Three years ago, Luc Tram thought losing me was only temporary.

He believed that after leaving the country, after facing difficulties alone, I would eventually return to the person who had rejected me countless times.

He was wrong.

Because the woman who left three years ago was still waiting for his answer.

But the woman who came back was someone completely different.

I opened my eyes when the car stopped in front of the hotel.

Ha Mien looked at me carefully.

“You really don’t plan to see him?”

I picked up my bag.

“See who?”

She sighed.

“Luc Tram.”

I smiled slightly.

“Ha Mien, do you know what the most painful thing about loving someone for eight years is?”

She stopped joking.

“What?”

“You don’t lose him when he rejects you.”

“You lose him when you finally realize he never needed to choose you.”

She looked at me silently.

Because she knew.

She had watched me through those years.

She knew how many times I waited for him.

How many times I created excuses just to be near him.

Birthday gifts.

Messages.

Small surprises.

Every time, Luc Tram accepted my kindness but never accepted me.

“After his wedding with your sister, I thought you would never come back.”

Ha Mien whispered.

I looked outside the window.

“My father is waiting for me.”

That was the only reason I returned.

Not him.

Never him.

The next morning, we went to the cemetery.

The wind was cold.

I stood in front of my father’s grave for a long time.

Three years ago, when I left this city, I had nothing.

Everyone thought I ran away because Luc Tram married my sister.

But nobody knew the truth.

I didn’t leave because I lost love.

I left because I finally understood that my life could not revolve around someone who never turned around.

My father was the only person who supported me.

Before I left, he held my hand and said:

“Chieu, don’t spend your whole life proving your worth to someone who refuses to see it.”

At that time, I cried.

Now I finally understood.

After the funeral arrangements were completed, I returned to the hotel.

But before I could enter the elevator, someone called my name.

“Tong Chieu.”

My footsteps stopped.

I didn’t need to turn around.

I already knew that voice.

Luc Tram.

After three years, he finally stood behind me.

The same person I had waited for.

The same person who once told me there was no possibility between us.

I slowly turned around.

He looked different.

Not the confident man from my memories.

Not the man standing beside my sister at the wedding.

He looked tired.

Like someone who had spent three years fighting against something he couldn’t win.

“You’re back.”

His voice was low.

I nodded.

“Yes.”

There were countless things he wanted to say.

I could see it.

But when someone has hurt you deeply, you no longer need explanations.

“You didn’t tell me.”

I looked at him.

“Why should I?”

His expression froze.

Because once upon a time, I would have happily told him everything.

Where I was.

What I was doing.

How I was feeling.

But that person no longer existed.

“Chieu…”

He took a step closer.

“I looked for you.”

I smiled.

“After how many years?”

His face changed.

“That’s not fair.”

I looked directly at him.

“No.”

“It’s actually very fair.”

“You had eight years.”

“Eight years of me standing in front of you.”

“Eight years of me telling you how I felt.”

“And you told me there was no possibility.”

The elevator doors opened.

People walked past us.

But Luc Tram didn’t move.

Because for the first time, he was hearing the pain I had carried silently.

“I was wrong.”

Those three words surprised me.

Because Luc Tram was never someone who admitted mistakes easily.

I looked at him calmly.

“Maybe.”

His eyes darkened.

“Maybe?”

“Yes.”

“Because being wrong once is an accident.”

“But making someone wait eight years is a choice.”

He couldn’t answer.

Then my phone rang.

It was my assistant.

“Dr. Tong, the investors from Zurich have arrived. They are waiting for you.”

Luc Tram heard it.

Dr. Tong.

Investors.

Zurich.

He looked at me with disbelief.

“You’re a doctor now?”

I nodded.

“And the company?”

I looked at him.

“What company?”

“The one you built.”

I smiled slightly.

“You know about that?”

His silence answered me.

Of course he knew.

He had been watching.

Maybe for years.

But watching was not the same as choosing.

A car stopped outside the hotel.

My assistant opened the door.

Before leaving, I looked back at him.

Three years ago, I wanted nothing more than for Luc Tram to chase after me.

Now that he was finally standing there…

I felt nothing.

“Luc Tram.”

He raised his head.

“Yes?”

“Your timing has always been bad.”

His expression changed.

“Back then, you arrived too late.”

I paused.

“And now…”

I stepped into the car.

“You came after I stopped waiting.”

The car drove away.

Behind me, Luc Tram stood frozen.

For eight years, he believed I was the person who would always remain.

The person who would always come back.

But he forgot one thing.

Even the most patient person has a limit.

And now he was about to discover the truth.

The woman he rejected eight years ago…

was no longer the woman who needed him.

And the reason he had been searching for me all this time…

was something he would never be able to undo.

Read the entire Part 3 below.