“Oh, are you packing your things to prepare for death?”

The voice behind me was soft.

But every word carried poison.

I slowly turned around.

Diep Van Tinh stood at the bedroom door.

She was wearing an elegant dress, her hair perfectly arranged, and her face still carried that fragile expression that everyone seemed to love.

The same expression that had made everyone believe she was the victim.

I looked at her calmly.

“Who allowed you to enter my house?”

She smiled.

“Your house?”

She slowly walked inside.

“Vi Lan, you really still don’t understand, do you?”

“This place belonged to Canh Sam long before you arrived.”

My hand stopped on the suitcase.

For five years, I had treated this villa as my home.

I had chosen every piece of furniture.

I had planted every flower in the garden.

I had waited for him here every night.

But now, another woman stood in front of me and told me I had only been a temporary guest.

“How interesting.”

I closed the suitcase.

“Five years ago, when you left, did you also tell him that?”

Diep Van Tinh’s expression changed slightly.

Only for a second.

Then she smiled again.

“I didn’t leave because I wanted to.”

“You know my situation.”

“I had no choice.”

I looked at her.

“No choice?”

“You left.”

“I stayed.”

“You disappeared.”

“I spent five years building a life with him.”

She approached slowly.

“But you also know the truth.”

“His heart was never completely yours.”

Silence.

Because that sentence was cruel.

And because part of me had always feared it was true.

Diep Van Tinh touched the wedding photo on the shelf.

In the picture, Pho Canh Sam was smiling.

His arm was around me.

Back then, I believed that smile belonged only to me.

“He loved me first.”

She whispered.

“And first love is something nobody can replace.”

I looked at her hand touching the photo.

Then I walked over and removed it.

“Then take it.”

She looked surprised.

“What?”

“The memory you want.”

I placed the photo in front of her.

“Take everything related to your first love.”

“My marriage certificate is already meaningless.”

“My husband already belongs to you.”

“But don’t touch my dignity.”

Her smile disappeared.

For the first time, she looked at me seriously.

“You really don’t plan to fight?”

I looked at my suitcase.

“No.”

“Because I finally understand something.”

“What?”

“I was fighting for a man who had already surrendered me.”

The room became silent.

At that moment, Pho Canh Sam entered.

His face immediately changed when he saw Diep Van Tinh standing there.

“Van Tinh, why are you here?”

She immediately lowered her eyes.

“I just came to see Vi Lan.”

“I didn’t expect her to misunderstand.”

I almost laughed.

Even now.

Even here.

She still knew exactly how to speak.

Canh Sam looked at me.

His eyes fell on the suitcase.

“What are you doing?”

I answered calmly.

“Leaving.”

His expression froze.

“You want to leave?”

“Yes.”

He frowned.

“Did someone say something to you?”

I looked at him.

“Canh Sam.”

“Do you really think the only reason I would leave is because another woman hurt me?”

He was silent.

Because he knew.

The reason was him.

Not her.

“I gave you five years.”

“My youth.”

“My love.”

“My trust.”

“And you used all of it to prepare a place for someone else.”

His face became complicated.

“Vi Lan…”

“No.”

I interrupted.

“Don’t call my name like that.”

“Not after you erased our marriage without even letting me know.”

His fingers tightened.

“I will compensate you.”

There it was again.

Money.

The same thing he used when he thought feelings could be solved.

I smiled.

“I don’t want compensation.”

“Then what do you want?”

I looked at him.

“I want the truth.”

He froze.

“Did you ever love me?”

The question stayed between us.

For a long time.

Finally, his lips moved.

But no answer came.

That silence was enough.

I nodded.

“Understood.”

I picked up my suitcase.

As I passed him, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“Vi Lan.”

His voice was lower than before.

“Don’t leave.”

I looked at his hand.

Then at his face.

Five years ago, this hand held mine when he promised forever.

Now it was trying to stop me only after losing me.

“Why?”

His eyes changed.

“Because…”

He stopped.

Because he couldn’t say it.

Because he didn’t know whether he was afraid of losing me.

Or afraid of losing the person who had always loved him.

I gently removed his hand.

“Canh Sam.”

“Take care of her.”

“After all, you waited five years for this day.”

Then I walked away.

Behind me, nobody spoke.

Nobody stopped me.

The moment I stepped outside the villa, I placed one hand over my stomach.

The baby was still there.

The only person in this world who had never betrayed me.

I closed my eyes.

“I’m sorry, little one.”

“But from now on, I will protect you.”

That night, I stayed at a hotel.

The next morning, I went to the lawyer.

“I want a divorce.”

The lawyer looked surprised.

“Mrs. Pho, are you sure?”

I nodded.

“Completely.”

“And about the child?”

I touched the ultrasound photo inside my bag.

“My child will have my surname.”

The lawyer was silent.

Then he asked:

“Do you want to inform Mr. Pho?”

I looked out the window.

“No.”

“Not yet.”

Because for five years, he chose another woman without thinking about my feelings.

This time…

I wanted him to experience what it felt like to lose something without warning.

Three days later, Pho Canh Sam received the divorce notice.

And at the same time…

He received another document.

The paternity confirmation request.

His hands trembled as he read the first line.

Pregnancy confirmation.

Twelve weeks.

His eyes stopped completely.

Then he remembered the hospital.

The paper I had hidden behind my back.

The day he pushed me aside to protect Diep Van Tinh.

The moment he never turned around.

For the first time…

Pho Canh Sam realized something terrifying.

The woman he abandoned…

Was carrying his child.

And the child he almost lost…

Was the only person who could prove that their five-year marriage had ever been real.