Chapter 1 — Wedding anniversary

At 10 p.m., Luc Hoai Xuyen texted me, saying that his social party had ended and he would go home right away. I took the last apple from the refrigerator and made a bowl of hangover soup. Before getting married, I almost never touched apples because I was allergic, but Luc Hoai Xuyen likes to eat them. After getting married, seeing that he often had to party, I started learning how to make hangover soup from apples and honey for him. Three years have passed like that. When Luc Hoai Xuyen arrived home, he gave me a second diamond ring box, inside was the anniversary gift I had been waiting for for a year. He looked guilty and said to me: "Happy wedding anniversary. Last night the hospital was so busy, two surgeries took 12 hours, I was too tired so I slept in the dormitory. Work is more important." I nodded slightly, smiling gently. I cut the apple that I intended to make into hangover soup into pieces and put it in a bowl, then called the two small cats in the house to eat. Luc Hoai Xuyen looked at the bottom of the empty pot and asked in surprise: "Aren't you going to make hangover soup for me?" I turned around, poured a cup of filtered water, added a little salt and placed it on the table: "I'm out of apples, you can drink this to cure your hangovers. After drinking, wash the cup yourself, I have to go to work." Luc Hoai Xuyen looked at the glass of filtered water, his delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if he didn't understand the change in my attitude. Just like I can't understand why he betrayed our five-year relationship. Yesterday afternoon, my close friend Giang Vi Vi told me that she saw Luc Hoai Xuyen buy a second diamond ring in the city center. At that moment, all I could think about was him wearing a ring for me, because a year ago... I told Luc Hoai Xuyen that I wanted a second anniversary ring on my third wedding anniversary. After work, I went to the bakery to make a fruit cake, in which I deliberately placed his favorite apple. But until 10 p.m., Luc Hoai Xuyen still hadn't come home, just sent a message saying he was busy. I thought he was busy having surgery, so I changed into a small evening dress and waited for him to return. But until late at night, the lights in the living room still did not turn on. I tried to stay awake and scrolled through social media, until I saw a post from Luc Hoai Xuyen's ex-lover, Tham U Ninh. The post read: "In 11th grade, I told the person I loved that 10 years later I wanted a double diamond ring, symbolizing our relationship. He remembered that to this day." The post included two photos. The first picture is Luc Hoai Xuyen putting a ring on her, and the second picture is the two of them embracing and kissing sweetly in a sea of roses. At that moment, I realized that the second ring Luc Hoai Xuyen bought was not for me. The fruit cake was made from animal milk cream. If left for a long time, the cream began to flow drop by drop onto the floor. I glanced and my heart felt a gentle, painful squeeze. I should have thought of this before, our anniversary is also Tham U Ninh's birthday. I returned to the bedroom, turned on the computer and planned to start working. Suddenly, a new email appeared. The email subject is: "The person who is not loved is the third person." The sender is Tham U Ninh. Inside the email were five diary entries, recounting the high school love story of her and Luc Hoai Xuyen, along with many photos that I had never seen, including intimate photos of the two of them. I know Tham U Ninh is deliberately provoking, but somehow... At this moment, I really feel like a thief, secretly looking into the past, the place where happiness belongs to them. Me and Luc

Hoai Xuyen is a college classmate. During my first year military training, I had a heatstroke and fainted. He ran through the crowd, quickly carried me to the school hospital and stayed by my side until I woke up. "Hello, I'm Luc Hoai Xuyen, a medical student." That was the first sentence Luc Hoai Xuyen said to me. After that, we joined the student union executive committee. Because we are in the same department, our relationship is getting better and better. We often go to the library to study together, as well as eat hot pot together at the back gate of the school. At the third-year sports festival, Luc Hoai Xuyen suddenly asked me: "Hua Nhiem, if I win first prize in the 1000 meter running competition, will you agree to be my girlfriend?" At that time, I looked into his bright eyes, smiled and nodded. Two weeks after officially dating, Luc Hoai Xuyen took me to meet some of his close friends. Amidst the laughter, I accidentally heard the name Tham U Ninh and knew that they had dated in high school. I always thought that the name Tham U Ninh was just a thing of the past, but on graduation day, she appeared. She gave Luc Hoai Xuyen a large bouquet of sunflowers, but he did not accept it, and the two quarreled and broke up unhappily. Luc Hoai Xuyen told me that Tham U Ninh was pregnant and her boyfriend didn't want to take responsibility, so she came to him. He firmly promised me that he would never have any relationship with Tham U Ninh again, and that he would only love me for the rest of his life. I trust Luc Hoai Xuyen. During our relationship, he really brought me a lot of security and made me feel his responsibility. And so, after graduating... I gave up the opportunity to study abroad, choosing to stay in the country to pursue what I thought was happiness. But unexpectedly, in the end, Luc Hoai Xuyen did not keep his word. He once promised to give his love only to me, but then still gave it to someone else. Waking up from my endless thoughts, I opened WeChat and contacted my instructor, asking if I still had time to study abroad at this age. The teacher answered very quickly: "Hua Nhiem, you're only 25 years old, of course there's still time. Just start, it's never too late. You're the best student in our class. The design school in Italy that you applied to also said they would be happy if you chose them again." At 10 o'clock, I turned off the computer and went to the living room to drink water. Luc Hoai Xuyen came out of the bathroom, looked up at me: "Nim Nhiem, I'm off for the next few days, let's go make up for the third wedding anniversary. Where do you want to go?" "No need, I have a dinner date with a guest tomorrow, I don't have time, Luc Hoai Xuyen." He froze, seemingly not expecting that I would refuse. I put down the glass of water and prepared to go to the bedroom. He grabbed my hand and picked up the second souvenir ring box from the table: "Okay, when you have time, we'll go. Haven't you wanted this ring for a long time? Let me wear it for you."