Chapter 23 — Three hours before the wedding, I locked the house as a dowry

Three days later, a written apology letter from the Phan family was sent. Ton Thu Binh's writing is thin and sharp. Every pen stroke is very strong. In the letter, she admitted that during the renovation of apartment 402, Nam Que Ly area, she promoted the renovation of the secondary bedroom and stored related records without receiving the express consent of the owner, Khau Van Hoa. She also admitted that Chu Tu Can had never confirmed the capital contribution. Accepting that the signatures and fingerprints in the Joint Capital Contribution Statement cannot represent the true will of Chu Tu Can. At the same time, I would like to apologize to Chu Tu Can and Khau Van Hoa for the honor and mental pressure caused. My mother held the letter and read it for a long time. Finally said:

“It doesn't look real at all.”

“Apologizing does not necessarily come from sincerity.”

“Sometimes just having the truth down on paper is enough.”

The day Phan Khai Nam went to apartment 402 to pick up his belongings. Management Board. Community staff. All are present. The two cartons are inventoried item by item. Livestream sales course materials. And also a business card of the loan brokerage company. When you reach the bottom of the barrel. People discovered an old key. Old Tiet picked it up and looked closely.

“Similar to the number of keys added when renovating apartment 402.”

I immediately put it in the evidence bag.

“Record in inventory records.”

Phan Khai Nam was frustrated.

“It's just a key.”

“The lock has also been changed.”

I looked at him.

“Put it in the record.”

Phan Khai Nam looked at the text that had just been written down. Suddenly burst out laughing.

“Aren't you tired of living like this?”

I gave him the minutes to sign.

“I was tired before.”

“Because you always have to pretend like everything is nothing.”

“Not tired now.”

“Just do each item correctly.”

The restoration of the apartment's current condition is assigned to a third party to perform. Chuc Dong Nghieu is only responsible for paying costs. No longer allowed to participate in construction. Any recovery amount. Phan Nghien Chu all transferred on time. In the notes section there is only one line: Cost of restoring apartment 402 Nam Que Ly. The date the judicial office stamps the case closed. Coordinator Tan said:

“At first, many people thought this was just a family conflict.”

“But after the documents are fully organized…”

“Everything became clear.”

“You should still keep the evidence in the future.”

My mother said softly:

“In the past, I always thought that if a family member still kept evidence, it would hurt their feelings too much.”

The coordinator surnamed Qin smiled.

“True feelings are not afraid to express them clearly.”

“The fear of being told clearly…”

“A lot of times it's not emotional.”

“But debts.”

Mom took all the documents ending the case and put them in a yellow paper bag. Then write on the cover four words: The Story of Nam Que Ly Look at those four words. I suddenly remembered the wedding day. The day Ton Thu Binh pointed straight at me and scolded:

“This girl is crazy!”

I'm not crazy. I just didn't give up my boundaries to someone else for the first time. When signing the inventory record. Phan Khai Nam used so much force that the tip of the pen penetrated the entire paper underneath. Community staff asked to re-sign. His expression was extremely unsightly. But in the end, I still had to sign another copy. After the old key is sealed in an evidence bag. I saw my mother breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe the That key no longer opens any doors. But it symbolizes the last ray of hope that the Phan family left in this house. Even that ray of hope was sealed. When the quote for restoring the status quo is sent. Phan Nghien Chu only sent one message: Give me the account number to receive money and information about the construction unit. Don't add any other words. I sent back the information. Don't say anything more. We became two adults resolving a dispute. Not just a couple about to get married. After the file is officially closed. Mom held the document bag in her lap. On the way home, she stopped by a stationery store. Buy a sturdy file case. The salesperson asked:

“What color do you want?”

Mom chose blue. I asked curiously:

“Why choose blue?”

Mom thought for a moment and then replied:

“The color red reminds me of the word Joy.”

“This color looks clearer.”

Come home. Mom carefully wrote down four words: The story of Nam Que Ly on the blue file box. The handwriting this time is much more solid. Every line is straight. Mom put the box on the top shelf of the bookshelf. Don't hide it. Don't take it down and look at it every day. It simply lies there. Like a ballast holding a boat. If anyone says that Khau Van Hoa was too cruel to cancel the wedding right on the wedding day. Mom won't need to argue anymore. Because she knows. The truth has a place to belong.