Luc Chinh stopped in the middle of the company lobby.

For a few seconds, he thought he had heard wrong.

“Niem Chi Vi?”

The assistant nodded.

“Yes, Mr. Luc.”

“The customer specifically requested to terminate cooperation.”

Luc Chinh frowned.

“That’s impossible.”

Niem Chi Vi had been one of the most stable partners of his company.

Their products had entered thousands of stores through that brand.

The cooperation contract alone was worth hundreds of millions of yuan every year.

How could they suddenly terminate it?

“Who contacted them?”

The assistant hesitated.

“The headquarters.”

Luc Chinh’s expression changed.

“Headquarters?”

“Yes.”

“The notice came directly from the founder’s office.”

Founder.

That word made his heart suddenly tighten.

But the thought disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Impossible.

To Niem was just a bakery owner.

A woman who spent every day covered in flour.

A woman who earned six thousand yuan a month.

How could she have anything to do with a nationwide chain?

He forced himself to calm down.

“Contact them immediately.”

“Yes, Mr. Luc.”

The assistant left.

But less than an hour later, another message arrived.

Another partner requested to suspend cooperation.

Then another.

Then another.

Luc Chinh sat in his office, looking at the notifications on his computer.

His face slowly became serious.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

At noon, the company held an emergency meeting.

The executives sat around the table.

Everyone looked nervous.

The financial director opened the documents.

“Mr. Luc, the situation is complicated.”

“Several major partners have received instructions from Niem Chi Vi headquarters.”

Luc Chinh clenched his fingers.

“Who gave the instructions?”

The financial director looked at him.

“The founder.”

Silence.

A few seconds later, Luc Chinh laughed.

A short, disbelieving laugh.

“You’re telling me the founder personally intervened because of a contract dispute?”

Nobody answered.

Because everyone noticed something.

The founder’s name on the documents.

The signature.

The company records.

Everything.

The name was not unfamiliar.

It was the same woman who had lived beside him for five years.

To Niem.

That night, Luc Chinh returned home earlier than usual.

The house was still empty.

Too empty.

Before, when he opened the door, there was always the smell of freshly baked bread.

Sometimes she would come out from the kitchen wearing that old apron covered with flour.

Sometimes she would complain:

“You’re back late again.”

He used to think those words were annoying.

Now he realized they were the sound of someone waiting for him.

He walked to the shoe cabinet.

He didn’t know why.

Maybe instinct.

Maybe because something inside him was already telling him the truth.

His hand touched the drawer.

The drawer he had never opened.

Inside was a letter.

His name was written on it.

Luc Chinh.

His heartbeat suddenly became faster.

He opened it.

The letter was short.

Very short.

But every sentence felt heavier than the last.

He read the first line.

“I paid the 800,000 yuan debt from your failed startup in 2019.”

His fingers froze.

Second line.

“I paid your mother’s hospital bill of 400,000 yuan in 2021.”

His breathing became uneven.

Third line.

“The bonuses you received every year were actually transferred by me through your boss.”

His eyes widened.

Then the final sentence.

“The founder of the nationwide chain of 1,200 Niem Chi Vi stores is me.”

The room became silent.

Luc Chinh stared at the paper.

Again.

And again.

As if reading it more times could make the truth disappear.

But it couldn’t.

The woman he looked down on.

The woman he thought was beneath him.

The woman he believed only earned six thousand yuan a month.

Had been the reason his life was so comfortable.

The house.

The opportunities.

The company’s growth.

Everything.

He suddenly remembered the night he signed the divorce papers.

He remembered asking:

“Aren’t you going to fight?”

At that time, he thought she had nothing to lose.

Now he understood.

She simply had nothing left to say.

Because she had already given him everything.

And she had finally stopped.

The next morning, Luc Chinh drove to the bakery.

Not the luxurious restaurants he usually visited.

Not the business district.

The small alley.

The fifteen-square-meter shop.

He stood outside for a long time.

Through the glass window, he saw To Niem.

She was wearing a clean apron.

Her hair was tied back.

She was smiling while talking to customers.

She looked completely different.

No sadness.

No exhaustion.

No trace of the woman who once waited for him at home.

She looked free.

Luc Chinh walked inside.

The bell above the door rang.

To Niem looked up.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then she calmly said:

“Welcome.”

Just one word.

Not “Chinh.”

Not “husband.”

Not even his name.

Welcome.

Like he was just another customer.

That hurt more than anger.

“I read the letter.”

To Niem continued arranging bread.

“Okay.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her hands stopped.

Then she looked at him.

“Tell you what?”

“That you owned everything.”

She smiled slightly.

“Would it have changed anything?”

Luc Chinh opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

Because he knew.

If he had known, would he have loved her more?

Or would he have simply valued what she could provide?

He didn’t know.

And that uncertainty hurt.

“I thought you were just…”

He stopped.

Because he couldn’t finish that sentence.

Just what?

Just ordinary?

Just not good enough?

Just a woman who didn’t deserve to stand beside him?

To Niem looked at him calmly.

“You thought I was not worthy of you.”

His face turned pale.

She continued:

“But Luc Chinh.”

“I never needed to prove I was worthy.”

A pause.

“You were the one who needed to prove you deserved me.”

Those words left him speechless.

For five years, he measured her value by her income.

Her clothes.

Her job.

Her social position.

But he forgot the most important thing.

The person who stood beside him when he had nothing.

Was worth more than everyone who appeared after he succeeded.

Luc Chinh lowered his head.

“Can we start again?”

To Niem looked at him.

The old answer would have been yes.

The old her would have forgiven him.

But that woman no longer existed.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

His eyes became red.

“And you?”

She smiled.

“I already did.”

Outside the bakery, the morning sun fell across the street.

Luc Chinh walked away alone.

For the first time, he understood.

The divorce was not when he lost his wife.

It was when he finally discovered who his wife really was.

And by then…

She was no longer waiting to be chosen.

She had already chosen herself.