faces turned black, without saying a word they were about to rush up and hit him. The police saw that the situation was not okay and immediately stopped it. I escaped from my mother's arms, grabbed Chu Tinh Le's hand, and was about to go out.
“Tieu Tinh, where are you going?”
Parents chased after. Haven't seen them in almost a year, they don't look as good as I thought they would. Dad's beard is gray, the wrinkles at the corners of Mom's eyes seem to be deeper. Seeing me watching them, mother's tears flowed again.
"Do you know how we lived these days? How can your heart be so cruel?"
"No matter how wrong we are, we are still your parents. Does anyone love you more than us? Yet you arbitrarily married yourself off like that!"
Her face was full of anger because I shouldn't be close, so impatient that she wished she could tear Chu Tinh Le's body next to me. But my reaction was still very calm.
“Chu Tinh Le, twenty-seven years old, from Kinh city, engineer, only child.”
“What else do you want to know?”
Mother's face suddenly changed and her voice became shrill.
"What do you mean? Do you use this attitude to treat your parents?"
Even though we hadn't seen each other for a long time, when she faced me, she was still as aggressive as before.
"Mom."
After hearing this call "mother", she was stunned, tears rolling around in her eye sockets.
“We have already apologized to you, what else do you want?”
What do I want in the end? In the end, the wrong person is still me.
“I have to go back to work with Chu Tinh Le.”
"You can't go. Truong Tinh Chan, if you dare to go, I will break off all relations with you."