Shen Zhizhou went silent for two seconds.

Then he asked, “Where are you?”

“Outside Co Thi Group.”

“I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

“No. Just prepare the divorce papers.”

This time, the laziness disappeared from his voice.

“Van Duong, are you sure?”

I looked back at the enormous glass building behind me.

On the twenty-eighth floor was Co Can Nien’s office.

For three years, I had waited for him to come home.

Tonight, I finally understood that I had been waiting for someone who had never considered that house his home.

“I’ve never been more sure.”

I ended the call.

But before I could put my phone away, a black Maybach stopped sharply in front of the building.

The rear door opened.

Co Can Nien stepped out.

He was still wearing yesterday’s white shirt. His tie was missing, and there were faint creases around his collar.

Behind him came a woman.

Secretary Chu.

She wore a beige coat over her office clothes and held his suit jacket carefully over one arm.

The moment she saw me, her steps stopped.

Co Can Nien walked straight toward me.

“Lam Van Duong.”

His voice was colder than the morning air.

I smiled.

“General Manager Co. Good morning.”

His expression darkened.

“What was that message in the company group?”

“You can read. Why ask me?”

“Do you know how many people saw it?”

“More than five hundred.”

I paused.

“Actually, probably more by now. Screenshots travel quickly.”

His jaw tightened.

Secretary Chu hurried forward.

“Mrs. Co, you misunderstood last night. General Manager Co stayed at the company because—”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

Her face immediately turned pale.

Co Can Nien stepped between us.

“Don’t involve her.”

For some reason, those four words made me laugh.

Three years.

Whenever his mother criticized me, he told me to endure it.

Whenever I waited alone on our anniversary, he told me work was important.

Whenever I asked why Secretary Chu could reach him at midnight while his own wife could not, he accused me of being unreasonable.

But now, before I had even said anything harsh, he was already protecting her.

“Relax,” I said. “I have no interest in fighting over you.”

I pointed toward the lobby.

“Your luggage is inside. So are the divorce papers.”

His eyes finally changed.

“Divorce?”

“Yes.”

“You’re making this decision because I didn’t come home one night?”

“Five.”

He froze.

I looked directly into his eyes.

“The first time was our wedding anniversary.”

“The second was my birthday.”

“The third was the night I had a fever and waited until sunrise.”

“The fourth was when your mother told me a wife who couldn’t keep her husband deserved to sleep alone.”

I smiled faintly.

“And last night was the fifth.”

Secretary Chu lowered her eyes.

Co Can Nien said nothing.

I walked past him.

Then his hand suddenly caught my wrist.

“You’re coming home with me.”

I pulled my hand free.

“There is no ‘home with you’ anymore.”

His face became terrifyingly calm.

“Van Duong, stop making a scene.”

That sentence erased the last trace of hesitation inside me.

I turned around.

“Do you know what the funniest thing is?”

He stared at me.

“I haven’t even started making a scene.”

His phone rang.

He ignored it.

It rang again.

Then Secretary Chu’s phone began vibrating.

She glanced at the screen and suddenly looked nervous.

“General Manager Co…”

“What?”

“The board is asking why Mrs. Co sent divorce papers to the company.”

Co Can Nien frowned.

“So?”

Secretary Chu swallowed.

“And Chairman Co is already upstairs.”

At that moment, several senior executives appeared behind the glass doors.

Nobody dared approach us.

But everyone was watching.

I almost laughed.

Co Can Nien lowered his voice.

“Come upstairs. We’ll talk privately.”

“No.”

“Lam Van Duong.”

“I have an appointment with my lawyer.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Shen Zhizhou?”

That surprised me.

“How do you know?”

His expression instantly became colder.

“You called him?”

“Yes.”

“For our divorce?”

“Yes.”

Something strange flashed across his face.

Not anger.

Not exactly jealousy either.

It looked more like disbelief that I had made a decision without asking his permission.

Before he could speak again, my phone rang.

Mom.

I answered.

“Van Duong, your father sent a car. It should arrive soon.”

“I told you I could come back myself.”

“Your father said no.”

Mom paused, then added casually:

“He also said the Co family has enjoyed enough benefits from our family during these three years. Since the marriage is ending, everything should be settled clearly.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

Co Can Nien was standing close enough to hear every word.

His expression changed.

I had never told him.

Not once.

Three years ago, when Co Thi Group was trapped in its worst financial crisis, an anonymous investment fund injected enough capital to save several of its most important projects.

Co Can Nien believed he had convinced a mysterious investor with his business ability.

What he never knew was that the fund belonged to my father.

And I had been the one who asked Dad to help him.

I hung up.

For the first time that morning, Co Can Nien looked uncertain.

“What did your mother mean?”

I smiled.

“You’ll understand soon.”

A black Bentley stopped beside us.

The driver stepped out and opened the rear door.

Before getting in, I looked once at Secretary Chu.

Then at my husband.

“General Manager Co, you wanted freedom.”

I nodded toward the building.

“Now you have it.”

I got into the car.

Just as the door was about to close, Co Can Nien’s phone rang again.

This time, he answered.

I couldn’t hear everything.

Only the panicked voice coming from the other side.

“General Manager Co! Something happened!”

His face suddenly stiffened.

“What happened?”

The voice became louder.

“The investment fund that financed our three biggest projects just sent an official notice.”

I watched his fingers tighten around the phone.

“They’re withdrawing.”

Silence.

Then came the sentence that finally wiped every trace of arrogance from his face.

“And their representative said the person who authorized the withdrawal…”

A pause.

“…is Mrs. Co.”

Co Can Nien slowly raised his head.

Our eyes met through the open car door.

For the first time in three years, my husband looked at me as if he had never known who I was.

And then Secretary Chu whispered behind him:

“General Manager Co… there’s something else you need to know about your wife.”

I stopped the driver from closing the door.

Because the terror on Secretary Chu’s face told me one thing.

Whatever she was about to reveal…

I didn’t know it either.
:::