But at that time, I didn’t know that this new beginning would bring me back in front of the people who once thought I was worthless.
Three months after joining Thinh Hoa Design, my life had completely changed.
I no longer woke up wondering if someone would choose me.
I no longer waited for a message that might never come.
I no longer looked at my phone hoping Chu Han would ask where I was or whether I was okay.
Those things used to hurt.
Now they felt like memories from another person’s life.
My days were filled with drawings, meetings, and endless discussions about design concepts.
I was tired.
But it was a different kind of tired.
A tiredness that came from building something for myself.
Not from trying to prove my worth to someone who never appreciated it.
Trinh Man was strict.
She never praised people easily.
The first week, she criticized almost every detail of my designs.
“The lines are beautiful, but beauty is not enough.”
“A commercial space must understand people.”
“A good designer doesn’t create what they like. They create what others need.”
At first, I thought she was too harsh.
But slowly, I understood.
She wasn’t trying to break me.
She was teaching me how to become stronger.
Under her guidance, I improved quickly.
And then came the biggest opportunity of my career.
The Van Cam Group sales center project.
It was the largest project Thinh Hoa had received that year.
The investor had extremely high standards.
Two design teams had already failed.
One because they couldn’t control the budget.
Another because they couldn’t satisfy the investor’s changing requirements.
When Trinh Man gave me the project file, she looked directly at me.
“Are you sure you want this?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“You know the pressure?”
“Yes.”
“You know the client is difficult?”
“Yes.”
She watched me for several seconds.
Then she smiled slightly.
“Good.”
“This time, don’t design like someone trying to prove herself.”
“Design like someone who already knows her value.”
Those words stayed with me.
Because they were exactly what I needed to hear.
The first presentation day arrived.
I entered the meeting room carrying my documents.
I had prepared for two weeks.
Every material.
Every cost estimate.
Every customer flow analysis.
Everything was perfect.
When the door opened, I walked inside.
And then I saw him.
Chu Han.
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
He was wearing a dark suit.
His hair was carefully styled.
He looked exactly like the man who had stood at the wedding hall and watched me leave.
But something was different.
His confidence was gone.
The moment his eyes landed on me, his expression changed.
“To Van?”
His voice was low.
I placed the documents on the table.
“Director Chu.”
That simple title made his face stiffen.
Because before, I used to call him Chu Han.
I used to smile when I saw him.
I used to believe he was my home.
Now he was just a client.
Nothing more.
The room became quiet.
Someone from Van Cam Group looked between us.
“You two know each other?”
I answered calmly.
“We have met before.”
That was all.
I didn’t explain.
I didn’t need to.
The meeting began.
I connected the presentation.
The first slide appeared.
A modern commercial space concept inspired by local culture.
The second slide showed customer movement analysis.
The third showed financial optimization.
I explained every detail clearly.
No hesitation.
No fear.
When I finished, nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then the chairman of Van Cam Group slowly leaned forward.
“Who designed this concept?”
Before I could answer, Chu Han spoke.
“She did.”
Everyone looked at him.
His voice was quiet.
But there was something complicated in his eyes.
The chairman nodded.
“Very impressive.”
He looked at me.
“Miss To, this is the first proposal this year that actually understands our customers.”
I thanked him.
But inside, I felt something strange.
Not happiness.
Not revenge.
Just peace.
Because the approval I once desperately wanted from Chu Han…
I no longer needed.
After the meeting ended, I packed my documents.
Everyone left.
Only Chu Han remained.
“To Van.”
I stopped.
But I didn’t turn around immediately.
Because I already knew what he wanted.
“I didn’t know you were a designer.”
Finally, I looked at him.
“You never asked.”
His face changed.
A painful silence followed.
“I thought…”
He stopped.
I waited.
But he couldn’t finish.
Because there was nothing he could say that would change the past.
He looked at my face.
His eyes stopped for a moment where the faint mark from his father’s slap had once been.
Even though months had passed, I knew he remembered.
“I heard you left the wedding that day.”
I smiled.
“I did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me where you went?”
I looked at him.
“Would you have looked for me?”
He froze.
The answer was obvious.
Before that day, he had never protected me.
Why would I believe he would suddenly start?
“To Van…”
“No.”
I interrupted softly.
“Don’t say sorry.”
His expression became hurt.
“Why?”
“Because sorry cannot return the woman who stood there.”
“The woman in that wedding dress believed you were her family.”
I paused.
“But you let everyone destroy her.”
Chu Han lowered his head.
For the first time, he had no argument.
No excuse.
No explanation.
Only regret.
“I was wrong.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
That surprised him.
Maybe he expected anger.
Maybe he expected me to deny it.
But I simply accepted the truth.
He was wrong.
And I had already moved on.
Before leaving, he asked:
“Are you happy now?”
I stopped at the door.
Then I answered honestly.
“Yes.”
“Much happier than when I was your wife.”
His face turned pale.
I walked away.
That night, when I returned home, I received an unexpected call.
It was from Trinh Man.
“To Van.”
“Yes?”
“The chairman of Van Cam Group personally requested that you lead the next phase of the project.”
I was surprised.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
She paused.
“Also, there is another company trying to contact you.”
“Which company?”
She gave me the name.
My hand froze.
Because it was one of the largest design groups in the country.
“Why would they contact me?”
Trinh Man laughed.
“Because talented people are difficult to hide.”
I looked out the window.
The city lights reflected against the glass.
A few months ago, I left a wedding hall with nothing.
No marriage.
No career.
No direction.
Everyone thought I had lost everything.
But they were wrong.
I had lost the life I thought I wanted.
And gained the life I was supposed to have.
What I didn’t know was that Chu Han would soon discover something that would completely change his understanding of me.
Because the woman he abandoned at the wedding…
was not the woman who needed him.
She was the woman his entire family would soon need.
read the entire Part 3 below.
