Chapter 1

On my way to a prenatal checkup, I was bitten by a rabid dog, so I went to Kingsport Hospital to get a rabies shot.

But Sara Delgado, his childhood friend, mocked me and turned me away.

"You have no common sense! There hasn't been a rabies case in Kingsport in years."

"The overuse of rabies vaccines is exactly because of ignorant people like you!"

I clutched my thigh, blood still streaming from the wound, and asked her again and again to give me the rabies shot.

She cursed at me coldly.

"You're the doctor, or am I the doctor?!"

"If you want to play weak, go home and do it there!"

Frowning, I dialed Luther's number.

I thought he would take my side.

Instead, he was cold and stern.

"Sara's right."

"Kingsport has had zero rabies cases for ten years running. There really is no need for a rabies shot."

I gripped my phone, and the warmth in my chest slowly drained away.

A week ago, Sara was bitten by her family's little dog, just breaking the skin.

He went out in the middle of the night and called his colleague on duty.

Within an hour, Sara had gotten an imported rabies vaccine.

For me, all that was left was cold data.

I could get the rabies shot at another hospital, but the child and him—I didn't want them anymore.

Section 1

"Aileen, stop making a scene and wasting Sara's time!"

"She's a doctor. She has a lot of patients to save. She doesn't have time to mess around with you!"

Luther's cold, impatient voice came through the phone.

My thigh, where the rabid dog had bitten me, throbbed with a stabbing pain.

I bit my lip, about to speak.

But the call was hung up.

My heart went cold and trembling as I hurried to another hospital.

The wound on my thigh had already clotted.

The nurse took out alcohol to clean it, her brow furrowed tight.

"Why are you only coming in now?"

"This is Level 3 exposure, the most dangerous kind. You need a rabies shot and immunoglobulin right away."

"Even if you don't take your own body seriously, you should think about the baby in your belly!"

The alcohol kept reacting with the wound.

The pain made me break out in a cold sweat.

"The baby—I don't plan to keep it."

I forced the words out of my throat.

I used my phone to book a miscarriage procedure.

The moment I finished registering.

Luther called.

"Aileen, where did you go?"

"I didn't see you at your prenatal checkup."

There was a trace of urgency under his cold tone.

Just as I was about to speak, Sara's excited voice suddenly came through the phone.

"Luther, I've found a new, rare infectious disease case!"

"Come here quick!"

On the phone, that familiar silence fell.

"Aileen, let's talk when we get home."

"I looked at your last checkup results. You're a little anemic, but everything else is fine."

"Missing one prenatal checkup won't be a big deal."

The call was hung up in a hurry.

My phone refreshed to Sara's social media post.

My favorite childhood friend and comrade-in-arms right by my side—another night devoted to medicine!

In the photo, she was making a heart shape at Luther's back.

Someone teased in the comments.

How many times is this now that he's devoted himself to medicine? And his wife isn't even jealous?

Won't the two of you end up sleeping on the little lab cot together again tonight?

Sara had just liked that comment.

I turned off my phone, and heard the nurse quietly remind me.

"You've had your immunoglobulin. You're pregnant and heavier, so you need six vials."

Six vials of fluid, all injected into the wound.

Where I'd been bitten, my thigh was swollen, hot, and red.

I pushed through the pain and walked out of the hospital observation room. Rain was drizzling down.

There was no way to get a cab.

After standing at the hospital entrance for more than ten minutes, I felt feverish and weak all over.

Hesitating a few seconds, I called Luther again and sent a text.

But it all sank like a stone into the sea.

When I got home, I was soaked through.

Dripping wet, I pushed open the door, only to find Sara wearing my pajamas.

Blushing shyly, she was letting Luther blow-dry her hair.

When the two of them saw me, they both froze.

Luther's brow knit, and he scolded me.

"Aileen, where did you go?"

"Why are you back so late?"