The Heiress He Threw Away

The divorce agreement landed on the table with a sharp slap. "Sign it." Nguyen Khang didn't even bother to sit down. Rain lashed against the glass walls of the villa, drowning the city in a curtain of silver. Thunder rolled in the distance, but it wasn't loud enough to cover the silence between husband and wife. Linh stared at the document without moving. Today was their third wedding anniversary. The candles she had lit two hours ago were almost burned out. The steak had turned cold. The soup had formed a thin layer of oil on the surface. She had prepared everything herself. Not because the Nguyen family lacked servants. But because she still believed anniversaries should mean something. Apparently, she was the only one who did. Slowly, she lifted her eyes. Khang stood a few steps away, his tailored black suit still immaculate despite the storm outside. Every line of his face was handsome enough to make headlines in business magazines. Cold. Perfect. Untouchable. He looked more like a king passing judgment than a husband coming home. "So..." Linh smiled faintly. "This is my anniversary gift?" No answer. His gaze swept across the untouched dinner before returning to her. "I've already transferred fifty billion to your account." His voice was flat. "It should be enough for the rest of your life." Linh couldn't help laughing. A quiet laugh. "So that's what three years of marriage are worth?" Khang frowned slightly. "Don't make this difficult." Difficult? She had waited for him every night for three years. She had learned how he liked his coffee. Remembered every important meeting. Taken care of his grandmother when she was hospitalized. Pretended not to notice every tabloid article linking him to another woman. And now... He was asking her not to make this difficult. "I see." She lowered her head. "So..." "She's back." Khang's words cut through the silence. Only two words. Yet they explained everything. Yuna. His first love. The woman he had never forgotten. The woman everyone believed he would eventually marry. Linh closed her eyes for a brief second. When she opened them again, they were calm. "I understand." Khang looked at her in surprise. No tears. No anger. No pleading. He had expected at least one of those. Instead... She reached for the pen. "You aren't going to ask me to stay?" he asked before he could stop himself. Linh looked up. A trace of amusement flickered across her face. "If I begged..." "Would you?" Khang remained silent. His silence was the answer. She nodded. "I thought so." The pen touched the paper. Her signature flowed across the page in elegant strokes. Three years. Three years of hope. Three years of waiting. All reduced to a single signature. Linh Tran. Done. She slid the agreement back toward him. "You've got what you wanted." Khang picked up the papers. His expression remained unreadable. "Thank you." Thank you. Those two words somehow hurt even more than "Sign it." He turned to leave. Then paused. "You should move out tonight." "The villa will be renovated." Linh almost smiled. Renovated? Or prepared for someone else? She stood slowly. "There won't be any trouble." "I never intended to stay in a place where I wasn't welcome." She walked upstairs. The bedroom looked exactly as it had three years ago. Half the closet belonged to her. Half belonged to him. Only... His side had always been full. Hers had always been empty. Because she had never truly moved in. Deep down, she had always known this marriage was temporary. She packed quietly. One suitcase. That was all. Three years. Reduced to one suitcase. As she reached for the bedside drawer, her fingers brushed against a small velvet box. Their wedding rings. Khang had stopped wearing his after the first month. She had kept hers on until today. Linh looked at the diamond for several long seconds. Then she placed it gently inside the drawer. Some things... Were never meant to be taken with her. When she came downstairs, Khang was standing by the window, answering a phone call. His voice had changed completely. Gentle. Patient. "I'll be there soon." A pause. "No." He smiled faintly. "I miss you too." Linh stopped walking. Not because she was surprised. Because hearing it with her own ears finally ended the last illusion she had been holding onto. He had never spoken to her like that. Not once. She walked toward the door. Khang ended the call. "You forgot something." She turned around. "What?" He handed her a bank card. "The compensation." Linh looked at it. Then laughed softly. She pushed it back into his hand. "Keep it." "I don't need charity." His brows drew together. "You'll regret refusing it." She met his eyes. For the first time in three years... She wasn't looking at him with love. Only indifference. "No." Her voice was calm. "The one who will regret this..." She smiled. "...won't be me." Before he could respond... She opened the door. The storm greeted her immediately. Rain soaked her hair within seconds. Lightning flashed across the sky. At that exact moment... More than twenty black luxury cars turned into the driveway one after another. They stopped in perfect formation. The headlights illuminated the entire mansion. Dozens of bodyguards stepped out simultaneously. Umbrellas opened in perfect synchronization. An elderly man in a dark suit hurried toward Linh. Despite his age, he bowed deeply. "Welcome home, Miss Linh." Behind him... Every bodyguard lowered their heads. "Welcome home, Miss!" Their voices echoed through the rain. Inside the villa, Khang froze. His hand tightened around the divorce agreement. Who... Were these people? The old butler looked at Linh with relief. "The Chairman has postponed the board meeting twice." "The directors are waiting." "The shareholders refuse to begin without you." Linh glanced once toward the villa. Behind the window... She could see Khang staring at her. His face finally showed something she had never seen before. Confusion. She looked away without hesitation. "Let's go." The butler opened the rear door of the first limousine. As Linh stepped inside, he asked respectfully, "Miss..." "Should we announce your return tonight?" Linh's lips curved into a faint smile. "Yes." "It's time." She looked out at the villa one last time. The place where she had buried three years of love. The place where someone had mistaken her kindness for weakness. Her voice was soft. Yet every word carried absolute certainty. "From this moment on..." "I am no longer Khang's abandoned wife." "I am the heir they can never afford to offend." The limousine drove away. Standing alone in the silent villa, Nguyen Khang watched the endless convoy disappear into the rain. For the first time in years... An unfamiliar feeling settled in his chest. A feeling he couldn't explain. He looked down at the divorce agreement in his hand. Then toward the empty dining table. The untouched anniversary dinner. The extinguished candles. The quiet house. It suddenly felt... Too quiet. He didn't know it yet. But the woman he had just let go... Was about to become the greatest regret of his life.