The “world” I had built—the high-rise office, the luxury cars, the status of being the golden boy of the industry—started to dissolve. I looked at Elena. She wasn’t just a business partner; she was a woman who had spoken often about her desire for a large family, about carrying on her father’s legacy through her children. I had looked her in the eye and promised her a future of nursery rooms and laughter, knowing it was a mathematical impossibility.
“As for the father of my child,” Van said, a soft, genuine smile finally breaking across her face, “he is a man who saw me when I was at my lowest. He is the doctor who actually treated me for the depression you caused, Minh. He knew the truth about my health, and he treated me like a human being, not a stepping stone. When I finally left you, I found out that ‘miracles’ happen when you’re with someone who doesn’t build their life on a foundation of lies.”
Elena turned to me, the paper fluttering from her hand like a dying bird. “Is it true?”
“Elena, I can explain… medical science moves fast, we could try—”
Slap.
The sound echoed like a gunshot. Elena didn’t wait for the rest of my sentence. She didn’t cry; she was too dignified for that. She simply reached back, unhooked the diamond necklace I had bought her with the commission from our last joint deal, and dropped it into my champagne glass.
