Chapter 13 — Three Years of Being a Fake Wife, One Day Overturning the Table

“Thank you.”

I hung up the phone, with no more hatred or pity in my heart, only peace left after everything had calmed down. Each person... will go on his or her own path. No longer related to each other is the best outcome. I used the remaining money to buy my parents a small house in the city, not far from where I rented. They have worked hard all their lives, now it's time to live a little easier. After sorting it all out, I made a decision. I applied to quit my job at my old company. The boss held back many times, but I no longer hesitated. That job brought with it too many old memories, which I... don't want to keep anymore. I want to... truly say goodbye to the past. I started trying things I'd never done before, learning to cook, learning to arrange flowers, and signing up for yoga classes. Little by little, I rediscovered the life that belonged to me, the life that I had neglected for three long years. On quiet nights, I also think about that book publishing proposal. I opened the computer and tried typing the first lines. I used to think it would be a painful process, having to reopen old wounds and expose them for others to see. But when I actually started writing, I realized… It was a healing. I stand from an outsider's perspective, looking back at myself in the past, a girl who was naive, blind, devoted to love. I write about her innocence, about what she gave, about pain, about despair. Also write about awakening, about resistance, about the most powerful rebirth in life. Like a painter painting my soul, stroke by stroke I carved my own shape. And at last, I saw her clearly. You can also smile... say something to her. Three months later, one afternoon, I was standing on the balcony tending to some potted plants when the phone rang. I picked up the phone. On the other end of the line was a nurse's voice, cold and professional.

“Excuse me, are you Ms. Hua Tinh?”

“This is the No. 1 People's Hospital in the city.”

“Patient Chu Van Bac, at 3:15 p.m. this afternoon…”

“Due to multiple organ failure, emergency treatment was unsuccessful, death was confirmed.”

“In the old file, you were the emergency contact, so we notified.”

I held the phone and was silent for a long time. The sunlight on the balcony is still warm, the children's voices in the park still ring clear. In my heart... it's strangely calm. It's like hearing news about a complete stranger.

"I know."

“Please contact his legal family to handle the matter.”

Hanging up, I put down the watering can and returned to my desk. On the screen is the manuscript of the novel I just finished. The last word… is a period. I picked up the phone and called the editor-in-chief who gave me his business card that day.

“Hello, I'm Hua Tinh.”

“About the proposal to publish the book… I have finished thinking about it.”

On the other end of the line, a voice of joy could not be hidden.

"That's great! So the name of the book... have you thought about it yet?"

I looked out at the clear blue sky outside, the corners of my lips curled up into a relieved, serene smile.

“The name is… ‘My strange husband.’”

After "My Stranger Husband" was released for half a year, the book entered its eighth edition, a number that both I and the publisher did not expect. Sales aren't just climbing reached the top of the best-selling charts, but also attracted the attention of many film companies and began negotiations for adaptation. I, from an ordinary office worker, have completely become a bestselling author. Today was my first reader signing, held at the largest bookstore in the city center, where, according to the editor-in-chief, the line outside circled the entire shopping center twice. I sat in the back dressing room, looking at the woman in the mirror, with delicate makeup, calm eyes, to the point where I could hardly recognize myself from the past. The person who used to huddle in the cramped room of the Chu family, skinny, tired, living like a shadow. Time is truly a cruel but fair editing knife. As for money and confidence... it's what makes people change more radically than anything. The staff knocked on the door and softly announced that it was time. I took a deep breath, stood up, and walked out. As soon as I appeared in front of the autograph table, the whole space erupted with applause and cheers, and flashes of light suddenly made me squint my eyes for a moment. The first person in line was a young girl, about twenty years old, with trembling hands, she handed the book to me.

"Miss Hua Tinh... I just broke up with my boyfriend a few days ago, who manipulated my psychology for a long time..."

Her eyes were red, her voice choked, as if she had just gone through a battle of her own.

“After reading your book, I understand…”

“You shouldn't lower yourself because of someone who doesn't deserve it.”

“Thank you… for giving me the courage to leave.”

I looked at her, feeling both bitter and tender in my heart. I picked up the pen and wrote a sentence on the first page of the book very slowly.

“I wish you always have the courage to leave, and the courage to start again.”

I gave her the book and gave her a gentle hug, as if conveying a bit of wordless strength. The autograph session went smoothly, most of the readers were young girls, bringing with them their own stories and unhealed wounds. Some people are suffering from betrayal in their marriage, some people are trapped in toxic families, they come to find me... like looking for a small ray of light in the darkness. I listened, signed, took photos, and was patient with each person, as if I was giving back to the world a part of the meaning I had received. But when the autograph session was almost over, a sudden noise broke the warm atmosphere.

“Don't let anyone be fooled by this cruel woman!”

"What he wrote is all fake! He is stepping on the corpses of our Chu family to make money!"

I raised my head and looked towards the source of the sound. A middle-aged man was being stopped by security. His face was so familiar that it made me laugh.