The villa was silent.
Too silent.
Chau Duat An stood at the entrance, still holding the bouquet of pink champagne roses.
For several seconds, he didn’t move.
He waited for the familiar voice.
“Tong Tu?”
Nothing.
He waited for footsteps.
Nothing.
The maid lowered her head, unable to look directly at him.
“Sir…”
Chau Duat An’s fingers tightened around the flowers.
“Where did she go?”
Aunt Vuong hesitated.
“Madam said… she was tired of waiting.”
Those words made his expression change.
Tired?
Tong Tu?
The woman who had waited for him through countless business trips.
The woman who stayed awake until midnight just to prepare soup.
The woman who gave birth to his daughter while he was sitting beside another woman in Paris.
She was tired?
Impossible.
“She left when?”
“Thirteen days ago.”
Chau Duat An froze.
Thirteen days.
Almost the entire time he was in Paris.
The same thirteen days he thought she was quietly accepting everything like always.
He slowly looked around the living room.
Everything seemed familiar.
The sofa.
The decorations.
The family photos.
But something was wrong.
There was no trace of her.
No small blanket on the couch.
No baby toys scattered around.
No sound of her humming while taking care of their daughter.
The house that once felt ordinary suddenly became terrifyingly empty.
“Where is my daughter?”
Aunt Vuong’s eyes turned red.
“Madam took the young lady with her.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
That answer made his heart sink.
For the first time in years…
Chau Duat An felt panic.
Real panic.
He rushed upstairs.
The bedroom door opened.
Everything was exactly the same.
Except she was gone.
The wardrobe that used to be filled with Tong Tu’s clothes was almost empty.
The cosmetics she carefully arranged every morning had disappeared.
The jewelry he bought her remained untouched inside the safe.
She didn’t take anything valuable.
Only the things that belonged to herself.
Chau Duat An walked toward the bedside table.
There was a document.
A pen.
And his name.
His breathing stopped.
Divorce agreement.
He stared at those two words for a long time.
Then he laughed.
A low laugh filled with disbelief.
“Tong Tu…”
“You really did this?”
He picked up the document.
Her signature was already there.
Calm.
Clean.
Without hesitation.
The woman who once cried because he missed their anniversary had signed divorce papers without waiting for him.
That night, Chau Duat An did something he had never done before.
He searched through his phone.
Not for business.
Not for his assistant.
For Tong Tu.
The chat history stretched back years.
Thousands of messages.
Most of them were from her.
“Have you eaten?”
“Don’t forget your medicine.”
“It’s raining today. Bring an umbrella.”
“Your daughter said her first word today.”
“I made your favorite dish.”
He scrolled slowly.
Then he stopped.
A message from thirteen days ago.
The last message she sent.
“Du An, I’m tired.”
Only four words.
No complaints.
No accusations.
No anger.
Just tired.
He stared at the screen.
And suddenly remembered.
He never replied.
Because at that moment, he was at a restaurant in Paris with To Van.
She had smiled and told him:
“Your wife must understand. After all, she is the person who loves you most.”
He believed it.
He believed Tong Tu would always understand.
Because she always had.
The next morning, Chau Duat An went to find her.
He searched every place she might go.
Her old apartment.
Her parents’ house.
The hospital where she gave birth.
Nothing.
It was as if Tong Tu and his daughter had disappeared from his world.
Then his assistant finally found something.
“Mr. Chau…”
“What?”
“Madam bought a new house thirteen days ago.”
His heart tightened.
“Address.”
The assistant hesitated.
“Do you really want to go?”
Chau Duat An looked up.
“Give me the address.”
When he arrived, he stood outside the door for several minutes.
He didn’t know why.
Maybe because he suddenly felt afraid.
Afraid of seeing her.
Afraid of seeing that she had really moved on.
The door opened.
Tong Tu stood there.
She was wearing simple clothes.
Her hair was tied loosely.
No expensive jewelry.
No carefully prepared appearance.
But somehow…
She looked more alive than she had in years.
Behind her, their daughter was sleeping peacefully.
Chau Duat An stared.
For a moment, he forgot everything he wanted to say.
Then he whispered:
“Why?”
Tong Tu looked at him calmly.
“Why what?”
“Why did you leave without telling me?”
She smiled faintly.
“I told you.”
His expression changed.
“When?”
“That night.”
She looked directly at him.
“I told you I was tired.”
Silence.
He didn’t know how to answer.
Because he suddenly realized something terrifying.
Tong Tu had not left because of one argument.
She had left after years of being disappointed.
“Come home.”
The words escaped his mouth.
Tong Tu looked at him.
“No.”
His face changed.
“No?”
“No.”
“You’re my wife.”
She shook her head.
“Was.”
That one word hurt more than he expected.
“Tong Tu…”
She interrupted him.
“Chau Duat An, do you know the saddest thing?”
He looked at her.
“I didn’t leave because you loved someone else.”
A pause.
“I left because while you were loving someone else, you forgot that I existed.”
His expression turned pale.
At that moment, his phone rang.
The screen showed one name.
To Van.
Tong Tu glanced at it.
Then smiled.
A peaceful smile.
“Answer it.”
He immediately rejected the call.
“No.”
But Tong Tu only stepped back.
“See?”
She looked at him.
“Even now, you still think the problem is the phone call.”
He froze.
“The problem was never her.”
Her voice became softer.
“The problem was that for half a month in Paris, you remembered everything except your wife and daughter.”
The door slowly closed.
Before it shut completely, Chau Duat An heard her final words:
“I waited for you for years.”
“Don’t ask me to wait one more day.”
The door closed.
And for the first time in his life…
Chau Duat An was the person left outside.
