The door finally closed.
The sound was not loud.
But to Chu Nghien Bach, it felt heavier than anything he had heard before.
He stood outside the dormitory door for a long time.
The corridor lights were cold.
His hand was still holding the ring.
The same ring he had once carefully chosen.
The same ring he had promised would stay on her finger forever.
But now…
She had returned it.
And for the first time, he realized that Hua Thanh Hoa was not trying to make him chase her.
She was leaving.
Really leaving.
That night, Chu Nghien Bach did not return to the wedding house.
He sat alone in the living room.
The sofa still had the marks from Tong Van sitting there.
The baby crib was still in the corner.
The bottles.
The towels.
The small toys.
Everything looked like a family had already moved in.
Except the person who should have been the owner of this home was gone.
Tong Van came out of the bedroom after putting the baby to sleep.
“Nghien Bach.”
He looked up.
She had changed into comfortable clothes.
The expression on her face was gentle.
“You haven’t eaten yet.”
“I don’t have an appetite.”
Tong Van paused.
Then she sat beside him.
“I’m sorry.”
Chu Nghien Bach looked at her.
“For what?”
“For causing conflict between you and Thanh Hoa.”
Normally, he would immediately say it wasn’t her fault.
Normally, he would comfort her.
But this time…
He didn’t answer.
Because suddenly he remembered something.
Every time Tong Van had a problem, he was always there.
But every time Thanh Hoa had a problem…
He always told her to wait.
To understand.
To compromise.
A strange feeling appeared in his chest.
Not guilt.
Something heavier.
Regret.
The next morning.
Hua Thanh Hoa arrived at the laboratory at seven.
The same hour she used to arrive every day.
The difference was…
This time, she wasn’t rushing home afterward.
She wasn’t thinking about cooking dinner.
She wasn’t checking messages asking when Chu Nghien Bach would return.
She put on her lab coat.
Opened her documents.
And started working.
For the first time in years…
Her mind was completely quiet.
Her colleague noticed immediately.
“Thanh Hoa, you finally moved into the dormitory?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
The colleague smiled.
“That’s good. You used to always leave early because you had to take care of your fiancé.”
She froze slightly.
Then she smiled.
“No more.”
Those two words were simple.
But they represented everything she had finally accepted.
Three days later.
The wedding company contacted Chu Nghien Bach.
“Mr. Chu, the wedding has been officially canceled.”
He stared at the message.
Canceled.
Not delayed.
Not postponed.
Canceled.
He called Hua Thanh Hoa immediately.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Finally, he sent a message.
“Thanh Hoa, we need to talk.”
After ten minutes, a reply arrived.
“About what?”
He looked at the screen.
He didn’t know how to answer.
Before, he always knew what to say.
He knew she would soften.
He knew she would wait.
But now…
He felt like he was speaking to someone he had never truly understood.
“I want to explain.”
Her reply came quickly.
“You explained enough.”
Chu Nghien Bach’s fingers stopped.
“What do you mean?”
“The reason was always the same.”
“She needs help.”
“She is in a difficult situation.”
“I should understand.”
A pause.
“Chu Nghien Bach, I understood for three years.”
“Now I want you to understand something.”
“I am tired.”
He stared at those words for a long time.
That afternoon, Chu Nghien Bach went to the institute.
He wanted to see her.
Not through messages.
Not through calls.
He wanted to talk face to face.
But when he arrived, he saw something unexpected.
Hua Thanh Hoa was standing in front of a group of researchers.
She was explaining a complicated experiment.
Her eyes were bright.
Her voice was confident.
She looked completely different from the woman who always waited quietly for him at home.
A colleague whispered:
“Engineer Hua is finally accepting the overseas research invitation.”
Another person replied:
“She should have gone two years ago.”
Chu Nghien Bach froze.
Overseas research.
Two years ago…
He remembered.
She had once told him about that opportunity.
She was excited.
But later she rejected it.
Because he said:
“I don’t like being alone.”
At that time, he thought it was a small sacrifice.
Now he realized…
It was never small to her.
She had given up pieces of herself one by one.
And he only noticed when there was almost nothing left.
That evening, Chu Nghien Bach returned home.
Tong Van was packing some baby clothes.
She looked at him.
“You look tired.”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he asked:
“When did you know Thanh Hoa would give up her dormitory?”
Tong Van’s hands stopped.
“What?”
“The dormitory.”
“The overseas project.”
“You knew?”
Her expression changed.
“Nghien Bach…”
He looked at her.
For the first time, there was disappointment in his eyes.
Not anger.
Just disappointment.
“You knew how much she sacrificed.”
Tong Van lowered her head.
“I didn’t think it would become like this.”
A cold silence filled the room.
He suddenly understood.
Everyone had always assumed Thanh Hoa would stay.
Because she was the reasonable one.
The patient one.
The person who loved more.
But nobody considered what would happen when that person stopped waiting.
A week later.
Hua Thanh Hoa received an email.
The international research institute had approved her application.
The position she once abandoned was available again.
She looked at the message.
Then she smiled.
Not because she wanted to prove anything.
Not because she wanted Chu Nghien Bach to regret.
But because she finally returned to the path she had left behind.
At that moment, her phone vibrated.
A message from Chu Nghien Bach.
“Thanh Hoa.”
“I know I was wrong.”
“Can we start again?”
She looked at the screen.
Three years ago, those words would have been enough to make her cry.
Now…
She only replied:
“Chu Nghien Bach.”
“The person who stood outside your door three years ago loved you.”
“The person you see now…”
“Only loves herself.”
She put down the phone.
Outside the laboratory window, the lights of the city slowly appeared.
And for the first time…
The future she saw ahead of her did not include him.
It was only hers.
