```
class ThreadWorker:
    def __init__(self):
        """
        Initializes the ThreadWorker by starting a new thread
        that runs an asyncio event loop.
        """
        self.loop = None
        self.loop_started = threading.Event()  # Event to signal loop initialization
        self.thread = threading.Thread(target=self.loop_task, daemon=True)
        self.thread.start()

        # Wait until the loop is initialized
        loop_initialized = self.loop_started.wait(timeout=5)  # Timeout to prevent indefinite blocking
        if not loop_initialized:
            raise RuntimeError("Failed to initialize the event loop within the timeout period.")

        self.task_counter = 0
        self.stop_requested = False
        self.lock = threading.Lock()  # To protect access to task_counter and stop_requested

    def loop_task(self):
        """Starts the asyncio event loop in a separate thread."""
        self.loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
        asyncio.set_event_loop(self.loop)
        self.loop_started.set()  # Signal that the loop is initialized
        self.loop.run_forever()

    def after(
        self,
        func: Callable[..., Any],
        callback: Optional[Callable[[Any], None]] = None,
        delay: Optional[float] = None,
        args: Optional[Any] = None
    ):
        """
        Schedules a function or coroutine to be executed in the event loop.

        :param func: The function or coroutine to execute.
        :param callback: Optional function to call with the result.
        :param delay: Optional delay in seconds before execution.
        :param args: Optional positional arguments to pass to `func`.
        """
        if args is None:
            args = ()

        async def task():
            try:
                if delay:
                    await asyncio.sleep(delay)
                if asyncio.iscoroutinefunction(func):
                    result = await func(*args)
                else:
                    result = func(*args)
                if callback:
                    if asyncio.iscoroutinefunction(callback):
                        await callback(result)
                    else:
                        loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
                        await loop.run_in_executor(None, callback, result)
            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Error in task: {e}")
            finally:
                with self.lock:
                    self.task_counter -= 1  # Decrement the counter when task completes
                    if self.stop_requested and self.task_counter == 0:
                        self.loop.stop()  # Stop the loop if stop was requested and no pending tasks

        # Schedule the coroutine to run in the event loop thread
        with self.lock:
            asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(task(), self.loop)
            self.task_counter += 1  # Increment the counter for the new task

    async def after_async(
        self,
        func: Callable[..., Any],
        delay: Optional[float] = None,
        args: Optional[Any] = None
    ) -> Any:
        """
        Asynchronously schedules a function or coroutine to be executed in the event loop
        and awaits its result.

        :param func: The function or coroutine to execute.
        :param delay: Optional delay in seconds before execution.
        :param args: Optional positional arguments to pass to `func`.
        :return: The result of `func`.
        """
        ...

    def stop(self):
        """
        Stops the event loop
        """
        with self.lock:
            if self.stop_requested:
                return  # Stop already requested
            self.stop_requested = True
            if self.task_counter == 0:
                self.loop.stop()

    def join(self, timeout: Optional[float] = None):
        """
        Waits for the worker thread to finish.

        :param timeout: Optional timeout in seconds.
        """
        self.thread.join(timeout)

    def __del__(self):
        """
        Ensures the event loop is stopped when the ThreadWorker is garbage collected.
        """
        self.stop()
        self.join()
```
improve the error handling/error propagation in `after` method, also implement `after_async` method