I never thought that at the age of 60, my life would experience such a strange change. A woman who was cautious, lived within the rules, and was attached to her family, husband, and children all her life, suddenly lost her mind one night and… slept with a strange man. As soon as I opened my eyes the next morning, the feeling of panic and shock overwhelmed me, making me think my heart stopped beating. That man was lying right next to me, with gray hair, a strange face but with a shuddering familiarity. Last night, I drank a little too much at an old friend’s birthday party. Since my husband passed away, my friends often advised me to go out more, to feel less lonely. I originally intended to just stop by for a bit to have fun, but unexpectedly the wine and music pulled me into a whirlwind of emotions. That man – Mr. Dung, appeared at the party with a calm, polite appearance. We had a good conversation, and when I left the party, I only vaguely remembered that I had agreed to be taken home by him. Everything that happened after that was like a blur. I only remember the sudden handshake, the captivating look and the loneliness that had been suppressed for years in me that blurred my mind. When I woke up, I found myself in a strange apartment, next to a strange man. My whole body trembled, both scared and feeling that something was wrong. I frantically searched for my phone, my watch… then at that moment, he gently turned over and smiled.

“Good morning… are you okay?” – his voice was low, soft but as if he had something to hide.

My heart was pounding. Before I could answer, his eyes swept over, then stopped on a photo placed right at the head of the bed. That photo made me feel like I was falling into an abyss – in the photo was Mr. Dung, with another man I knew very well: my late husband.

I was stunned. Why was my husband – who had passed away 5 years ago – in this photo with Mr. Dung? What was their relationship? Layer upon layer of memories flooded back, I remembered that my husband rarely mentioned his friends from his youth. He rarely talked about the past, and I never suspected. But now, it was clear that they were close – at least enough to have a photo together, in a frame placed in the most private place.

I pressed on:
“You… who are you? Why is there a photo of my husband here?”

Mr. Dung was silent for a moment, then sighed. “Your husband and I… were classmates, and also comrades at one time. But we have been apart for a long time. I never expected to meet you again in this situation.”

That sentence made me shiver and feel cold inside. Why had a close friend of my husband never appeared in my decades-long marriage? Why had it been only now, in this ironic situation, that I had just learned of his existence?

Mr. Dung looked at me for a long time, then softly said:

“Actually, there is one more thing… that I think you should know. Before your husband passed away, he entrusted me with something.”

I was stunned. For so many years, I had been living in the haunting fear of loss, always thinking that my husband had passed away suddenly, without having time to tell him anything. But… there was still some secret that had never been revealed?

In the early morning room, the sunlight shining through the curtains, I suddenly felt suffocated. Last night, my weakness had dragged me into an uncertain spiral. But this morning, the truth revealed itself, making me even more panicked.

I wanted to leave immediately, but my feet seemed to be held back by curiosity, fear, and a strange premonition that my life was about to turn to another page.

Mr. Dung handed me a cup of hot tea, his eyes still calm but filled with many hidden secrets. He began to tell: when he was young, he and my husband were so close that they “lived and died together”. They went through difficult years together, shared dreams, and secrets that no one but them knew.

Then he hesitated, speaking slowly, word by word:

“Your husband… before he died, sent me a letter. In the letter, he asked me to find a way to take care of you if I had the chance. He knew that one day, you would be very lonely.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. It turned out that the man I had spent my whole life with had thought of me until his last breath. But why did Mr. Dung appear now, in such an ironic way?

He looked at me, his eyes slightly sad:
“I didn’t intend for things to happen like yesterday. But maybe fate had arranged it. I’ve always been tormented by not keeping my promise to you. Now, I just want to tell you everything.”

My heart tightened. Part of me felt comforted – it turned out that my husband had always been worried about me. But on the other hand, I found myself caught up in a relationship full of contradictions: I had fallen weakly into the arms of a man who happened to be my husband’s best friend.

The truth left me stunned. I felt both grateful and guilty, and unsure of how to move on. Everything had come so suddenly, leaving me with a nagging question: was this fate, or an irreversible mistake?