“I’m not coming back.”
The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“Then where are we going, Miss Hua?”
I looked out the window.
The city lights passed by one after another.
For three years, every road I traveled seemed to lead back to Luc Canh Xuyen.
The restaurant where we had our first date.
The street where he held my hand for the first time.
The house where I spent countless nights waiting for him to return.
But tonight…
I suddenly realized that none of those places belonged to me anymore.
“Go to the airport.”
The driver was stunned.
“The airport?”
“Yes.”
I lowered my eyes.
“I have a flight tonight.”
Three years ago.
When Luc Canh Xuyen was injured during a mission, everyone thought he would not survive.
The fire spread quickly.
Everyone ran out.
But I turned back.
I still remembered the heat burning my skin.
The smoke making it impossible to breathe.
I only remembered one thought.
I couldn’t let him die.
I carried him out.
The doctors said I was lucky.
The burns on my back would leave scars forever.
At that time, Luc Canh Xuyen held my hand beside the hospital bed.
His eyes were red.
“Hua Duong.”
“If you hadn’t come back for me, I wouldn’t be alive.”
“I owe you my whole life.”
I smiled weakly.
“I don’t want you to owe me anything.”
“I just want you to love me.”
He hugged me tightly.
“I will.”
“I swear.”
Those words became the reason I waited for three years.
The reason I prepared the perfect wedding.
The reason I ignored every time he was too busy.
Every time he forgot an anniversary.
Every time Lam Vi’s name appeared between us.
Because I believed.
The man who almost died in my arms would never be the person who hurt me.
But tonight…
I finally understood.
A person could owe you their life.
And still not choose you.
At eleven o’clock that night, Luc Canh Xuyen finally left the private room.
His friends had already gone.
The hotel corridor was quiet.
He walked toward the wedding hall.
The place where he and I were supposed to get married in three days.
He imagined seeing my angry face.
He imagined me crying.
He imagined himself apologizing.
Because in his mind…
No matter how much he hurt me, I would always forgive him.
Just like before.
But when he opened the door…
There was nobody.
The decorations were still there.
The flowers.
The lights.
The wedding photos.
Everything was prepared exactly as I had planned.
Except the bride was gone.
Luc Canh Xuyen frowned.
He called my number.
No answer.
Again.
Still no answer.
After the fifth call, his expression finally changed.
He sent a message.
“Hua Duong, where are you?”
“Don’t make trouble.”
“Come back. We can talk.”
I looked at the message while sitting in the airport lounge.
Then I deleted it.
The next morning.
Luc Canh Xuyen arrived at the hotel early.
He wanted to ask the manager why I had disappeared.
But before he could speak, Manager Phuong walked toward him with a file.
“Mr. Luc.”
“You need to see this.”
He frowned.
“What is it?”
“The cancellation confirmation.”
He opened it.
His face slowly changed.
“This signature…”
Manager Phuong lowered her voice.
“Miss Hua never signed it.”
Silence.
Luc Canh Xuyen stared at the document.
“But the assistant said she agreed.”
“The assistant provided an electronic confirmation.”
“She claimed it was approved by Miss Hua.”
Manager Phuong hesitated.
“But the authorization code belongs to your company.”
The room became completely quiet.
Luc Canh Xuyen understood.
Someone had used his authority.
Someone had forged my approval.
And the person who benefited from it…
Was Lam Vi.
At that moment, his phone rang.
It was Lam Vi.
He answered immediately.
“Canh Xuyen.”
Her voice sounded sweet.
“Did Hua Duong cause trouble?”
His expression darkened.
“What did you say?”
Lam Vi quickly explained.
“I just heard that she left.”
“I thought she was angry because of the hall.”
“She has always been sensitive.”
Sensitive.
That word suddenly sounded strange.
Because for three years…
Every time I was hurt, everyone called me sensitive.
Every time I asked for respect, they called me difficult.
Every time I stayed silent, they called me understanding.
Luc Canh Xuyen held the phone tightly.
“Did you know she never agreed?”
There was a pause.
Only a second.
But enough.
His eyes became colder.
“Lam Vi.”
“Tell me the truth.”
The other side remained silent.
And that silence was the answer.
Three days later.
The wedding day arrived.
The guests filled the hotel.
Everyone waited for Hua Duong.
But the bride never appeared.
Luc Canh Xuyen stood in front of hundreds of people.
For the first time in his life…
He felt fear.
Not the fear of losing a business deal.
Not the fear of failure.
The fear of losing the person who had always been there.
His phone finally received a message.
From an unknown number.
Only one sentence.
“Mr. Luc, congratulations on your wedding.”
“The woman who loved you for three years has already left.”
He immediately called back.
No answer.
Then another message arrived.
Attached was a photo.
A boarding pass.
Destination:
Vienna.
Departure time:
Last night.
Luc Canh Xuyen stared at the screen.
His fingers trembled.
Because he finally understood.
The woman he thought would always wait…
Had stopped waiting.
And the biggest mistake of his life was not giving a wedding hall to another woman.
It was believing that Hua Duong would never leave him.
