Chapter 1

To help his childhood sweetheart who desperately needed money for her alleged cancer treatment, my husband offered to pay ten million dollars to buy her virginity.

When I tried to stop him, he snapped at me.

"Savannah has always had a fierce pride. Giving her money outright would feel like charity and hurt her self-esteem."

"Can't you show a little compassion instead of being jealous over something so trivial?"

I stayed silent, smiling as I nodded.

What he didn't know was that as an infectious disease specialist, I had spotted her symptoms long ago.

She didn't have cancer.

She had late-stage AIDS.

1

When Chase finally returned, it was past midnight.

He casually took off his shirt, inadvertently revealing long scratch marks across his back.

I stood frozen, unable to speak for a long moment.

He was the first to break the silence.

"It was Savannah's first time. It's normal for her to be a bit intense."

I clenched my fists tightly.

Losing my composure, I couldn't help but ask, "Did you wear protection?"

He shook his head dismissively.

"Savannah took her medication beforehand. Stop worrying over nothing."

Hearing this, the lingering hope in my heart sank completely.

Right then, Chase's phone rang.

It was Savannah on the line, her voice trembling with tears.

"Chase, I'm suddenly bleeding so much… I'm so scared…"

Panic flared across his face instantly.

He rushed to reassure her, "Don't be scared! I'm coming right over. I'll be there in ten minutes!"

Despite the despair crushing my chest, I still couldn't bear it.

I reached out to stop him, intending to warn him about Savannah's true condition.

He shoved my hand away in disgust.

"I told you, I'm only doing this to help her! If there was really something between us, would I have told you about it in the first place?"

He glared at me and hurriedly changed his clothes to head out.

Before walking out the door, he threw a cold line over his shoulder.

"Wash my shirt and underwear. There's blood on them, and it won't come out if you leave it too long."

The door slammed shut.

After Chase left, I stared blankly at our wedding photo hanging on the wall.

Over the years, I had built everything from scratch alongside him.

We went from a cramped studio apartment to a luxury penthouse in the heart of the city.

I remembered every ounce of hardship we had endured together.

Chase had once seemed like a decent husband.

After making his first fortune, the very first thing he did was throw me a proper wedding.

He even had a custom wedding ring made for me.

The diamond was modest and had a tiny, noticeable flaw.

Even so, I had always treasured it like a priceless gem.

Yet this man, hailed by friends and neighbors as the perfect husband, had just shattered my heart.

Engaging in such high-risk contact without any barrier protection meant the transmission rate was nearly absolute.

Though furious, a shred of pity still lingered within me.

There was still a seventy-two-hour window for post-exposure prophylaxis.

If he started taking PEP immediately, he could still prevent infection.

I reached for my phone, thinking about calling to warn him.

Just then, a notification popped up on social media.

It was a new post from Savannah.

"They say married men have self-control, but someone was completely ruthless tonight."

The attached photo showed deep bite marks scattered across her neck and shoulders.

It looked like a complaint, but it was a blatant boast about how wild her night with Chase had been.

More than the marks, what caught my eye was the dazzling ring on her finger.

Its design was nearly identical to mine.

Only her diamond was far larger, clearer, and flawless.

My heart trembled as I found the serial number engraved inside my band.

I called the jeweler's customer service hotline.

After checking the records, the representative answered politely.

"Mr. Hayes did order a custom diamond ring with us back then. However, the first piece had a minor flaw, so we crafted a new, flawless replacement for him."

She paused before adding, "Miss Su, I apologize for any inconvenience. Is there anything else you're unsatisfied with?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I quietly denied it and hung up.

So that ring was meant for Savannah from the very beginning.

What I received was merely the discarded defect.

At that moment, an invisible hand gripped my throat.

It was agonizing, suffocating.

While I drowned in despair, Chase's name flashed across my phone screen.

His voice was laced with sheer panic.

"Valerie, Savannah broke out in a severe red rash, and her lymph nodes are swollen! What's going on?"

"You're a doctor―does she need to get checked at the hospital?"

Listening to his description, my suspicions solidified.

After contracting the virus, Savannah had never taken antiretrovirals to manage her viral load.

Given her acute symptoms, she didn't just have late-stage AIDS.

She was likely carrying other severe infectious diseases as well.

Such as tertiary syphilis.

Chase's frantic voice pressed on through the receiver.

"Valerie! Give me a straight answer!"

I gritted my teeth and replied with eerie calm.

"It's probably just a common complication. She'll be fine after resting for a few days."

With that, I ended the call.

Outside, the night was pitch-black.

I put on medical gloves, carefully gathered every piece of Chase's dirty laundry, and took them to the balcony.

I struck a match and burned them all to ash.

I knew his infection was only a matter of time.

Living under the same roof with him meant any minor slip could expose me to danger.

To avoid raising suspicion, I had to keep my distance as much as possible.