Chu Nghien Bach’s message appeared on my phone.
“Why did you like that post?”
I looked at the screen for a few seconds.
Then I put the phone aside.
Three minutes later, another message arrived.
“Are you angry?”
I almost laughed.
Angry?
After three years, this was the first time he asked if I was angry.
I used to wait for that question.
When I was pregnant and sick, I wanted him to ask.
When I gave birth alone, I wanted him to ask.
When his family treated me like someone who only existed to give birth to children, I wanted him to ask.
But now…
I didn’t need it anymore.
I picked up my daughter and gently adjusted her blanket.
My son was building a castle beside me.
A small, ordinary life.
A life that finally belonged to me.
I replied:
“No.”
A few seconds later, he answered immediately.
“Then why did you leave?”
I stared at that sentence.
Why?
Because he never asked me to stay.
Because when he sent a lawyer with ten billion yuan, he didn’t even come himself.
Because even when I walked away with his two children…
He only cared whether the agreement was signed.
I typed slowly:
“You asked me to leave.”
The other side stayed silent.
Then:
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
I looked at those words for a long time.
Not what he meant?
Then what did he mean?
Three days before I left, I had already made my decision.
Not because of the money.
Not because of anger.
But because I finally understood.
Chu Nghien Bach didn’t hate me.
He didn’t dislike me.
That was even worse.
He simply never considered me important enough.
I was the woman who gave him children.
The woman who stayed in the villa.
The woman who took care of everything.
But never the woman he wanted to introduce.
Never the woman he wanted beside him.
So when he offered ten billion…
I accepted.
Because I was tired of waiting for something he would never give.
That night, Chu Nghien Bach did something unexpected.
He called.
I looked at the incoming call.
The name that once made my heart beat faster.
Now it only felt unfamiliar.
I answered.
“Hello.”
There was silence.
Then his voice came.
“Where are you?”
I smiled faintly.
“You know I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because you asked me to disappear.”
His breathing became heavier.
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“No.”
His voice became urgent.
“Khuong Van, listen to me.”
I remained silent.
“The ten billion…”
He stopped.
“What about it?”
“It wasn’t a breakup fee.”
I froze slightly.
But only slightly.
“Then what was it?”
Another silence.
Then he said:
“It was to protect you and the children.”
I lowered my eyes.
Protect us?
After three years?
“Chu Nghien Bach.”
“Yes?”
“If you wanted to protect us…”
I paused.
“Why did you make me feel like I had to leave?”
He didn’t answer.
Because there was no answer.
The next morning, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.
I answered.
A woman’s voice came through.
“Khuong Van.”
I recognized it immediately.
The old lady of the Chu family.
His grandmother.
The woman who once held my newborn son and said:
“He looks exactly like the Chu family.”
Never once saying:
“Thank you.”
Never once saying:
“You suffered.”
“Khuong Van, come back.”
I laughed softly.
“Why?”
Her voice trembled.
“Because Nghien Bach is not doing well.”
I looked at the sea outside the window.
“That has nothing to do with me.”
“Khuong Van…”
For the first time, her voice was no longer arrogant.
It was pleading.
“The company is in trouble.”
I frowned.
“What company trouble has to do with me?”
A long pause.
Then she said:
“The reason he gave you that money…”
“He sold his private shares.”
My hand stopped.
“What?”
“He didn’t want the family to know.”
“He used his own assets.”
My heart tightened.
I didn’t expect that.
The old lady continued:
“He thought after you left, you and the children would have enough money to live safely.”
I lowered my head.
For the first time…
I felt something complicated.
But then I remembered.
The empty room.
The cold hospital bed.
The countless nights when I waited for him.
Money could solve many things.
But not loneliness.
That afternoon, I received another message.
From Chu Nghien Bach.
Only one sentence.
“I never wanted you to leave.”
I stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
“I just didn’t know how to ask you to stay.”
My fingers froze.
Because for three years…
I had been waiting for him to say something.
Anything.
But he always chose silence.
And now, when I finally walked away…
He finally learned to speak.
Before I could reply, my assistant called.
“Khuong Van, something happened.”
“What?”
“There is news about Chu Corporation.”
I turned on the screen.
The headline shocked me.
Chu Group’s heir suddenly transferred all shares under his name. The reason behind it is unknown.
Below was a photo.
Chu Nghien Bach standing alone outside the company.
No assistant.
No bodyguards.
No expression.
Just a man who seemed to have lost something important.
Then another message appeared.
This time from the nanny.
“Miss Khuong…”
“General Manager Chu came back to the villa.”
“He stayed in your old room all night.”
I looked at the sea.
The place where I thought I had finally escaped.
But I didn’t know…
The man who pushed me away for three years…
Was now trying desperately to find the woman he had never truly let go of.
