Three days after leaving Ta Hoai Can’s villa, An Nhuoc Ninh disappeared from everyone’s sight.
No phone calls.
No messages.
No explanations.
The woman who had once been known in every circle around Ta Hoai Can suddenly became a name nobody could mention.
At first, Ta Hoai Can didn’t care.
He believed it was just another way for her to attract his attention.
After all, for so many years, whenever he was angry, An Nhuoc Ninh would always be the first to soften.
She would wait outside his office.
She would prepare his favorite meals.
She would apologize even when she had done nothing wrong.
So when she left without taking anything, he only thought she was acting.
“She will come back.”
That was what he told Hua Tu Dao.
Hua Tu Dao smiled softly.
“Of course she will.”
“People like her are used to relying on you.”
Ta Hoai Can didn’t answer.
But for some reason, those words made him uncomfortable.
Because he suddenly remembered the scene from that day.
An Nhuoc Ninh standing in front of him.
Calm.
Quiet.
No tears.
No begging.
She had looked at him as if she had finally stopped seeing him as someone she needed.
And that feeling bothered him.
A week later, Ta Hoai Can returned to the villa.
The first thing he noticed was the silence.
There was no warm light from the living room.
No smell of food.
No familiar voice asking if he had eaten.
The house was exactly the same.
But somehow…
It no longer felt like home.
The housekeeper stood at the entrance.
“Mr. Ta.”
“Where is she?”
The housekeeper lowered her head.
“Miss An left.”
“I know.”
His voice became colder.
“I asked where she went.”
The housekeeper hesitated.
Then she answered:
“She didn’t tell anyone.”
Ta Hoai Can frowned.
For the first time, he realized something.
An Nhuoc Ninh had not left to make him chase her.
She had truly left.
That night, he walked into the bedroom alone.
The wardrobe was almost empty.
The jewelry boxes were untouched.
The expensive dresses he had bought remained exactly where they were.
Only one thing was missing.
The old white shirt.
And the jeans.
The clothes she had worn before meeting him.
Ta Hoai Can stood there for a long time.
He suddenly remembered the first time he saw her.
A young woman standing in front of him.
Poor.
Lost.
But with eyes that were brighter than anyone around him.
At that time, Hua Tu Dao had already left his life.
Everyone thought he would never smile again.
Then An Nhuoc Ninh appeared.
She wasn’t elegant.
She wasn’t from a powerful family.
She didn’t know how to please people.
But she was the only person who looked at him without fear.
For years, he had convinced himself that he only kept her because he felt responsible.
Because she needed him.
Because she reminded him of someone else.
But now that she was gone…
Why was the house so empty?
Why did he keep remembering her voice?
Why did he suddenly hate seeing the dining table with only one set of dishes?
Two weeks later, Ta Hoai Can finally found her.
Not because she contacted him.
Because he accidentally saw her name in a business report.
An Nhuo Ninh.
The founder of a new design company.
A company that had risen rapidly in the past month.
He stared at the screen.
Impossible.
The woman who had spent years following him…
had built her own company?
He immediately went to the address.
The building was not luxurious like his headquarters.
But it was full of people.
People who respected her.
People who called her “President An.”
When he entered, everyone became quiet.
Then a young assistant walked over.
“May I ask who you are looking for?”
Before he answered, a familiar voice came from behind.
“Looking for me?”
Ta Hoai Can turned around.
An Nhuoc Ninh stood there.
No expensive dress.
No jewelry.
No traces of the woman who used to live in his shadow.
She wore a simple suit.
Her hair was tied neatly.
Her eyes were calm.
But that calmness hurt him more than anger.
“An Nhuoc Ninh.”
“Mr. Ta.”
The way she called him made him stop.
Before, she always called him affectionately.
Now she sounded like a stranger.
“I didn’t know you would come here.”
“I came to talk.”
“About what?”
He was silent.
Because suddenly he didn’t know what to say.
Should he apologize?
Should he explain?
Should he tell her Hua Tu Dao was not what she thought?
But all those words sounded meaningless.
Because the biggest mistake was not Hua Tu Dao.
It was him.
He was the one who allowed An Nhuoc Ninh to believe she was only a substitute.
“I thought you would come back.”
An Nhuoc Ninh smiled slightly.
“I know.”
That answer surprised him.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
She looked at him.
“Because I finally understood something.”
“What?”
“I spent years waiting for you to choose me.”
Her voice was very soft.
“But I never asked myself why I needed someone else to choose me.”
Ta Hoai Can’s hand slowly tightened.
For the first time, he felt afraid.
Not afraid of losing control.
Not afraid of losing money.
But afraid that the woman in front of him had truly moved on.
At that moment, his phone rang.
It was Hua Tu Dao.
He looked at the screen.
Then at An Nhuoc Ninh.
And for the first time in many years…
He hesitated.
An Nhuoc Ninh noticed.
She smiled.
“Go answer it.”
“She is the person you waited for.”
Ta Hoai Can looked at her.
“No.”
The word came out immediately.
An Nhuoc Ninh froze slightly.
But before she could respond, Hua Tu Dao’s voice came from the phone.
“Hoai Can, where are you?”
“I need you.”
Ta Hoai Can closed his eyes.
Then he said something that surprised even himself.
“Tu Dao.”
“We need to talk.”
An Nhuoc Ninh watched him quietly.
She didn’t know what conversation would happen next.
She didn’t know if he would finally understand.
But she knew one thing.
The old An Nhuoc Ninh was gone.
The woman who waited.
The woman who begged.
The woman who accepted being second.
Had disappeared the day she walked out of that villa.
And if Ta Hoai Can wanted to find her again…
He would have to meet a completely different woman.
