Tong Chi Hoa looked at me for several seconds.

Perhaps she thought she had heard wrong.

“What did you say?”

I repeated calmly:

“I plan to divorce Canh Chau.”

The living room suddenly became silent.

Even Tham Y Y, who had been holding the teacup with a gentle smile, slowly lowered her hand.

My mother-in-law stared at me as if she was seeing a stranger.

“Divorce?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

I nodded.

“I know.”

She laughed lightly.

A laugh full of disbelief.

“Wen Shining, after three years in this family, you finally learned how to make jokes?”

I didn’t respond.

Because I knew.

The woman standing in front of me still believed that I was the same person who had endured everything silently.

The same daughter-in-law who would lower her head.

The same woman who would smile and say:

“It doesn’t matter.”

But that woman no longer existed.

“You married into the Ha family,” she said coldly. “Do you think marriage is something you can throw away whenever you feel unhappy?”

I looked at her.

“Then what is marriage, Mom?”

She frowned.

“It is responsibility.”

I smiled.

“Exactly.”

“It is responsibility.”

“And for three years, I was the only one carrying it.”

Her expression changed slightly.

Tham Y Y quietly interrupted.

“Sister-in-law, maybe you misunderstood something.”

I turned to her.

She looked sincere.

Almost kind.

“Canh Chau and I are only old friends. You don’t need to leave because of me.”

Those words sounded gentle.

But somehow they hurt more than an insult.

Because she didn’t need to fight.

She already knew she had won.

I zipped my suitcase completely.

“I am not leaving because of you.”

“Then why?”

I looked toward the staircase.

Toward the bedroom where I had spent three years waiting for someone who never truly came home.

“Because I finally realized I was alone in this marriage.”

Nobody answered.

My mother-in-law’s face became colder.

“Canh Chau will not agree.”

I smiled.

“He doesn’t have to agree to understand.”

“You think he will let you leave?”

I picked up my suitcase.

“Three years ago, I waited for him to choose me.”

“Today, I choose myself.”

At that moment, the front door opened.

A familiar voice came from behind.

“What are you talking about?”

Ha Canh Chau walked in.

His eyes immediately landed on my suitcase.

Then on my face.

For the first time in years, I saw panic appear in his expression.

“Shining.”

I looked at him.

“You’re back.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

I answered exactly like I had answered him countless times.

“Nothing happened.”

But this time, he knew those words were different.

He walked closer.

“Why are you packing?”

I handed him the divorce agreement.

His fingers stopped.

“What is this?”

“Something you will need to sign.”

The document fell silent between us.

Ha Canh Chau looked at the first page.

Then the second.

His face gradually changed.

“You want a divorce?”

“Yes.”

He stared at me.

As if he was waiting for me to cry.

To accuse him.

To ask him why.

But I didn’t.

That seemed to make him more uncomfortable than anger.

“Because of Y Y?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

I looked at him for a long time.

“Because I spent three years waiting for my husband to notice me.”

His throat moved.

“Shining…”

“I waited when you missed dinner.”

“I waited when you canceled our plans.”

“I waited when every important moment of your life had another person standing beside you.”

My voice remained calm.

“But I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Ha Canh Chau clenched the papers.

“You’re giving up three years of marriage just like that?”

I almost laughed.

“Three years?”

“Yes.”

I looked at him.

“You remembered three years of marriage.”

“Did you remember the five months I was pregnant?”

The room froze.

Ha Canh Chau’s eyes widened.

“What?”

I placed my hand lightly over my stomach.

The movement was small.

But enough.

His face turned pale.

“You’re…”

“Yes.”

“I was pregnant.”

Silence.

A terrible silence.

His lips moved.

But no sound came out.

“My child?”

I looked away.

“I don’t know if I can still call it that.”

His expression collapsed.

“What does that mean?”

“I went to the hospital today.”

The color completely disappeared from his face.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I smiled.

A very tired smile.

“Because when I needed you most, you were busy welcoming someone else home.”

Ha Canh Chau took a step forward.

“Shining, listen to me.”

“No.”

For the first time, I stopped him.

“I listened for three years.”

“I listened when you said you were busy.”

“I listened when you said Y Y was only a friend.”

“I listened when everyone told me to be understanding.”

My eyes met his.

“But nobody ever asked me how long I could endure.”

Ha Canh Chau stood frozen.

The man who could negotiate billion-dollar contracts.

The man who could control an entire company.

At that moment, he had no words.

Then his phone rang.

The screen lit up.

Tham Y Y’s name appeared.

Everyone saw it.

Ha Canh Chau instinctively turned the phone over.

That tiny movement was enough.

I smiled.

“Answer it.”

He looked at me.

“Shining…”

“Why don’t you?”

“Isn’t she important?”

His expression tightened.

“No.”

But that answer came too late.

Because for three years, actions had already answered everything.

I picked up my suitcase.

“Tomorrow morning, my lawyer will send you the final documents.”

“Wen Shining.”

His voice was low.

“Are you really leaving?”

I stopped at the door.

Then I looked back.

“Yes.”

“Because this time, I don’t want to be the woman waiting for you to come home.”

“I want to become the woman who no longer needs you to return.”

I walked out.

Behind me, nobody stopped me.

Not because they didn’t want to.

But because everyone finally understood.

The woman they thought would never leave…

had already left long before she packed her suitcase.

And Ha Canh Chau only realized he had lost her when there was no longer anyone waiting for him.