Chapter 14 — Three Keys, One Broken Marriage

I turned around and walked towards the roadside, raising my hand to stop a taxi. The moment the car door closed, through the rearview mirror, I saw Trieu Vu still standing in place. It was like all my strength had just been drained. The taxi slowly merged into the traffic flow. I leaned back in the back seat and closed my eyes. There is still a bit of bitterness in my chest. But it wasn't as painful as I imagined. This marriage in my heart has long been full of cracks. The phrase "divorce" really says... It's just a matter of pushing the boat with the tide. The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“Girl, where are you going?”

“About the company.”

I read the address. I still have to go back and edit the drawing. Life will not push the pause button because of anyone leaving. The next day, early in the morning, I went to see the lawyer. This time, I arranged all the videos, chats, and screenshots in my phone and gave them all to the other person. The female lawyer watched for a long time, her face gradually becoming serious.

“Miss Tham, these evidences are very complete.”

"Her husband's family repeatedly used the key to enter the house without her consent, which constituted an infringement of her right to residence and privacy."

“Plus they sabotaged your work documents while you were away…”

“This can absolutely be used as a basis for claiming compensation for mental damages.”

She stopped and looked up at me.

"I see that your current request is mainly to divide assets and end the marital relationship."

“Have you considered applying for a further personal safety order?”

I paused for a moment.

“Personal safety order?”

“Simply put, after the court accepts the case, you can apply for an order from the court.”

"The content includes prohibiting the other party from harassing, following, and contacting you."

"Forbid the other person from entering your residence without permission."

“If necessary, you can also ask the other person to leave the shared residence.”

“If there is a violation, the police have the right to intervene and enforce it.”

The female lawyer explained in great detail.

“I had a client in a similar situation before.”

"The ex-husband and his in-laws always use the name of relatives to arbitrarily come to the house."

“After the court issued the protective order, the other side was much more restrained.”

“Of course…”

“That will also make relations between the two sides even more tense.”

“You need to mentally prepare first.”

I was silent for a few seconds.

“How long will this order be in effect?”

“It's usually six months to a year, it remains to be seen what the judge decides.”

“If the deadline expires and the risk still exists, you can apply for an extension.”

I nodded.

“Let's do it then.”

My voice was extremely calm.

"Whether the relationship is tense or not, it's no longer important to me now."

“I just want the next time…”

“Can live and work in peace.”

The female lawyer looked appreciative.

“Okay, then we will prepare documents in this direction.”

“The more complete the evidence, the more favorable it will be for you.”

“Next, what you need to do is continue to save the other person's call and text history.”

“Especially content that is coercive, cursing or threatening.”

“If they continue to come to the house, try to record the entire process.”

“It's all evidence.”

"I got it."

I stood up and shook her hand.

“I'm bothering you.”

“This is my job.”

The female lawyer smiled.

"But I still want to remind you of one thing.”

“Your current state can easily fall into extremes.”

“If you only think about the worst of everything…”

“You will live a much more tiring life.”

“You can stick to your decision.”

“But you should also leave yourself a way out.”

“This way out is not for others.”

“But for your own future life.”

I nodded slightly.

“I will remember.”

Stepping out of the lawyer's office, the sunlight outside was painfully bright. I took out my phone to check the time. Eleven o'clock in the morning. I'm not in a hurry to return to the company. But take a taxi to the bank. There's still one thing... I definitely have to do it as soon as possible. Sitting in front of the business transaction counter, I took out all my salary cards, investment accounts and backup bank cards.

“Hello, I want to change this card to a new salary account.”

I passed a card over.

“This card does not currently have any linked payments or external authorizations.”

“Please check for me.”

The bank employee compared for a moment and then nodded.

“Yes, this card is completely clean.”

“Then would you mind transferring my salary account to this card?”

"The old salary card only keeps the account and is no longer used to receive salary."

After completing the operation, the staff gave me a transaction confirmation slip.

“Miss Tham, it's been done.”

“Starting next month, your salary will be transferred to this card.”

“Okay, thank you.”