Giang Du stared at me for several seconds.
The hallway around us was full of people, but suddenly I felt like we were standing in a world completely separated from everyone else.
“On Lan…”
His voice became softer.
“Are you serious?”
I lowered my eyes toward the registration form in my hands.
“Yes.”
He looked at the word written there.
Pregnancy termination consultation.
Then he looked back at me.
“Does Ha Tri Ngon know?”
I smiled.
A smile that had no happiness in it.
“He knows now.”
Giang Du was silent.
Everyone who knew my marriage knew one thing.
I had loved Ha Tri Ngon for years.
I had waited for him.
I had believed that one day, he would finally turn around and see the person standing beside him.
But nobody knew how tired I was.
Nobody knew how many nights I had cried quietly while he looked at photos of Au Thien Thien.
Nobody knew how many times I convinced myself that love required patience.
Until I realized I was the only person still fighting for that marriage.
Giang Du sat beside me.
“On Lan, can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“Do you really want this?”
I looked at him.
The question was simple.
But it hurt.
Because for three days, I had asked myself the same thing.
Did I want to give up my child?
No.
A mother’s instinct had already awakened the moment I saw those two lines on the pregnancy test.
I had imagined holding my baby.
I had imagined telling Ha Tri Ngon.
I had imagined the look on his face.
But that was before I saw him carry another woman into the emergency room.
Before I heard him promise her that nothing would happen to her baby.
Before I realized that even my own child might have to compete for a place in his heart.
“I want my child,” I whispered.
Giang Du looked at me.
“Then why are you here?”
My eyes became red.
“Because I don’t want my child to grow up feeling unwanted.”
He didn’t answer.
Because he understood.
A child deserved more than a father who stayed only because he felt guilty.
At that moment, my phone suddenly turned on.
I had turned it off earlier.
There were dozens of missed calls.
All from Ha Tri Ngon.
Then a message appeared.
“On Lan, where are you?”
Another one arrived seconds later.
“Why didn’t you tell me you went to the hospital?”
Then:
“Please answer me.”
I stared at the screen.
For three years, I had waited for him to care.
Now that I was leaving, he suddenly became afraid.
But I was too tired to be moved by it.
I put the phone away.
Giang Du looked at me.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk to him?”
I shook my head.
“Three years ago, I wanted him to choose me.”
I touched my stomach gently.
“Now I only want to choose myself.”
Before Giang Du could respond, a familiar voice came from behind.
“On Lan.”
My entire body froze.
I turned around.
Ha Tri Ngon was standing there.
His hair was messy.
His eyes were red.
He looked like he had searched everywhere for me.
For the first time in years, he looked afraid of losing me.
But my heart was strangely calm.
“Why are you here?”
He walked toward me.
“Why did you come here alone?”
I didn’t answer.
His eyes moved to the paper in my hand.
Then his face changed.
“Is that…”
I folded the paper.
“Ha Tri Ngon.”
My voice was quiet.
“Don’t make this harder.”
He stared at me.
“Harder?”
His voice shook.
“You’re carrying my child.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Then why are you giving up?”
I almost laughed.
“Giving up?”
My voice became colder.
“You mean the child you didn’t know existed because you were busy protecting another woman?”
His expression changed.
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“Do you know what I felt when I saw you carrying her?”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
“Do you know what I felt when I heard you promise her that her baby would be okay?”
His face turned pale.
“On Lan…”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“For once, let me finish.”
The hallway became silent.
“I spent three years waiting for you to forget her.”
“I waited for you to look at me the way you looked at her.”
“I waited for you to love me without having to beg.”
My voice trembled slightly.
“But today I understood something.”
“What?”
I looked at him.
“Your heart was never empty.”
A tear slipped down my cheek.
“It was just never mine.”
Ha Tri Ngon stepped forward.
“That’s not true.”
“Then tell me.”
I stared at him.
“If Thien Thien and I both needed you at the same time…”
I paused.
“Who would you choose?”
His silence answered before his words could.
And that silence hurt more than anything.
Because I finally had the answer I spent three years avoiding.
Ha Tri Ngon lowered his head.
“I was wrong.”
I looked away.
“I know.”
“I can fix this.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
His eyes widened.
“No?”
“Some things can be repaired.”
I placed my hand over my stomach.
“But some things break because they were never strong enough.”
At that moment, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
It was Au Thien Thien.
He hesitated.
For a second, I thought he would ignore it.
But he didn’t.
He answered.
“Thien Thien?”
His voice immediately softened.
The same voice.
The same tenderness.
The same warmth.
I smiled sadly.
That was enough.
I turned away.
Behind me, I heard him say:
“Don’t worry. I’m coming.”
And that was the moment I knew.
My decision was already made.
I walked toward the doctor’s office.
But before I entered, Giang Du suddenly stopped me.
“On Lan.”
I turned around.
His expression was serious.
“Your examination results came back.”
I frowned.
“What results?”
He looked at the papers in his hand.
Then his expression changed.
“Something is wrong.”
My heart tightened.
“What happened?”
He looked at me carefully.
“The pregnancy isn’t the only thing we need to discuss.”
I froze.
“What do you mean?”
Giang Du lowered his voice.
“The blood test showed something unusual.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He looked toward the hallway where Ha Tri Ngon was still standing.
Then back at me.
“Before you make any decision about this child…”
He handed me the report.
“You need to know the truth about your pregnancy.”
And when I read the first line of the report…
I realized the biggest secret was not about Ha Tri Ngon.
It was about me.
