Chapter 1

When I was nine, I was attacked by a pack of stray dogs and needed seventy-two stitches in my right leg. Ever since, I start shaking the moment I hear a dog bark.

In six years of marriage, my husband James Dickerson moved us into a no-pets residential complex for me, even avoiding anything with animal patterns.

Over the holiday weekend, the whole family went camping to watch the moon, and he assured me again and again that the campsite didn't allow pets.

Then my best friend led out three large dogs and, smiling, launched a desensitization-therapy livestream.

"The family really does get exhausted. Desensitization is the only way out."

I demanded to leave right then.

James saw me trembling and said,

"Avoidance only makes the trauma worse. You can't spend your whole life going out of your way around dogs."

My dad stood off to the side and scolded me coldly.

"They're all doing this for your own good. Don't hide behind your illness to put on airs."

Amid a chat feed counting down three, two, one, James unhooked the leash with his own hands.

When the dogs lunged, I was so terrified I scrambled under the table and wet myself on the spot. The old wound on my right leg split open on the gravel.

Myrtle chased after me, filming with her phone.

"Don't cover your face. Only a full reaction has evaluation value."

That evening, James handed me a bill for a dog exam totaling $18,600.

"You kicked and hurt Myrtle's dog, so you'll settle this yourself."

"The treatment failed because you still weren't brave enough."

I paid off my own medical bills and contacted a lawyer to preserve the evidence.

The dog's exam bill, I returned exactly as it was.

Beneath the bill was a signed divorce agreement.

1

"Let go! I want to go home."

Not far off, my best friend Myrtle Swanson was holding three large dogs.

My husband, James, held me tight.

"Jasmine, be good."

My whole body was spasming uncontrollably, my shirt soaked through with cold sweat.

"You promised me! There would absolutely be no dogs here."

He gently rubbed the back of my neck.

"Myrtle set this up especially for you."

"Avoidance only makes the trauma worse. You can't spend your whole life going out of your way around dogs."

"Jasmine, I want our future children to have a normal mother."

"This is for our future too, right?"

My dad came out with a stern face.

"Jasmine, you're thirty years old. Are you still making an issue of something that happened when you were nine?"

"They're all doing this for your own good. Don't hide behind your illness to put on airs."

Myrtle came closer with a selfie stick, shoving the camera into my face.

"Everyone, did you see that?"

"This is the real reaction of someone with severe dog phobia."

"The family really does get exhausted. Desensitization is the only way out."

The rank smell of the dogs pressed in.

My stomach churned violently, and my legs went so weak I couldn't stand.

"James, I'm going to die..."

James avoided my eyes and turned to look at Myrtle.

"Ready?"

Myrtle gave an OK sign.

"Counting down, three, two, one! Everyone, hit that like button!"

James let go of me and took the leash from Myrtle.

The metal clasp gave a crisp click.

The three large dogs barked wildly and charged straight at me.

I let out a scream that broke off in pitch.

My body instinctively lurched backward, and I tripped over the camping chair.

The old wound that had needed seventy-two stitches years ago struck a sharp rock head-on.

Blood gushed out.

Claws pressed down on my shoulder.

A rough tongue licked across my neck.

My vision went black, and my breath stopped.

Warm liquid ran down the inside of my thigh.

An overwhelming shame and terror drowned me.

I crawled under the folding table, shaking, curled into a ball.

Myrtle held up her phone and kept filming.

"Don't cover your face. Only a full reaction has evaluation value."

She narrated to the screen, excited.

"Look, everyone, the patient is showing an extreme stress response."

"This is the painful phase that desensitization therapy has to go through."

I bit my lip open and tasted the thick tang of blood.

Before I passed out, I heard James's shout.

"Jasmine! Jasmine..."

The ward door swung open, and James strode in on his long legs.

He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

His warm fingers reached out and tucked my sweat-damp hair behind my ear.

"Does it still hurt?"

His eyes seemed to brim again with the old tenderness.

My nose stung, and tears fell without warning.

Instinctively, I reached to grab his hand.

I wanted him to pull me into his arms and comfort me the way he had for the past six years.

But a second before my fingertips touched him, James pulled his hand back.

He held out a sheet of paper to me.

"You kicked and hurt Myrtle's dog, so you'll settle this yourself, all right?"

It was a bill for a dog exam totaling $18,600.

My hand froze in midair.

"James, I got eight stitches in my right leg."

James frowned slightly.

"Surface wounds heal fast, and besides, you hurt yourself by being careless."

"But Myrtle's dog is different. Because you frightened it, it needs a full psychological intervention and exam."

"Jasmine, desensitization therapy is scientific. You have to trust us."

"The treatment failed this time only because you still weren't brave enough."

He stood up and patted my head.

"Don't worry, I've already had the livestream video cleaned up."

"No one will see your... video."

"Myrtle's over there by herself and can't manage it all. I'm going to go check on her."

With that, he turned and left without a trace of reluctance.

I took out my phone.

Sure enough, there wasn't a single video anywhere online, but my private messages were full of abuse.

Calling me a drama queen, mocking me for being scared of a dog.

Cursing me for knowing I was sick and still refusing to treat it, saying I was nothing but dead weight.

It didn't matter anymore.

I opened my messages and pulled up the chat with my childhood sweetheart, the top attorney.

Saul Vance, are you back in the country?

He replied instantly.

Just landed. What's up?

Yes! I need a lawyer!