Near giving birth, my wife went shopping for her child alone, unexpectedly seeing her husband taking her to the market, she only sent a message that made him stand on the spot…

That day, the sky in Hanoi was overcast, chilly, and rainy. Huong, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy, carefully put on a cloth hat and carried her bag to the market. Her husband – Tuan – said that there was an urgent meeting this morning, so he left early. She didn’t think much about it, just felt a little sad because even though she was about to give birth, she still had to go out and buy every diaper, towel, and carton of milk for her baby.

The market is crowded, people are crowded. Huong had to walk very slowly to balance her large pregnant belly. Just after choosing some newborn items, she was about to go home when she heard the voice of an acquaintance. Very familiar. It was her husband’s voice.

Turning her head, Huong was dumbfounded.

Tuan was holding the hand of a young girl, wearing a short skirt, high heels, smiling and chirping. He held the bag in his hand, his mouth was asking:
“What do you like to eat, I can buy it all for you.
“Well, I don’t eat much, I’m very fat.
– Fat is also a shelf. Fat he still loves.

Huong stood dead as if petrified. She didn’t dare to step forward. Just from a distance, it was enough to clearly see the familiar figure of the first husband on his hands and knees, now tenderly caring for another woman – while his soon-to-be-born wife had to go to the market alone.

Tears could not flow. The heart was like being suffocated by someone.

Don’t make a fuss. No crying. Huong just took out her phone and texted her husband a single line:

“I just saw you at the market. I’m so tired, I must have taken a taxi first. And you… Let’s go on for the full role.”

After sending, she turned off the phone. Don’t wait for a reply.

Tuan was laughing when the phone vibrated. He opened it, looked at the message, and his face turned pale immediately. He let go of her hand and looked around.

“What’s that? – the girl asked.

Tuan didn’t answer, ran out of the market, stammered:
“Huong… Huong is here…

But Huong is gone. Her pregnant belly was heavy, her steps were limping in the middle of the busy flow of people, but her eyes were dry. Her heart was empty. No anger, no resentment, only suffocating pain.

When she got home, she didn’t go to the bedroom, but quietly went down to the kitchen. She placed each of the newborn items she had just bought on the table: a light blue newborn coat, a pair of woolen socks, a box of scented powder, diapers, a bottle of milk. One by one, one by one, like a knife slashed into the heart.

She remembers the nights when she was pregnant lying alone when he excused herself to work late at night. I remember the times when I went to the prenatal examination alone, sitting for hours in the hospital waiting for my turn. I remember his eyes lately—distant, cold, and rarely touching hers.

Everything, it turned out that it wasn’t because she was sensitive.

It was because he had someone else.

Tuan returned home an hour later. He walked in, his face disoriented. Seeing his wife sitting in the kitchen, turning his back, he choked up:

–Incense… I’m sorry…

“What are you sorry for?” – Huong didn’t come back. “You’re going to a meeting?

–Brother… You’re wrong. She was only temporary. I never intended to leave you. I didn’t expect you to see that scene again…

“If you don’t see me, how long will you hide me?”

Tuan choked his throat. Huong stood up and slowly turned around. Her eyes were frighteningly calm:

“I don’t need you to leave her. I don’t need you to choose. I’ve chosen for both.

–Incense… don’t be like that… You’re really wrong…

“Tuan, the baby in my womb will not need a lying father. And you – you don’t need a betrayal husband either.

She pulled out a file from her pocket – a divorce paper, pre-written. Tuan stared at the paper as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

– I signed it. He read it carefully and then signed it. I won’t ask for anything. Just a child. And peace.

Tuan sat down in his chair and hugged his head. He never thought that Huong – a gentle and resigned wife – would be so decisive. He thought she would cry, would hold on, would forgive. But no—her eyes were as cold as iron today.

– Do you still love me? – Tuan asked in despair.

– Maybe I used to love him very much. But the moment he held her hand in the middle of the market… I know my heart has stopped loving.

That sentence is like the final sentence to end a marriage. No screaming is needed. No need to argue. Just a woman, because of you, is strong to the end.

A few months later, Huong gave birth to a healthy son. She was busy with her children, with redoing her life, but the smile on her lips was back. A relieved smile, no longer entangled.

As for Tuan – he still sometimes stood in front of the gate of the house, holding a gift bag in his hand, his eyes full of regret. But the gate never opened.

The old story is over. That once-weak woman has now learned to let go, and live for the person who deserves it most: herself and her children.