The moment I saw my niece lying behind the emergency room glass, I finally understood something.
For two years, I had been fighting for a place in Luc Hoai Chau’s heart.
But perhaps…
I had never truly been there.
The emergency room doors opened.
A doctor walked out quickly.
“Family member of Du Du?”
My sister immediately stood up.
“Doctor, I’m her mother.”
The doctor looked at the medical records.
“The child needs further examinations. Her condition is unstable.”
My sister’s face turned pale.
“What should we do?”
The doctor sighed.
“We need a pediatric neurologist to evaluate her immediately.”
Those words made my heart tighten.
Pediatric neurologist.
The first person that appeared in my mind was Luc Hoai Chau.
The man I loved.
The man who spent every day saving other people’s children.
The man who had just refused to help mine.
I picked up my phone.
I stared at his name for a long time.
My finger hovered over the call button.
A part of me still hoped.
Maybe he misunderstood.
Maybe he was just tired.
Maybe if he knew how serious it was…
He would come.
Because that was the Luc Hoai Chau I believed in.
The man who once stayed awake all night taking care of me when I had a fever.
The man who carried me home when my shoes hurt.
The man who told me:
“Ha Ninh, if you need me, I will always be there.”
I pressed call.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
He answered.
“What’s wrong?”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“Hoai Chau…”
I tried to keep my voice steady.
“Du Du is in the emergency room.”
Silence.
Then:
“Didn’t I tell you?”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Tell me what?”
“I have surgery tomorrow.”
I closed my eyes.
“She might need you.”
“Ha Ninh.”
His voice became slightly impatient.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“My patients also have families waiting for them.”
I looked through the glass.
At my niece.
At my sister crying beside me.
Then I whispered:
“And what about my family?”
There was a long silence.
Then he answered:
“Your sister has doctors there.”
The call ended.
I stood motionless.
The phone slowly lowered from my ear.
My sister looked at me.
She didn’t ask.
She already knew.
Because sometimes the saddest answers are the ones people don’t need to hear.
At midnight, Du Du’s examination results came out.
The situation was worse than expected.
The doctor recommended an immediate specialist consultation.
My sister held my hand.
“Ha Ninh…”
Her voice broke.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“If it wasn’t because of Du Du…”
I shook my head.
“Don’t say that.”
This was not my niece’s fault.
Not my sister’s fault.
Not anyone’s fault.
Except…
I stopped.
Because blaming him suddenly felt meaningless.
A person who doesn’t choose you…
cannot be forced to choose you.
At four in the morning, I received a message.
From Luc Hoai Chau.
Only four words:
“Don’t disturb my sleep.”
I stared at it.
Then I laughed.
Quietly.
Because I finally understood.
The woman who had spent two years trying to understand him…
had never asked the simplest question.
Did he try to understand me?
The next morning, the hospital corridor was crowded.
Doctors walked quickly.
Families waited anxiously.
And then I saw him.
Luc Hoai Chau.
Wearing his lucky vest.
The same one I was supposed to take to the dry cleaner.
He looked exactly like the doctor everyone admired.
Calm.
Professional.
Confident.
Beside him was a woman.
And a little girl.
The little girl held his hand.
“Uncle Hoai Chau, will mommy’s daughter be okay?”
His expression softened immediately.
“Don’t worry. I will make sure she gets the best treatment.”
I froze.
Because I recognized that child.
It was the daughter of his first love.
The same girl I saw yesterday in his office.
The reason he had arranged the best hospital bed.
The reason he had moved other patients’ surgeries.
He passed by me.
He didn’t see me.
Or maybe…
he saw me and chose not to stop.
I followed him with my eyes.
He entered the operating room.
The door closed.
On the other side of that door was the man I loved.
Saving someone else’s family.
While mine waited outside.
Two hours later.
The operation ended.
The nurse came out smiling.
“Successful.”
Everyone around him relaxed.
The little girl jumped happily.
“Uncle Hoai Chau is the best!”
I stood there silently.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from my sister.
“Ha Ninh, Du Du suddenly got worse.”
My smile disappeared.
I ran.
When I reached the emergency room, the doctor was looking at the monitor.
“She needs surgery.”
My heart sank.
“Can you do it?”
The doctor hesitated.
“We need the specialist.”
“Who?”
He looked at the file.
Then answered:
“Dr. Luc Hoai Chau.”
I froze.
Ten minutes later.
The nurse called him.
I stood outside.
Waiting.
Not because I believed he would come.
But because some part of me still wanted to know.
If he had to choose.
Between the daughter of the woman he once loved…
and the child of the woman who loved him.
Who would he choose?
The phone rang.
The nurse answered.
Then her expression changed.
She looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
My heart sank.
“What did he say?”
She hesitated.
Then:
“Dr. Luc said…”
A pause.
“His schedule is full today.”
The hallway became silent.
And at that moment…
I made a decision.
A decision I should have made two years ago.
I took out my phone.
Opened my contacts.
There was one number I had never called.
A name I had avoided mentioning in front of Luc Hoai Chau.
Because he hated this person.
Because he always said:
“Don’t rely on him.”
I pressed call.
The other side answered almost immediately.
“Ha Ninh?”
I closed my eyes.
“Brother.”
A pause.
“I need your help.”
The man’s voice instantly became serious.
“What happened?”
I looked through the glass at my niece.
Then said:
“Find me the best pediatric neurologist in the country.”
Silence.
Then he asked:
“And Luc Hoai Chau?”
I looked toward the operating room where he was saving someone else.
My voice became calm.
“From today…”
“I don’t need him anymore.”
But I didn’t know…
that the moment I made that call,
someone in the hospital had already recognized my name.
And within an hour…
the entire medical department would know one shocking truth:
The woman Luc Hoai Chau ignored…
was the person who could decide his entire career.
TO BE CONTINUED…
