“What about his brain activity? Or is it like a stroke?”
“The scans we took indicated positive signs for brain function, but it’s not possible to know the extent of the damage until he regains consciousness. Brain injuries fall into several categories. I’m sorry I can't give you more information right now,” he said with a polite smile.
I nodded and thanked him, but as he turned to leave, I smiled to myself because I hoped that old bastard was still in there and not a complete vegetable. This worked out better than I’d planned.
Chapter 34
Nari
My eyes narrowed on the two older women, and I wondered if I’d done the right thing by hooking these two up. My mother-in-law had come out of her shell, and seeing her slowly transform was a beautiful sight. Tae was an attentive son, and I could tell they were gradually healing together.
We had discussed building some houses where we could all live as a family but have enough space for privacy. My family were onboard, but my sister was hesitant as she would need to move from her current school.
His Dad was still in the hospital. Apparently, his brakes failed, and he went into the back of a lorry. After seeing the footage of the accident, he was lucky to be alive. No matter how much we appealed to his mum, she wouldn't stay with us, saying she refused to impose on us, so we moved in with her to support her.
I jumped when my Dad put his arm around my shoulder.
“Do you think they are plotting against you?”
I smiled before I turned to look at my Dad. He always got me, and we had a similar twisted sense of humour.
“She is your wife, you tell me,” I said, nudging him with my hip.
“That’s true, yet after decades of marriage and two daughters, women are still a mystery to me,” he said as he rubbed his chin, but his eyes were on my Mum.
I glanced at Tae, who was busy trash-talking with Aera’s online gaming friends.
“Yeah, the same could be said about men,” I said with a smile.
“What? We are simple creatures,” he said, sounding outraged by my accusation.
I thought of all the outlandish things Tae had done and decided my Dad was sweet but delusional. Some men were sweet, and others were fucked in the head.Tae was a combination of both.
???
I snuck into the bathroom with my pregnancy test stuffed in the waistband of my jeans. Tae always knew everything. For once, I wanted to get one over him for a change. Living at his parents' house was nice because I got to see how Tae interacted with his Mum.
She was overly apologetic about not being at our wedding, but this only angered me because it wasn't her fault. My vindictive side was glad his Dad was stuck in the hospital dribbling all over himself, but then the guilt and shame kicked in, and it kept my anger in check. There was nothing stopping Tae and his Mum from spending time together. They had missed out on years with one another.
I quickly unbuttoned my jeans and pushed everything down. The test fell out, but I picked it up and sat on the toilet. After reading the instructions, I peed on the stick. Once I’d washed up, I nervously waited for the result. I glanced at the time and knew Tae would be home soon. His mum had been spoiling us, and she had never left the kitchen. She was worse than my Mum because when I tried to help, I got booted out of the kitchen.
Time seemed to slow down, and I began to tap the counter while watching the plastic stick. I never thought I would be this excited about having a baby. I rubbed my belly before lifting my top to look at my flat stomach. There was a sudden knock on the bathroom door, which made me jump.
“Babe, are you going to be long? Mum said that the food was ready,” he said, which made me smile.
She had made his favourite short rib dish,galbi.
“Yeah, give me a minute,” I shouted back.
“I’m going to get changed,” he said.
“Okay,” I said as I glanced at my phone.
I took a couple of deep breaths before I checked the pregnancy test.
“Aaaaah!” I screamed and dropped the test in the sink.
Shit and fuckcakes, I was pregnant.