“Do you think he might suddenly come back?” Khau Daibang stared into the night, anxiety written all over his face.
“Look at you, shaking like a leaf. Weren’t you the fearless devil back then? Now you’re scared for real? So tell me, what do we do?”
“How about... we just take care of it?” In the dark, Khau Daibang wrapped his arms around Dien Ngac Nhu’s alluring figure, whispering with a trembling voice.
“You think you can?” Dien Ngac Nhu snapped around, eyes sharp as a wolf in the night.
For years, she'd longed for a child. But now that she was actually pregnant, the sky felt like it was crashing down on her. The worst part? The baby wasn’t her husband’s. She remembered clearly—Hoac Lu Mau had fumbled all night like a confused chicken and didn’t get anything done. This baby couldn’t stay. It had to go. Yet, deep down, she still wished Khau Daibang would say those seven magic words: "I’ll divorce my wife and marry you." Even if it was a lie, she craved it like a dying man craves water.
But this coward... he only wanted to walk away clean.
“How could you even think of doing that? Or how about you go get a divorce, I’ll get a divorce too, and we’ll get married!” she declared, eyes burning with defiance.
“Dien Ngac Nhu, don’t say crazy stuff. That’s never gonna happen. If I do that, my life’s over! I’m the township chief now! If I leave my wife and marry you, I’ll be stuck in this backwater town until I die of old age!”
“You won’t do it? Then get lost!”
Dien Ngac Nhu shoved Khau Daibang away, kicking him to the floor.
Khau Daibang knew he’d screwed up. He didn’t dare say a word. Picking up his coat, he quietly slipped out the door. He understood — there was no future between them now.
“What do I do… what do I do…”
Dien Ngac Nhu no longer cared about how Khau Daibang had thrown her away. What mattered most now was the baby growing inside her. She’d once dreamed of motherhood. But now that the dream was real, she didn’t have the guts to keep it.
A few days later, Hoac Lu Mau and Dinh Truong Sinh came back from Lo Gia Linh village, empty-handed. But at least, while they were gone, things stayed quiet. Meanwhile, Dinh Truong Sinh snuck over to Tran Tieu Tu’s place a few times, helping Duong Kim Thoa regain a little hope. She started calming down and cooperating with the plan.
“Alright, boys, you keep eating. I’m heading back to the station,” Hoac Lu Mau said, pushing back his chair and turning to Dinh Truong Sinh. “Look, kid, we can’t keep camping out at her place like this. Let’s take turns. I’ll do days, you take nights. We’ve only got a dozen days left till the election anyway. We’ll deal with whatever comes after that.”
“Fine by me. But I’m sleeping all day then!”
“Sleep all you want, as long as you don’t mess up.”
With that, Hoac Lu Mau left.
Dinh Truong Sinh kept his head down, shoveling porridge like his life depended on it. He didn’t want to linger around Dien Ngac Nhu any longer than necessary. Something about that woman screamed danger.
Watching Hoac Lu Mau’s back disappear, Dien Ngac Nhu let out a soft laugh, then turned to Dinh Truong Sinh.
“Hey kid, when you’re done eating, sit tight. I have something to ask you.”
“W-what is it?”
Dinh Truong Sinh jumped, thinking: Great. It’s happening. I’m doomed.
Dien Ngac Nhu didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up her bowl and slowly climbed the stairs. From the rooftop, she watched a van zoom down the dusty road toward Lo Gia Linh village.
She exhaled softly, a sly smile playing on her lips.
Back downstairs, she ate quietly, eyes occasionally drifting to Dinh Truong Sinh, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. Her heart twisted. Is this what I’ve come to? Manipulating a clueless kid just to get out of this mess?
But truth be told, this kid seemed even less reliable than Khau Daibang. Still, she had no choice left.
After breakfast, she walked into the master bedroom without saying a word. A moment later, her voice rang out:
“Dinh Truong Sinh, quick! There’s a rat in here!”
Without hesitation, Dinh Truong Sinh bolted into the room. But there was no rat. And no sign of Dien Ngac Nhu either.
Then—click—he heard the door shut behind him. He turned around and froze.
Dien Ngac Nhu was completely naked.
“Uh—I didn’t see anything! Really!” he yelped, spinning around like a malfunctioning robot.
He made a break for the door, only to be blocked by her outstretched arms. Her bare skin shimmered in the light. Aside from peeking at the village chief’s wife from a bush once, this was the first time he’d seen a real woman up close.
“Help me…”
Only three words, but they hit him like a punch to the gut. She hugged him tightly — no woman had ever held him like that before.
“Miss Dien, please don’t… If the chief finds out, I’m a dead man!”
“If you don’t do what I say, I’ll scream. And when he comes back, he’ll kill you anyway.”
“W-what do you want? I swear I won’t tell anyone about you and Khau Daibang! I promise! Just let me go!”
“Don’t mention that bastard! Tell me… do you want me?”
Her face was level with his, eyes locked on his.
“M-Miss Dien… what are you trying to do…? I-I’m a coward, please don’t scare me!”
Dinh Truong Sinh continued playing dumb.
But soon, he found himself gently guided toward the bed. Dien Ngac Nhu, strangely calm, led him like a big sister teaching her little brother how to swim.
When he finally entered her, her body tensed. “It’s… too much…” she gasped, a wave of pain—and strange release—washing over her. She cried.
Not just from the pleasure.
She cried because of what she had just done.
She had betrayed herself. And the child growing inside her.
Not long after, Dinh Truong Sinh scrambled to put his clothes back on and ran. Dien Ngac Nhu lay still, staring at the ceiling, replaying everything.
Only when she saw the bloodstain on the sheets did she pull the blanket over her head and break down.
That was her baby.
The baby was gone.
That day, Dien Ngac Nhu didn’t show up at work. Her face was pale, body weak, eyes blank as she stared at the wall—lost in a place no one could reach.