Chapter 3: My Daughter Is My Last Line

He sat down, his voice softening.

“An Thu, I don’t have to take things this far with you.”

I didn’t answer.

He went on. “You hit my mother, then took Yao’s motorcycle. This has put me in a very difficult position.”

I looked at him.

“So you want to take my house and my daughter, too?”

He frowned. “What do you mean, your house? We’re married.”

“And Doa Doa?”

“She has the Chu family name.”

The room fell silent as soon as he said it.

I stared at him.

“So because she has the Chu family name, she deserves to be beaten by your younger brother, cursed at by your mother, and used as leverage against me by your whole family?”

Chu Chi was losing patience.

“Ha An Thu, stop dragging the child into every sentence.”

“If I don’t talk about my daughter, what should I talk about?”

I pushed the papers back toward him.

“You dared to draw these up. That means you’ve been planning this for a long time.”

Chu Chi stood.

“My mother was right. You’ve become too strong-willed. A woman who’s too strong will destroy her family.”

I looked at him and suddenly found it ridiculous.

When I paid his mortgage, I wasn’t too strong-willed.

When I sent money to his younger brother, I wasn’t too strong-willed.

When I bowed my head to his mother, I wasn’t too strong-willed, either.

But now that I was protecting my daughter, suddenly I was too strong-willed.

I picked up a pen.

Chu Chi’s eyes lit up.

“Have you come to your senses?”

I wrote three words on the paper:

Not a chance.

Then I tore it in half.

Chu Chi’s expression changed at once.

“Ha An Thu!”

I stood up.

“I have something I want to show you, too.”

I took another folder from the drawer and emptied it onto the table.

Proof of my contribution toward the house.

Mortgage deduction records.

My income verification.

Doa Doa’s kindergarten pickup records.

Medical reports.

And a promissory note signed by Chu Yao.

Two years ago, he’d said he wanted to start a business, so I’d made him write an IOU.

At the time, Du Mei had called me petty.

Now it had come in handy.

Chu Chi turned pale when he saw the note.

“You still kept that?”

“I told you. After the first time you disappointed me, I started making sure I had a way out.”

He looked at me as if he were seeing me for the first time.

“Ha An Thu, you’re terrifying.”

I met his gaze calmly.

“You’re the ones who are terrifying.”

“When you bullied me, you thought I should just put up with it.”

“Now that I won’t, you call me terrifying.”

Chu Chi clenched his fist.

“You think any of this is going to help?”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

“At least it proves this family isn’t what you claim it is.”

“And it can prove that Doa Doa would be safer with me than with you.”

Chu Chi’s expression shifted.

“You’re not taking Doa Doa away.”

A faint sound came from the bedroom.

Doa Doa had woken up.

The moment I turned, Chu Chi suddenly lunged toward the bedroom.

My heart clenched. I chased after him at once.

He was one step ahead of me. He pushed open the door and picked Doa Doa up.

She was so frightened she burst into tears.

“Mommy!”

I rushed over and grabbed his arm.

“Put her down.”

Chu Chi’s eyes were bloodshot.

“She’s my daughter! What’s wrong with me holding her?”

Doa Doa was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Her little arms reached desperately for me.

I looked at Chu Chi.

“She’s afraid of you.”

The words landed on his face like a slap.

He froze.

Doa Doa took the chance to wriggle free and threw herself into my arms.

Chu Chi stood there, humiliation flickering in his eyes.

Just then, his phone rang.

It was Du Mei.

Chu Chi answered and put it on speaker.

Du Mei’s voice was shrill and grating.

“Chu Chi, bring Doa Doa back here tomorrow! I asked someone about it. Raising a girl is useless. An Thu should hurry up and have a boy instead!”

I held Doa Doa close and slowly lifted my head.

Chu Chi’s face was turning pale, too.

He said nothing more that night.

He hung up, sat on the sofa, and smoked one cigarette after another.

I opened the window.

The smell of smoke drifted out, and cold air came in.

Doa Doa slept beside me, still clutching the hem of my shirt.

Before dawn, I’d made up my mind.

I took half a day off and brought Doa Doa to kindergarten first.

Her teacher was startled as soon as she saw the girl’s face.

“Doa Doa’s mom, what happened to her?”

I didn’t hide it.

“A family member hit her.”

The teacher’s expression turned serious. She crouched down and asked Doa Doa, “Does it hurt?”

Doa Doa nodded.

The teacher’s eyes reddened.

“From now on, at dismissal, we won’t release her to anyone but you.”

I took her hand.

“Thank you.”

After leaving the kindergarten, I went to work.

I asked for three days of annual leave.

After I’d told my supervisor, Sister Zou, everything, she only said, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll keep your job for you.”

I nodded.

When I returned home, Du Mei and Chu Duc Thuan were standing outside the door.

Du Mei carried a bag of fruit. She forced a smile.

“An Thu, I went too far yesterday.”

I looked at her.