Chapter 7 — Today, I’m Done Waiting

That word again: "temporarily." Manh Hoa was temporarily taking care of Gia Moc in my place, and Van Xuyen was temporarily refusing to let me pick up my own child. As long as I offered no resistance, this temporary state could easily stretch on indefinitely.

"Change the person who does the school pickups."

"Let's wait until this place is fully cleaned up."

"It has to be changed today."

"Thanh Tue." He looked at me. "Do not take your anger out on the child."

"The one taking his anger out on the child is you."

"I only wanted to see my son."

"Yet you require me to undergo an inspection of my rooms, my health, and my emotional state before you deign to decide whether I am permitted to see him at all."

"I am his father."

"You are not a board of approval granting me permission to see my own child."

Van Xuyen’s expression darkened.

"You just underwent surgery."

"I was merely concerned you lacked the strength to care for him."

"And what about you?"

"When have you ever possessed the strength to care for him?"

He froze.

"When Gia Moc had a high fever, you were helping Nhu move house."

"When Gia Moc had his very first kindergarten performance, you were accompanying Nhu to an art exhibition."

"When Gia Moc was pushed down by another child, you sent your assistant to handle it because Nhu's cat had wandered off."

"And now you stand there telling me I do not have the strength to care for him."

"At the very least, I know he needs warm milk before going to sleep."

"I know he is terrified of thunder."

"I know he breaks out in hives if he eats shrimp."

I stared right into his eyes. "What could you possibly know?" Van Xuyen did not reply. His assistant stood rigidly outside the open door, head bowed, not daring to step inside. After a long moment, he slid a thick folder of documents across the table toward me.

"The Chi Xuan property has always been registered in your name; I will not touch it."

"The two commercial spaces beside it will also be transferred to you."

"I will personally arrange the finest renovation team to clear out the second floor within three days."

"And then?"

"You will move back home."

"We can start over from the beginning."

I let out a harsh, bitter laugh.

"Do you truly believe that purchasing two storefronts entitles you to repurchase a wife?"

"That is not what I meant."

"Then what, precisely, did you mean?"

"I know that the loss of the child was a devastating blow to you."

"And I also know that I have neglected you deeply over the past few years."

"As for Nhu, I will maintain a proper distance from her moving forward."

"Once her psychological state stabilizes, I will ensure she leaves this place entirely."

I looked at him, unblinking.

"Are you attempting to negotiate terms with me right now?"

"You have Nhu leave."

"I return home."

"Tue, is that still not enough for you?"

To think that in his eyes, simply removing a woman who had chronically intruded upon our lives was some profound sacrifice he was bestowing upon this marriage. He actually expected to use this as currency to trade for my forgiveness.

"Van Xuyen."

"The boundaries of a marriage are not gifts for you to distribute at your whim."

"Nor are they bargaining chips to be tossed across a negotiation table."

"Even now, you still genuinely believe that as long as we sweep Nhu off the table, our dinner party can simply resume as if nothing happened."

"It was never just her that was broken."

"It was the entire table itself."

His gaze grew freezing cold.

"Must you always resort to such harsh, unpleasant words?"

"Unpleasant?"

"Are they more unpleasant than the day you brought that longevity lock back home?"

He fell silent. I pushed the documents firmly back across the desk.

"I will not accept the storefronts."

"The renovations are entirely unnecessary."

"The Chi Xuan property has always belonged to me."

"I will restore it myself."

"As for Gia Moc, I will resubmit my pickup authorization forms tomorrow morning."

"You have no legal right to bar me from seeing my child."

Van Xuyen suddenly asked, "Is someone helping you behind the scenes?" I frowned, failing to follow his train of thought. "What are you talking about?"

"The lawyer, the repairs, the school pickups."

"Since when did you start associating with other people?"

I held his gaze.

"In your mind, if a woman seeks a divorce, it can only possibly be because there is another man involved?"

"You were never like this before."

"And how was I before?"

"You never used to walk away from me." The words slipped out before he could catch them.

I was momentarily stunned. He had spoken far too quickly. It was not the cadence of someone reminiscing, but rather the stark recitation of a rule that had been etched in stone long ago.

"And what of it?"