The divorce documents were sitting on my desk.
For three years, that piece of paper represented my greatest fear.
Now it represented my freedom.
I looked at Luc Canh Xuyen’s careless handwriting and suddenly realized something.
I had spent three years trying to make someone love me.
But love was never something that could be begged for.
The next morning, I went to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
The staff member looked through the documents carefully.
“Are you sure about this decision?”
I smiled.
For the first time in a long time, my answer came easily.
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation.
No tears.
No regret.
Just peace.
When I returned home, Luc Canh Xuyen was waiting.
He was standing in the living room.
Still wearing his military uniform.
Still carrying the same cold expression he had worn for years.
But something about him was different.
Tired.
Confused.
“Where did you go?”
I placed my bag on the table.
“To handle something important.”
His eyes fell on the documents in my hand.
Then his expression changed.
“What is that?”
I didn’t hide it.
“The divorce agreement.”
The room became completely silent.
For several seconds, Luc Canh Xuyen simply stared at me.
As if he had heard something impossible.
“You found it?”
“Yes.”
His jaw tightened.
“Tham Du, don’t act impulsively.”
I almost laughed.
Impulsively?
Three years.
Three years of waiting.
Three years of watching another woman receive the care I had begged for.
Three years of convincing myself that one day he would finally see me.
And now he called this impulsive.
“I am not acting impulsively.”
I looked at him calmly.
“I am finally making a decision.”
Something flashed in his eyes.
Anger.
Fear.
Maybe even panic.
“You really want to leave?”
I looked at him.
That question surprised me.
Because for the first time…
He sounded like someone afraid of losing me.
Not someone relieved to be free.
“Luc Canh Xuyen.”
I lowered my voice.
“Did you ever think I would actually leave?”
He didn’t answer.
Because the truth was obvious.
He thought I would always be there.
No matter how many times he chose Lam Thi Am.
No matter how many times he ignored my feelings.
No matter how many times he asked me to understand.
He thought my love had no limit.
But he was wrong.
That night, I packed my things.
Not everything.
Only what belonged to me.
A few clothes.
Some books.
My mother’s jewelry.
And the small silver ring.
I placed the ring carefully inside my bag.
Luc Canh Xuyen noticed.
His eyes followed every movement.
“That ring…”
I stopped.
“What about it?”
His expression became complicated.
“I have never seen you look at something like that before.”
I smiled slightly.
“Because someone gave it to me when I thought I was going to die.”
His face changed.
He knew.
He knew I was talking about the flood.
About the man who saved me.
About the moment when he chose another woman.
“You care about him?”
I looked at him.
For once, I didn’t answer immediately.
Because I realized something.
A few weeks ago, this question would have hurt me.
Now?
It only sounded strange.
“I care about the person who saved my life.”
Luc Canh Xuyen lowered his eyes.
The silence between us became heavier.
Then his phone rang.
Lam Thi Am.
He looked at the screen.
Normally, he would answer immediately.
But this time…
He didn’t.
I noticed.
And so did he.
A few seconds later, he turned off the phone.
“Tham Du.”
His voice was lower.
“Can we talk?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
His eyes lifted.
“Why?”
“Because I spent three years trying to talk.”
I picked up my bag.
“You never listened.”
Then I walked toward the door.
This time, he didn’t stop me.
But when I reached the entrance, he suddenly said:
“Was I really that terrible to you?”
My hand paused on the doorknob.
I didn’t turn around.
“You weren’t cruel every day.”
“That was what made it harder.”
“Sometimes you cared.”
“Sometimes you protected me.”
“But every time I needed you to choose me…”
I closed my eyes.
“You chose someone else.”
I left.
And for the first time in three years…
Luc Canh Xuyen was the one standing alone in that house.
Three days later, I arrived in Hai Thanh.
I thought I had escaped my old life.
I thought the past was finally behind me.
Until a black car stopped in front of me.
The window lowered.
A familiar face appeared.
Bui Tranh.
The man who pulled me from the mud.
The man who carried me through the storm.
The man whose silver ring I still carried.
He looked at me quietly.
Then his eyes moved to my suitcase.
“You really came.”
I didn’t know what to say.
He opened the door.
“Get in.”
I hesitated.
“Mr. Bui…”
He looked at me.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t need Luc Canh Xuyen anymore?”
I froze.
“How do you know?”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Because I have been waiting for you to make that decision.”
My heartbeat changed.
“Why?”
He looked forward.
“Because three years ago, I saw you at the university.”
I was stunned.
“You knew me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you approach me?”
Bui Tranh was silent for a moment.
Then he answered:
“Because back then, your eyes only had one person in them.”
The words hit me.
Because they were true.
I had spent so long looking at Luc Canh Xuyen…
I never noticed anyone else.
Bui Tranh started the car.
But before we left, my phone suddenly rang.
It was an unknown number.
I answered.
A familiar voice came through.
“Tham Du.”
My heart tightened.
Luc Canh Xuyen.
“I need to see you.”
I stayed silent.
Then he said something I never expected.
“Lam Thi Am lied.”
I frowned.
“What?”
His breathing became heavier.
“The flood.”
“The rescue order.”
“The reason I went to save her first…”
A pause.
“Everything was not what I thought.”
I gripped the phone.
Because for three years, I believed Luc Canh Xuyen never chose me.
But now he was telling me something impossible.
“Tham Du…”
His voice cracked slightly.
“I think I lost you because of a lie.”
I looked at Bui Tranh sitting beside me.
Then at the silver ring in my hand.
Because suddenly…
The story I thought had ended.
Was only beginning.
