One day, about a month after Mai and Hung's reunion, the couple were planning their escape when the front door was suddenly opened. In fact, they were too immersed in their conversation that they did not notice the heavy footsteps of Bob returning home.
"What's this? God dammit! How dare you flirt with the mailman in MY house, you *@#%ing slut!" bellowed Bob after perceiving Mai and Hung sitting around the table as he pointed an accusing finger at the terrified Mai.
"Bob, no, I.....he...." In vain, Mai tried to explain her situation. Nevertheless, due to her incompetency in English and her fear of Bob, she was unable to express her thoughts clearly.
In his fury, Bob clenched his fists and advanced towards Hung. Instinctively, Mai stood in front of her husband to protect Hung. Nevertheless, Bob pushed away Mai violently, causing her to fall to the floor whilst clutching her baby bump.
"How dare you push her!" exclaimed Hung furiously in Vietnamese as he tried to rush towards Mai.
Nevertheless, Bob, who could not understand what Hung was saying, thought that Hung was about to rush towards him. In his shock, Bob took out a pistol which he carried with him and pointed at Hung.
"Don't come forward! Stay where you are!" shouted Bob aggressively.
Upon perceiving the pistol, Hung raised his arms but didn't stop advancing towards Mai, as he was anxious about Mai's safety.
"Put down the gun! I didn't do anything!" screamed Hung in Vietnamese.
Unable to comprehend Hung's words and seeing that he kept advancing, Bob felt threatened as he thought Hung was provoking him. In his fury, Bob pressed the trigger. With a deafening sound of gunshot and in the blink of an eye, Hung lay motionless on the cold, wooden floor, never to wake up again in this merciless world. Silently cradling her baby bump, Mai was too shocked such that she was rooted to the spot, the only thing that betrayed her emotions were the tears quietly trickling down her cheeks.
Upon seeing Hung's corpse on the floor, Bob was neither shocked nor regretful. "Well, that's good riddance! Who told him to come meddling with my wife in my own house in my country," muttered Bob as he stood there with his hands crossed, staring at the trembling Mai and yelled. "I'll deal with you later, you slut!"
Upon finishing smoking a cigarette in the porch, Bob returned to the house. After the blood red sun had disappeared down the distant horizon, Bob calmly dragged Hung out of the back door into the backyard, which was hidden from view from the main road. Then, he grabbed a spade from the garage and started digging a large hole in ground. From the back door, Mai silently watched Bob's figure as she trembled from head to toe.
~To be Continued~
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