Mother-in-law is Pregnant with Her Second Child

Seeing I didn’t respond, Albert added, "What's up? Aren’t you happy? You always say how painful childbirth is. Now you don’t have to go through it and still get to have a kid around. Isn’t that perfect?"

I muttered, "But it's not my child."

Albert clicked his tongue, "You're being so picky." Noticing my expression, he pulled me into a side hug and laughed, "My brother is your brother. Don’t be so petty. We might even rely on this little guy when we’re old!"

I shot him a strange look, "What do you mean? You don’t plan on having kids?"

He waved his hand, "Of course not. But if we have a daughter and she gets married, who will take care of us? It’s just like your family. You’re an only child, but after getting married, you’re living with us..."

My face instantly turned cold, and I stared at him. "Albert, before we got engaged, I asked you. You said, whether it’s a boy or a girl, we’d only have one."

Albert raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, we’d only have one, but that might be a girl. I’m not against having a daughter. I’d spoil her to bits. But for our future, we need to think about it."

I laughed bitterly. So, having a daughter means we can’t rely on her when we're old?

I’m a daughter too, and I’ll still take care of my parents after getting married.

Albert didn’t notice my expression and stroked my cheek, "You have no idea how much I’ve thought about our future."

I pushed his hand away, but he didn’t get mad. Instead, he continued proudly, "You didn’t know, but my parents asked the doctor, and they found out that the baby was a boy."

I was stunned. From the way he and his mom talked, I assumed it was just old-fashioned thinking, hoping for a boy. But they actually knew the gender in advance.

Isn’t that illegal?

Albert kept talking, interrupting my thoughts, "Sophia, let’s not have kids for a few years. We can enjoy ourselves, and help mom with the baby. If we have a son later, you won’t have to worry much. Just give her a hand now and then, and my brother will remember our kindness. There’s a saying, ‘I raise you young, you take care of me old.’ Isn’t that the same for brothers?"

My phone suddenly rang. I pushed him away, trying to suppress my discomfort, and answered.

It was my dad.

I thought he was calling about Linda’s pregnancy and found it odd.

My dad has always been a straightforward person, even after retirement. He doesn’t usually meddle in these kinds of matters.

To my surprise, he said my mom was in the hospital.

His voice was calm, but I could hear a slight tremor, "Sophie, can you come to the hospital? Your mom’s not feeling well. Come see her."

My heart sank, and I immediately asked what was wrong.

He paused, then said, "She has a nodule in her lung. They suspect it might be cancer."

My mind went blank, and my ears buzzed.

But my voice was oddly calm as I told him I’d be right there. Then I turned to Albert to go over the wedding arrangements for the day, just in case I couldn’t handle things later.

Albert listened and then said, a bit impatiently, "Isn’t the wedding planner taking care of everything? Why is it so complicated?"

A rush of anger surged through me, "If you think it's too much trouble, you shouldn’t be getting married."

Albert smirked but didn’t argue. Then he frowned, "But if you go to the hospital, we’re supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight. Mom’s been craving your pan-fried fish."

For some reason, I felt a chill run through me.

I stared at Albert and said slowly, "Albert, my mom might have lung cancer. Do you understand? And can you at least talk to me before making decisions?"