I missed Tan Duat. Every day, the longing gnawed at me until I could hardly breathe. But now, he was Quach Phuong's husband, the heir of the Tan family, out of my reach.
Tan Duat was no longer the boy he once was, no longer the young man who once loved Nhan Tinh.
One night, I drowned my sorrows in alcohol—completely drunk. I returned to my beautiful apartment, the lights were still off, and the darkness enveloped me as if it wanted to swallow me whole.
At that moment, I had even thought about dying. At least Quach Phuong found her true identity, was reunited with her parents who compensated for everything, and married the man she loved. As for me, I didn't even know who I was. I didn't know where my parents were, whether they were alive or dead. It was a question with no one to answer. In truth, I didn't want to find them either. People who could heartlessly abandon their newborn daughter in an orphanage, what right did they have for me to seek them out and call them mom and dad?
I hated them, and I hated Quach Phuong too.
Even the love that originally belonged to me was stolen by her. How could I not hate her? God had truly favored her too much.
In a daze, I slid down the door and collapsed, hugging myself. Then I turned on my phone, scrolling through the contact list filled with countless acquaintances. In the end, there wasn't a single close friend I could confide in, until my finger hovered over a familiar name.
My heart skipped a beat.
I didn't know anymore. I didn't know what I should do now. I didn't know how I should contact him.
As an ex-lover? Or an old friend?
My rational mind seemed to have lost to a heart enchanted by alcohol. I called Tan Duat.
After just three rings, Tan Duat picked up the phone.
"Nhan Tinh, is that you?"
Hearing that familiar voice, my tears suddenly fell uncontrollably. I sobbed: "Tan Duat, I'm so tired."
"What's wrong? Is life over there not good? Is someone bullying you? Tell me."
I never expected that after nearly three years without contact, Tan Duat's attitude towards me remained unchanged. Had he felt nothing for Quach Phuong?
I didn't answer Tan Duat's questions, instead, I asked him something unrelated.
"Tan Duat, do you... still love me?"
There was a long silence on the other end. So long that I felt my heart go numb. I should have known that a man's love was the most fleeting thing.
"Nhan Tinh, I have never stopped loving you."
My hand trembled, afraid that I had misheard: "What did you say?"
Tan Duat sighed and repeated: "I have never stopped loving you. Nhan Tinh, come back. Grandfather has passed away, and I'm managing Tan Corporation alone. This meaningless marriage should come to an end."
My lips quivered: "But why? What about Quach Phuong?"
"Nhan Tinh, don't you understand? Everything I've done has always been for you."
Tan Duat's voice suddenly sounded distant and unfamiliar in my ears. Perhaps I didn't understand Tan Duat enough, didn't realize just how cruel he could be.
Of course, he was no longer the rebellious eighteen-year-old boy he once was.
Quach Phuong, if you could hear these words, would you still love Tan Duat?
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Waking Up From A Dream, The Person Beside My Pillow Was No Longer There|✔️
Romance**NOT MINE ** !FOR OFFLINE READING PURPOSES! "You're such an old-fashioned person. You still wear the same shirt you bought in the first year of college even after graduation. You liked someone from when you were sixteen, and you still like them ten...
