Chapter 22 — The Wedding House Was Destroyed, I Want It All Back

I stood in the new living room, looking at the sunlight through the thin curtains, pouring onto the floor in gentle streaks of light. A thought suddenly appeared very clearly. This house is mine. Just mine. No longer have to carry anyone's expectations. No more having to share for unreasonable demands. My parents came from the countryside and entered this house for the first time. Mom touched the arm of the sofa and couldn't hold back her tears.

“Girl… is miserable.”

Her voice choked.

"Knowing that house so early... even if I die, I won't let you know it."

"This is not something my parents could have guessed." I smiled, gave her a tissue,

“Besides… if it weren't for this, I probably wouldn't have learned how to protect myself.”

My father stood on the balcony for a long time. Looking down at the trees in the yard, looking at the highway in the distance... my eyes turned red, but I still tried to stay calm.

“It's okay.” he nodded,

“Now it looks like a house.”

That evening, we cooked together in the new kitchen. Mom cut vegetables, dad and I washed dishes, the sound of hot oil rang out when fried onions were dropped into the pan, the aroma spread throughout the small room. Outside the window, car lights pass by in streaks, inside the house, warm yellow light, the sound of bowls and chopsticks tinkling together. That was the first time, I really felt... I was alive. And having a place to return to. News about the Chu family occasionally reaches my ears through the press or through acquaintances. Their company was eventually confirmed to have many financial violations, fined, forced to rectify, and some leaders were subjected to coercive measures. Chu Da's parents must also bear responsibility for concealing assets and providing false information. As for Chu Da... after confessing, he was sentenced to probation for illegal use of capital and had to repay part of the money. During the trial, he publicly apologized. Admitted that he knew about it and even indirectly tolerated his sister. The video was cut and posted online with a title like:

“The ex-boyfriend apologized to the victim right in court.”

I saw it because a colleague sent it to me. In the video, Chu Da wears a simple shirt, his hair is cut shorter than before, and his face no longer looks arrogant. He said each sentence, each word, his voice was no longer as strong as before, sometimes even trembling slightly. But strangely... when I looked at that man, I no longer felt pain. Just feels strange. Like looking at a person…

“I apologize to her.” Chu Da said in the video, his voice was low, each word seemed heavy, "she always trusted me, but I sided with my family, chose to hide it, and even used to put pressure on her with them."

“I used to think, as long as I can keep my sister, everything else can be compensated for later…”

"But now I understand, there are injuries... that cannot be repaired with time or money."

At that moment, the camera passed through the audience seats. I caught a glimpse of a figure very similar to Trieu Nha sitting behind, head bowed, not sure what he was thinking. I finished watching and turned off the phone screen. Don't read comments. For many strangers, this is just a slightly dramatic social story, enough for them to talk about for a few days, then forget. As for me... it's just a note at the end of the page, a dot that closes the old chapter. Not too pretty, but perfect enough. After that, life gradually returned to normal. The echoes of the incident still linger — sometimes I have to closely follow the judgment enforcement process, encourage the other side to fulfill its compensation obligations, and occasionally receive calls from the media to invite them to participate in "protecting personal rights" sharing sessions. I didn't completely refuse, but I also didn't actively step into that light. I changed jobs. Leaving the old company, moving to a foreign business that values compliance and employee benefits more. During the interview that day, HR looked at my resume for a while, then looked up.

“Do you have any experience related to litigation?”

I paused a bit.

“How do you know?”

“The online article mentioned some details.” She smiled lightly, "I looked up the background information, I found it easily."

I'm a bit stressed.

“Does that… affect hiring decisions?”

"Opposite."

She closed the file and looked at me frankly.

“The way you handled the case, and the results you achieved… are all plus points.”

“We need people who know how to use rules to protect themselves, not people who only know how to be patient.”

“But at the same time… you also have to be someone who knows how to stop at the right boundaries.”

I was a bit stunned, then burst out laughing.

“So I guess I… meet the standards.”

“Not up to standard.” she smiles,

“is very suitable.”

The new company is located near the riverbank. After work, sometimes I will walk along the shore, watching the lights on the opposite side light up one after another. The river water gently pats the shore, the sound is not too loud or too small, enough to calm people's hearts. Sometimes a boat slowly passes by, its lights trailing across the water. One evening, Tham Du invited me out there for coffee. She is very busy these days, taking on a legal aid project for a group of workers with unpaid wages.

“How is life these days?” she asked.

"Fine." I thought for a moment, “even… better than I thought.”

“Is there any new direction?” she half-joked, "for example, take the law exam, change careers, become my colleague?"

I laughed.

“Haven't thought about it.”

"But now every time my colleagues have contract problems or injustice at work, I remind them to keep the evidence and ask a lawyer..."

“I feel like a ‘part-time legal assistant’.”

“That's enough.” Tham Du nodded.

“Law has never been just about lawyers or judges.”

“It only really makes sense… when ordinary people are willing to understand and use it.”

She raised her coffee cup and gently touched mine.

“Congratulations, Niem Niem.”

“From someone who once needed protection…”

“You have become someone who can protect others.”

I looked at her, then looked back at the river, the wind blowing by, carrying the smell of coffee mixed with steam, light but clear.

“Thank you.” I said, my voice not loud, but very matter-of-factly, "if it wasn't for you... maybe I wouldn't have been able to make it today."

“You can go.” Tham Du smiled, "It's just when you're most lost... you need someone to tell you that there's still a way."

Night gradually falls. The lights on the other side of the river light up one after another, dyeing the water surface into sparkling strips of color. Along the road, there are people holding hands walking, there are joggers passing by, there are also young people like me a few months ago - wearing headphones, walking alone, immersed in their own world. I suddenly remembered the woman who used to scream and cry in front of the hotel room door, remember the cold eyes of the person standing at the end of the hallway, remember the man who used "intimacy" as an excuse to spend unlimited money, and remember the look full of resentment. of Chu Tinh in the courtroom. Those people, those stories... have kept me awake countless nights. It used to make me wonder... whether I was too cold, whether I should "take a step back and calm things down" as people say. But now, looking back… I know clearly. What I don't back down from… are not emotions. It's the boundary. Once you step back across that boundary, what is lost... is not just a step. People with boundaries may not please everyone. But at least, looking back many years from now, you won't have to say "what if" to yourself. I don't know what waves lie ahead in the future. I also don't know how and when love... will return to my life. But there is one thing, I know very well. I will never… put my life in anyone's hands, just because “they have good intentions”. But I will take it myself. The wind on the river side became stronger, I zipped up my shirt a little higher, raised my head and looked into the distance. The city skyline appears under the lights — clear, sturdy, but with a very gentle outline. The house that was once smashed... is now standing. The relationship that was once torn apart… now only a name and a few blurred memories remain. who thought he would be crushed — learned how to stand up straight, learned how to say “no,” learned how to block the hands that shouldn't reach out. The night is like a curtain gently falling, gently separating the past from the present. I turned around and walked away. The pace is neither fast nor slow. My shadow stretched under the light, fell to the ground, then was stepped over by myself, continuing to move forward. Ahead is light, traffic, and countless unknown roads. And also... my own path.