Giang Niem looked at Hac Dien Chau for a long time.

Then she slowly shook her head.

“No.”

Just one word.

No anger.

No tears.

No accusations.

But somehow, that answer made his heart sink.

Because he suddenly realized something terrifying.

The woman in front of him was no longer fighting for him.

Before, whenever he hurt her, she would cry.

She would ask him why.

She would cling to him and hope he would finally understand.

But now…

She simply accepted everything.

And that acceptance felt more painful than any argument.

Hac Dien Chau tightened his grip on her hand.

“Nien Niem…”

She gently pulled her hand away.

“Captain Hac, you should rest. You have been busy.”

His eyebrows frowned.

The way she called him was strange.

Not “Dien Chau.”

Not the nickname she had used since childhood.

Captain Hac.

A title.

A distance.

A wall.

“I am your husband.”

He said it almost instinctively.

Giang Niem looked at him.

“Yes.”

“Then why are you talking to me like I’m a stranger?”

For a moment, she was silent.

Then she smiled faintly.

“Because I finally learned my position.”

His expression changed.

“What does that mean?”

“It means I understand.”

She looked down at the blanket.

“You are a soldier. Protecting others is your responsibility.”

Her voice remained calm.

“And I am your wife. Forgiving you is apparently my responsibility.”

Hac Dien Chau froze.

He wanted to explain.

He wanted to tell her that things were not like that.

But when he opened his mouth, he realized he had no words.

Because every explanation sounded like another excuse.

The next morning, the doctor came to check on Giang Niem.

After finishing the examination, the doctor looked at Hac Dien Chau seriously.

“Her injuries are severe. She needs a long recovery period.”

Hac Dien Chau nodded immediately.

“I understand.”

The doctor hesitated.

“There is something else.”

Giang Niem looked toward the window.

She already knew.

The doctor continued softly.

“Due to the previous injury and complications, she may not be able to perform professionally again for some time.”

Hac Dien Chau’s face changed.

Giang Niem had spent her entire life dancing.

The stage was not just a career.

It was her dream.

Her identity.

The thing that kept her alive during those six months of suffering.

But she only replied:

“I understand.”

Again.

That sentence.

It made Hac Dien Chau feel powerless.

After the doctor left, he walked toward her.

“Nien Niem, don’t worry. I will find the best specialists.”

She nodded.

“Thank you.”

Another unfamiliar response.

Thank you.

Between husband and wife, she was thanking him.

Hac Dien Chau felt a sharp pain in his chest.

That night, he stayed beside her hospital bed.

For the first time in years, he watched his wife sleep.

And for the first time, he noticed how thin she had become.

How tired her face looked.

How many tears she must have hidden when he was not there.

He suddenly remembered the girl who used to wait for him outside training grounds.

The girl who would bring him warm food in winter.

The girl who once said:

“Dien Chau, no matter how hard life becomes, I will always stand beside you.”

He remembered.

But the woman beside him now was no longer standing beside him.

She had already stepped away.

The next day, Giang Van Ninh came to the hospital.

She carried flowers and wore a worried expression.

“Sister-in-law, I heard you were injured. I came to apologize.”

Giang Niem looked at her.

The old Giang Niem would have questioned her.

She would have searched her face for guilt.

But now she only said:

“Thank you.”

Giang Van Ninh was stunned.

She clearly expected anger.

She expected confrontation.

Instead, she received nothing.

That made her uncomfortable.

“Actually, that day was just an accident.”

Giang Niem looked at the flowers.

“Okay.”

“Captain Hac was also very worried about you.”

“Okay.”

Every answer was calm.

Every answer was impossible to attack.

Giang Van Ninh’s fingers tightened.

“You really don’t blame me?”

Giang Niem finally looked at her.

“I used to blame you.”

Van Ninh froze.

“But now I don’t.”

“Why?”

Giang Niem smiled.

“Because I realized the person who chose to hurt me was never the only problem.”

Her words made Van Ninh’s face pale.

Before she could respond, Hac Dien Chau entered.

He saw the two women sitting quietly.

For some reason, he felt uneasy.

“Van Ninh, why are you here?”

“She came to apologize.”

Hac Dien Chau looked at Giang Niem.

“Nien Niem, Van Ninh didn’t mean—”

“I know.”

Again.

That word.

I know.

His expression became complicated.

He suddenly understood.

She no longer wanted his explanations.

That night, after returning home, Giang Niem placed a document on the table.

Hac Dien Chau looked down.

His expression changed.

“Divorce agreement?”

“Yes.”

The room became completely silent.

He stared at her.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“After everything we have been through?”

Giang Niem looked at him quietly.

“Exactly because of everything we have been through.”

His breathing became heavier.

“Nien Niem, we have been together since childhood.”

“I know.”

“You said you would never leave me.”

“I did.”

She nodded.

“But I also said I would stand beside someone who stood beside me.”

Her voice trembled slightly for the first time.

“You left me too many times, Dien Chau.”

He wanted to deny it.

But every memory came back.

Every phone call from Van Ninh.

Every anniversary missed.

Every moment Giang Niem needed him and he was somewhere else.

“I can change.”

Those words came out desperately.

Giang Niem looked at him.

“The person who loves someone will change before losing them.”

She paused.

“But you only want to change after losing me.”

Hac Dien Chau stood there.

The strongest man everyone admired.

The man who feared nothing.

But at that moment, he looked helpless.

“When are you leaving?”

“At the end of the month.”

“Where?”

“Overseas tour.”

His eyes widened.

“For how long?”

“Two or three years.”

Two or three years.

The same amount of time he had spent making her feel alone.

He suddenly realized something.

Giang Niem was not leaving to punish him.

She was leaving because she had finally chosen herself.

The next morning, Hac Dien Chau went to the opera troupe.

He wanted to stop her.

He wanted to ask her to stay.

But when he arrived, he saw her on stage.

Dancing.

Her movements were still beautiful.

Still graceful.

But there was something different.

The woman dancing there was no longer waiting for anyone’s applause.

She was dancing for herself.

And standing outside the theater, Hac Dien Chau finally understood.

He had spent years protecting everyone around him.

But he had failed to protect the one person who loved him the most.

And now…

The woman he thought would always wait for him

was preparing to leave forever.