Chapter 2 — Unanswered Messages

Lam Ha looked at me, curled her lips and smiled meaningfully:

“Because my boyfriend came right away and saved me out.”

The atmosphere was silent for a moment. The policeman's eyes looking at me suddenly became a little more pitying. The wind in the lobby was very cold. Lam Ha took off her coat and covered me, busy running back and forth to fill out the signature form for me. A policewoman passing by gave me a glass of warm water and exclaimed:

“Your friend treats you really well.”

I held a glass of warm water and looked at Lam Ha through the dim steam. Remember when I had a high fever in college, she also ran around and stayed up two nights in a row to take care of me. During the most difficult times, after I paid my tuition and had no money left for food, she always gave half of her food to me. We swore to be each other's support for the rest of our lives. But why is it like this now? Lam Ha finished the procedure and turned around, naturally smoothing the jacket that was sliding down my shoulders. I stared at her, my voice hoarse:

“Why do you do that?”

Lam Ha's movements stopped, his eyes revealed a trace of hatred that could not be made into steel:

"Nhiem Nhiem, you love him too much, to the point of losing yourself."

“I told you a long time ago, a man like Luc Tram Chau has a deep heart and is surrounded by many people, a good girl like you is basically uncontrollable.”

"I'm your friend, how can I watch you jump into the fire pit? I just wanted to test him for you, who would have thought he couldn't stand the temptation."

Lam Ha always said that Luc Tram Chau's peach blossom eyes were not at peace and that she was absolutely not a good person. Luc Tram Chau also always said that Lam Ha didn't have good intentions, telling me not to listen to her too much. Every time those two met, they fought fiercely, raising their bows and swords. It was me, pulling Luc Tram Chau to follow Lam Ha's preferences, then turning to beg Lam Ha to accept her lover. I was stuck in the middle of them, trying to reconcile like an idiot. Lam Ha clearly remembered, laughing until his whole body shook:

“The day you introduced us to each other, I rubbed my toes against him under the table, unexpectedly, he immediately reacted.”

"That night he took you home, turned around and went straight to my apartment. Nhiem Nhiem, you never told me your fiance's skills were so good."

That day, it was my birthday. My stomach churned again. Lam Ha looked at my pale face and slowly continued:

"Also, every time he texts you slowly and replies, it's when he's having sex with me."

“If you blame your fiance for being so persistent, otherwise, you would have received a reply message sooner.”

“Stop talking!”

I covered my ears tightly, my whole body trembling. No wonder, at some point, Luc Tram Chau's attitude towards Lam Ha changed from "That girl of yours is really annoying", to "Why didn't Lam Ha come today?". No wonder, his body sometimes smells of the same perfume as Lam Ha's. Memories rushed back like a tsunami, every trace mocking my stupid blindness. At that moment, Luc Tram Chau called. Lam Ha leaned close to my ear and smiled softly:

“Do you believe it, even if you tell him now that you were raped, if I just send a text message, he will not hesitate to hang up and come find me right away?”

Silence For a moment, I carried the last ray of hope and spoke:

“Luc Tram Chau, I was raped—”

At the same time, Lam Ha opened the chat box and sent Luc Tram Chau a single dot. Ting. The notification sound rang out clearly on the phone. The next second, the call was disconnected without hesitation. The cold thud tut sound was like a knife, piercing my heart in an instant. Right after that, Lam Ha's phone rang.