TANGLED HEARTS

Chapter 18: The Pregnancy Bombshell

The morning light seeped through the curtains of the bathroom window, casting a pale glow over the small space. Do-Hee stood by the sink, her hands gripping the cold porcelain, her eyes fixed on the small plastic stick in front of her.

Two lines.

Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, her breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps as the reality of what she was seeing began to sink in. Two lines. There was no mistaking it, no chance it could be wrong.

She was pregnant.

The world seemed to tilt beneath her feet, the weight of the discovery crashing down on her like a tidal wave. Her hands trembled, her legs threatening to give way beneath her as she leaned against the sink for support. Her vision blurred, the edges of the room fading as the walls closed in on her.

Pregnant.

Her mind raced, the panic rising in her chest as she tried to process what this meant. How long had it been since the affair with Tae-Oh had started? The dates blurred together in her mind. And Shi-Oh... they hadn't been intimate in weeks, maybe months. Could it be his?

The knot of dread in her stomach tightened, twisting into something sharp and painful. She was trapped, caught between two men, and the web of lies she had spun so carefully around herself. And now, this—this impossible, life-altering discovery—was threatening to unravel everything.

Do-Hee turned away from the sink, stumbling back as she pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing. Her mind was a whirlwind of fear, confusion, and guilt. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to fix this. How could she?

Her hands flew to her stomach instinctively, but the gesture only made the weight of the situation more real. Her heart pounded wildly, the thud of it echoing in her ears as she stumbled back toward the bed, collapsing onto the edge. The pregnancy test clattered to the floor beside her, but she barely noticed.

She couldn't tell Shi-Oh. Not yet. Not when she didn't know for certain who the father was. And she certainly couldn't tell Tae-Oh. The thought of how he might react, the possessiveness that had begun to consume him, sent a shiver of fear down her spine.

The only thing she could do—the only thing that made sense in this moment of chaos—was to keep it a secret. At least for now.

That afternoon, Do-Hee sat at her desk, her hands folded tightly in her lap as she stared blankly at the computer screen. The words on the document blurred together, meaningless, as her thoughts spiraled out of control.

Pregnant.

The word echoed in her mind, over and over again, drowning out everything else. She couldn't focus. She couldn't think. All she could feel was the suffocating weight of the secret growing inside her, the knowledge that it was only a matter of time before everything fell apart.

Her phone buzzed on the desk beside her, the sound cutting through the heavy silence of the room. She jumped, her heart pounding in her chest as she reached for it, her fingers trembling.

Tae-Oh.

"I need to see you. Can you meet tonight?"

Her stomach churned, the familiar rush of adrenaline now tinged with dread. She couldn't face him—not now, not with this new, terrifying reality hanging over her. But she knew she couldn't avoid him forever. Tae-Oh was becoming more possessive with each passing day, his jealousy over her continued interactions with Shi-Oh growing stronger.

And if he suspected anything, anything at all...

Do-Hee's fingers hovered over the screen as she typed out a quick reply. "I can't tonight. Busy at work." The lie felt like a physical weight pressing down on her, but she couldn't bring herself to face him. Not yet.

She set the phone back down, her chest tightening as the guilt washed over her once more. How had she gotten here? How had her life spiraled so far out of control?

Later that evening, Tae-Oh sat alone in the dimly lit restaurant, his fingers drumming against the table as he stared at the half-empty glass in front of him. His phone lay on the table beside him, Do-Hee's message still open on the screen.

Busy at work.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that wasn't the real reason she wasn't coming. Something had shifted between them in the past few days, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Do-Hee had grown distant, more guarded, and he could feel the tension building between them like a storm waiting to break.

His jaw clenched, a low growl of frustration rumbling in his chest. Was it Shi-Oh? Was she pulling away because of him? The thought made his blood boil, the jealousy tightening its grip on his heart like a vice.

Tae-Oh couldn't stand the idea of her spending more time with Shi-Oh. The thought of them together, even in the smallest, most innocent interactions, drove him mad. She was his now, not Shi-Oh's, and the idea that her husband could still have any claim over her filled him with a possessiveness that bordered on obsession.

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing as he took a slow sip of his drink, the bitterness of it doing nothing to quell the fire burning inside him. He needed to talk to her, to see her, to remind her that she belonged to him. But the more she pulled away, the more uneasy he became.

What if Shi-Oh knew? The possibility gnawed at him, twisting in his gut like a blade. What if that was why Do-Hee was acting strange? What if Shi-Oh had figured it out?

Tae-Oh's grip tightened around the glass, his knuckles turning white as his mind raced. If Shi-Oh knew, that would explain the way Do-Hee had been acting. The excuses, the distance, the way she seemed more on edge every time they met.

He couldn't let it go on like this. He wouldn't. If Shi-Oh knew about the affair, then something had to be done. He wouldn't let Do-Hee slip away from him. Not now. Not after everything they had been through.

His phone buzzed again, pulling him from his thoughts. Another message from Do-Hee.

"Let's meet tomorrow instead."

His jaw clenched, but he forced himself to breathe, to keep his growing frustration in check. Tomorrow. He could wait one more day. But after that, they were going to have a serious conversation. He needed to know what was going on. And he needed to know where she stood.

Because Tae-Oh wasn't going to lose her. Not to Shi-Oh. Not to anyone.

The next morning, Do-Hee stood in front of the bathroom mirror, her hands resting on the cool marble of the sink. Her reflection stared back at her, pale and drawn, her eyes hollow from another sleepless night. The nausea that had hit her earlier that morning had passed, but the weight of what she had discovered remained, a constant presence that followed her wherever she went.

She placed a hand over her stomach, her breath catching in her throat as she tried to process the enormity of what was happening. The secret was growing inside her, and soon, she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore.

What was she going to do?

Her mind was a whirlwind of questions and fears, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find a way out of the mess she had created. The lies, the affair, the pregnancy—it was all spiraling out of control, and she was trapped in the middle of it.

She didn't know how much longer she could keep this secret from both Tae-Oh and Shi-Oh. But for now, she had no choice. She had to keep pretending, keep lying, and hope that the truth wouldn't come crashing down on her before she could figure out what to do.

As Do-Hee left the bathroom and made her way downstairs, she found Shi-Oh sitting at the kitchen table, his eyes fixed on the newspaper in front of him. He didn't look up when she entered the room, and didn't acknowledge her presence. The coldness between them had become unbearable, a constant reminder of the distance that had grown between them.

She hesitated in the doorway, her heart heavy with guilt as she watched him. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to confess, but the words stuck in her throat, impossible to speak.

Instead, she turned and left the room, the sound of her footsteps fading into the silence that had consumed their marriage.