Serendipity

Chapter 29

"Listen to me very carefully, NaeYeong. You are my wife. You are the mother of my child. You have brought happiness into my life, and anything that is happening with Leeza and Jeffrey...that is their doing. Not yours. You didn't go out looking for trouble with them. You didn't ask to be r*ped and scarred. You didn't ask to be manipulated by someone you thought was your best friend. That's on them, not on you. So stop saying you've brought this into my life. You didn't do anything wrong! They did," he pauses, looking deep into my eyes, searching for something. He must have found it, because there's the beginning of a smile tilting his mouth up when he continues. "Now, I still think we should celebrate the news of our baby with our family. Celebrate the joy and don't let them overshadow it. If we allow that, they win, and I refuse to let that happen. Are you up for celebrating our new little life??" he asks, his voice rough with emotion.

I sit there for a moment, gazing into his face, falling in love with him even more as the words he spoke register in my brain then travel down to my heart where they settle. A smile starts to curve my lips up and before I know it, I'm nodding. His hand moves to caress my cheek before it relaxes with his fingers splayed in my hair and around the back of my neck. He pulls me forward to meet his lips, kissing me deeply to the obnoxious OOHs and AAHs of the other members. Ending the kiss quicker than I would like, he leans his forehead against mine, and we're both smiling at the sounds of our family surrounding us.

*************

As much as I'd like to leave early with the guys to get ready for the celebration, I end up staying for another couple hours. I still have a bit of work to do on the Baxter-Buxton project, and I take some time out to talk with Muriel. By the time I'm ready to leave, there's still no news about the fate of Ms. Hyun or any consequences for her actions. I stop in the bosses' office to invite all three of them to the celebration if they have time and felt up to it, leaving them with the details I've been given. I breathe a sigh of relief when Anaïse and I finally walk out the door to get in the vehicle. I'm still wary of my surroundings, just waiting for something to happen, always on guard.

Once Anaïse drops me off at home, I head up with the plan to make some tea and reheat some of her chicken noodle soup. I chuckle when my stomach growls at the thought of that deliciousness. I already know Jimin won't be home for a couple hours so when I get in the apartment, I'm not surprised to find it empty. Dropping my briefcase on the desk, I take off my suit and grab a t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants that have always been a bit snug on my hips. I walk to the full-length mirror as I pull them on to take a really good look at myself because the pants feel loose now. I'm shocked to see that they try to slide down over my hips, the t-shirt extra-large and baggy. If I didn't know any better, I would swear I put on one of my brothers' shirts. I knew I had lost some weight, but I didn't realize how much it actually was over the past couple of weeks from morning sickness.

Even my complexion is sallow, my cheekbones more pronounced, my collarbones and sternum sharp. Lifting up my shirt, I can't believe how my ribs and my hip bones protrude. No wonder Jimin has been so concerned over me eating, always wanting me to try more!

I slowly sink to the floor in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection, wondering how I could've not noticed all of this before today. My eyes are bright and glossy under the soft light shining above my head, and my once lustrous hair is becoming dull and limp. I don't notice when the first tear slips down my cheek, followed by several more, leaving large wet spots on my clothes as I'm lost in the person in the mirror, one I no longer recognize.

I must have laid down on the floor at some point without comprehending it happening, the tears still dripping. It's in this position that Jimin finds me when he gets home.