He loves her deeply, it's undeniable. She weeps as a sudden chill wind turns her tears into icy droplets, making her realize she still has tears left to shed.
He is a good man in every sense. When he loves, everyone tells her how lucky she is to love such a good person. Tall, handsome, emotionally intelligent, and ambitious. They fell in love when they both had nothing. Every time they are together, he often holds her close and points to the distant tall buildings, saying, "Right now, I can't give you that, but rest assured, I promise you, when we marry, you'll be the mistress of one of those houses."
He promises, and he strives to keep his promise.
They move in together into a cramped apartment. Though life may be tough, it's filled with joy; he always sacrifices and loves her. And she loves that small happiness.
They both work diligently and save money, preparing for their future life. Two years of hard work in Saigon, both of them have stable jobs. She diligently puts away the money they save into the bank. She believes that with diligence, soon enough, they'll have a home of their own.
She's pregnant, seven weeks according to the ultrasound. It's beyond her expectations. They haven't told anyone, but they both understand it's not the right time to have a child, so they are cautious whenever they are together. She worries a lot, several times intending to talk to him, but she's afraid, uncertain of how things will turn out given their current situation. The economy is still unstable, the cost of getting married, not to mention taking care of a child. She rummages through the savings book in the drawer, it should be here...
"Darling, where's our savings book?" she asks.
"What are you looking for?"
"Just checking. Where is it?"
She sees the concern in his eyes. He hesitates for a moment then says, "Well, my parents are in the countryside, struggling with hard labor. I'm their only son..."
"So you send money to your parents?"
...
She doesn't know what to say to make him understand. Suddenly, she feels a lump in her throat.
"You send a lot, don't you?"
"Emily is preparing to buy land, my parents..."
She's taken aback, "Emily? How much has he taken from you? Are your parents worried about him? What about us? What about me? Since I started working, I could only send a little to my parents, and it pains me. But I thought we had to strive for our own future... And you sent all the savings..."
"But he's about to get married..."
"And what about marrying me?"
"Of course, I'll marry you, but he's in a tougher situation... I can try harder..."
She cries, feeling resentful and worried.
"Do you not love me anymore? I haven't been wasting time; I've been exhausting myself for this. Why didn't you discuss it with me... and instead..."
"I'm sorry..."
"Talk to your parents; even if it's hard, I won't agree..."
He knows saying anything at this moment is futile, he was wrong, and she's angry. He changes his clothes lazily and leaves in the night.
She feels everything collapsing in an instant. What will happen to her and him? What about her child? She knows his nature, he's kind, concerned about everything. But this is too much. Isn't he afraid she'll find out? Or is he hiding it because he's afraid she won't agree?
The next evening, he comes back early, prepared dinner waiting for her.
Perhaps, when pregnant, people become irritable. Seeing the dinner, her anger surges, choked with worry, injustice, and an uncertain future.
She doesn't know what she said, only knows after a moment of silence, he bursts out, "Why are you always about money? Is money that important to you? I never thought you'd value it so much. You're not the person I thought you were."
"How am I? Where are you going?"
"Go make money."
He says that and leaves. She sits, crying bitterly, then also leaves into the night...
Saigon at night is beautiful, but to her, it's too dazzling. At midnight, the streets are still crowded, but lovers are enjoying sweetness amidst the urban luxury. She laughs, she used to be like that too.
"My, is that you?"
Hearing the call, she instinctively turns.
"Oh, Tom..."
Tom is her first love. They loved each other since university, but she couldn't accept Tom's philandering nature, so she broke up with him. She told Tom:
"Perhaps ending it early could leave us with beautiful memories. We'll always be good friends, Tom..."
Despite Tom's pleas, she wiped her tears and left him.
It's been three years since she last saw Tom. After the breakup, Tom went to study in Australia; she occasionally messaged to ask about him, but Tom often replied curtly or not at all.
"Meeting you here is unexpected. Where are you going?"
"Oh, you just got back? Sorry, I wiped away my tears earlier..."
"You don't know, huh? It's been three months... How are you? Anything going on with you and Kevin?"
...
"You're still the same, always keeping things to yourself. That's what I hate most about you. Come on, I'll take you somewhere... It's still early, why hesitate? It's not easy to suddenly bump into each other after three years. Now we're friends, right? If you don't care about me, care about our friendship... Just want to show you this... Yeah, at 10, I'll take you back..."
She hesitates, then gets on Tom's motorcycle. They go to Train station Tunnel. She knows this place very well; it's where Tom often took her in the past. Yes, but what are memories, let them remain memories.
At this moment, it's crowded here, and she's reminded of her student days. Carefree, never worried about anything, and suddenly remembers the time with Tom. She shakes her head, trying to drive away those memories, to bury those beautiful memories deep in her heart. Now she belongs to him...
Tom drops her there and goes somewhere for a while. When he returns, his face is covered in sweat, carrying a package.
"See anything familiar here?"
She chuckles, then helps him arrange. He bought many things, some snacks, and two bottles of wine.
"Why did you buy wine? Let's hang out for a while and then go home..."
"I know you're feeling down, so when you're sad, this is the best..."
She doesn't know how much she's drunk. She just knows her head is pounding. In her head, images of him, of her child, of her family, appear one after another. How will life be? Where is he now? She apologizes, begging him to come back to her, and they both try as they did before, can they? Now she and he have a child; they have a family...
She hugs him, then falls asleep, knowing that with him, she can overcome everything.
She wakes up in a hotel the next morning. It's not him beside her
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