The corner of Mark's lips twitched, and he didn't even have to ask for details to get some clues. He directly asked:
"So, how did Alex wrong you this time? Or rather, what did you do to have him leave you helpless with his retaliation?"
Ga-yeong pouted:
"I only sent the housekeeper away after she was done with her work, but Alex wants to put me under house arrest."
Mark really had to fight to hold back his smile as he replied:
"I can't control him, and you know it. I can support you, but he will bring up people and arguments I will be able to do nothing against."
Hearing that, though unsurprised, Ga-yeong still could not help but dramatically exhale. She should not have entertained any seed of hope.
Looking down at Alex, the sleeping big baby, she felt like she was getting a reckoning for all the times she had wriggled her way into having Mark indulge her with either a pout, a frown, or a smile. And now, she could do nothing before the overbearing rich heir.
Looking up, she found Mark struggling to restrain his smile and her frustrations crossed a threshold that made her snap at him and push him away with her nose wrinkled in distaste:
"Go away, Mark! I won't eat anymore, go back to your work."
Though the force behind the push was nothing to write home about, Mark went along with it with a light laugh. Ga-yeong glared at him, but fortunately, she did not sulk for long.
Looking down at Alex's peaceful face, she let out a soft exhale. Taking that as a signal, Mark returned to his seat, and resumed feeding her. He did so in silence, though with a smile one part amused and another part affectionate, and she ate quietly.
Finally, he put the empty plate down. He took her hand and asked calmly but gently:
"You have made your choice already, haven't you?"
Ga-yeong looked down at Alex and pouted:
"As if I really have a choice."
Glancing up, she found Mark smiling and groaned:
"Either locking me in bed at the hospital for all the remaining time for my pregnancy or hiring a dozen housekeepers to take care of me around the clock. Is that really a choice? I can only take the third option he gave me, going to his mother's house."
"Pfft!"
Mark stifled the laugh that almost escaped from him, then earnestly nodded:
"That will relieve me too, if you live there. My mother will be able to look after you, and she will be happy to do so."
Ga-yeong glared at him:
"Just say it, that you don't trust me either, why don't you?"
"Cough!"
Mark choked and turned his head away:
"Anyway, since you cannot resist, why not enjoy it? Alex is not sending you there to suffer. He is doing it for your own good."
"I know, but, sigh…"
Ga-yeong looked down, then glanced at Mark, helpless:
"What about the chairwoman? That is her home."
This time, Mark didn't think before raising his eyebrows:
"The chairwoman? I'm sure she would not mind the company, even if not because you, then because of little Brandon. You know she likes him very much. She is also looking forward to his birth."
Looking at Mark's placating smile, Ga-yeong silently sighed, helpless at the lack of support. Lost in thought, she turned away, then froze when she looked back after a few seconds. Gritting her teeth, she pulled her hand out of Mark's grasp and raised it to slap him on the arm, or on the thigh, only to end up giving him a light push, helpless and indignant:
"You are lucky Alex and Brandon are still sleeping. Laugh! Laugh all you want! Why do I have to behave like a disabled person? Don't you know whose fault it is that I am pregnant? You are the source of all these problems! Laugh, if you dare!"
In the end, Ga-yeong could not restrain herself and rained down punches on her laughing husband. The latter fought hard to restrain the smile carved by amusement on his face, and failed, leaving him only able to turn his fleshier back to the indignant heavily pregnant woman to let her vent to her heart's content.
Suddenly, Ga-yeong stopped raining down blows on Mark, then deflated and asked with a resigned exhale:
"Can I wait for my last few weeks?"
Mark paused at the sudden change and stopped laughing at the situation. Glancing at Ga-yeong, he let out a silent exhale and smiled gently:
"We will do as you say."
Glancing at Mark's smile as he left the decision for her, Ga-yeong felt it necessary to explain:
"I just don't want to impose myself upon the chairwoman."
The smile on the man's face grew and he embraced his wife by the shoulder and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek:
"I know."
Silence settled inside the living room for a moment, a companionable one that left the couple swimming within their own sea of complicity and affection.
After a while, Ga-yeong broke the quiet atmosphere:
"You have to go back, right?"
"Yes."
"Then go. I don't want you to be late for whatever you will have to do."
Smiling, Mark pressed another kiss this time on Ga-yeong's forehead, and stood up. Indeed, he still had the mountain of work Alex had pulled him away from waiting for him.
Making a short stop in the kitchen to wash the dishes, he dried his hands and came back out:
"I'm leaving. Remember not to bring up the matter from ten years ago with Alex when he will wake up later, and don't spoil him too much just because of what I said. He is a grown man, and he is not weak."
Ga-yeong smiled and teasingly poked Alex's cheek lightly:
"He is the one who usually spoils me, that is why I love him."
Mark suppressed a twitch at the corner of his mouth and opened the door of the apartment after taking his keys:
"At least remember to leave some love for me, your husband, too."
"I will try~"
Came the teasingly lilting reply.
Shaking his head in amusement, he stepped out and closed the door.