A Gamble with Health

Nicholas’s first love was diagnosed with HIV at our hospital. I broke doctor-patient confidentiality and told him. Unfortunately, he thought I was lying. He not only accused me of killing a patient and got me convicted, and he even spiked my milk with abortion pills. At eight weeks pregnant, I bled heavily. I begged him for help, but he just walked away and sneered, "Finally, no one can stop me from being with Shereen." When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day his first love was diagnosed with HIV. This time, I didn’t tell him. Instead, I broke up with him. Since he loves his first love so much, I’ll gladly step aside.

A Gamble with Health

Nicholas’s first love was diagnosed with HIV at our hospital. I broke doctor-patient confidentiality and told him. Unfortunately, he thought I was lying. He not only accused me of killing a patient and got me convicted, and he even spiked my milk with abortion pills. At eight weeks pregnant, I bled heavily. I begged him for help, but he just walked away and sneered, "Finally, no one can stop me from being with Shereen." When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day his first love was diagnosed with HIV. This time, I didn’t tell him. Instead, I broke up with him. Since he loves his first love so much, I’ll gladly step aside.

Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Upon being reincarnated, I was having breakfast with Nicholas Connelly. He peeled an egg for me, being all sweet and caring. "Theresa, what were you about to say?" In my last life, on this exact day, I told him that Shereen Miller had HIV. Shereen had come to me for a prenatal checkup. When her blood test results came back, I noticed that she had HIV. However, she had no clue that a blood test could reveal that. She even smirked and teased me, "Guess who the father of my baby is? It's your husband." My mind went blank. So, she and Nicholas had already slept together. He cheated on me, but if she had HIV, then Nicholas was most likely infected too. Without time to grieve, I rushed to tell Nicholas, and urged him to get tested and take emergency medication. Sadly, he didn’t believe me. He flipped the table over and shouted, "Theresa, how can you be so vicious? Just because Shereen and I got a little closer, you want to slander her with HIV?""Listen to me, this is serious—" Before I could finish, he slapped me hard across the face. "I know Shereen better than anyone. If she were sick, I’d know. Stop lying!" Back then, I had broken doctor-patient confidentiality for his sake. I didn’t even confront him about cheating—I only cared about his health, but this was how he repaid me. Well then, this time, I’d let him stay in the dark. Let him be with his first love all he wanted! … "Oh, nothing. Just wanted to tell you that I’ll be busy with work and won’t be home for a while." Right now, Nicholas might already have HIV. I need to get away from him—fast. "Of course, work hard. I support your career!" He smiled at me. The sight of him made my stomach churn, but I forced myself to hold it in and put on a smile. "Thank you, Nick." Shereen had just returned to the country this month. Her baby was only two weeks old, but my child was conceived before that. After getting pregnant, I hadn’t been with Nicholas again. So, according to the timeline, I shouldn’t be infected. Just to be safe, I went to the hospital for a blood test. The results came back clean. I let out a sigh of relief. I had died a miserable death in my last life. It seemed like luck was on my side. This time, I’d seize this second chance. I’d stay away from them and focus on my career! … I rented an apartment near the hospital and bought all new household items. I wanted nothing to do with my old stuff anymore. After unpacking, I didn’t go to work. Instead, I went back home. I clearly remembered that Nicholas left without driving this morning. That meant I had a chance to check his car’s dashcam for proof of his cheating.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

I found the playback and reviewed the past month’s footage. Sure enough, I saw plenty of times when Nicholas took Shereen out for fun, and there were even mentions of booking hotel rooms. I even heard them being intimate in the car. "Nick, isn’t this kind of bad?" Shereen’s voice was soft and sweet, sounding incredibly pleasant to the ear. Rumor had it that Nicholas had fallen for her voice back when they were together. "What’s so bad about it? Don’t you want to be with me? We’ve been apart for so many years. Don’t you miss me?""Of course I do… Mmm, Nick, you’re so good with your tongue.""I can make you feel even better. Just wait." That was as far as I could listen. I bolted out of the car and vomited uncontrollably. Who would have thought I had wasted seven years—seven whole years— loving a man like this? At that moment, the flames of vengeance burned fiercer than ever in my heart. … Everything from my past life still felt fresh in my mind. When I told Nicholas that Shereen had HIV, he had exploded with rage, yelled at me, and stormed out. From that day forward, he never came home or contacted me again. The only place I saw him was on his social media—always with Shereen. They posted daily pregnancy updates, looking happier than ever. Meanwhile, my life fell apart. Not long after, a patient I had successfully operated on for appendicitis suddenly passed away. The case caused a massive uproar online. Everyone blamed me, claiming my negligence had killed the patient. The patient’s family even came to the hospital, demanding justice. I was forced to step down and accept an investigation. The autopsy revealed a pair of surgical scissors inside the patient’s abdomen. Coincidentally, the operating room’s surveillance system had malfunctioned. Furthermore, everyone—my assisting doctor, anesthesiologist, and surgical assistants—all testified that I was the only one who had touched those scissors. Without any way to defend myself, I was convicted, but because I was pregnant, I wouldn’t be imprisoned until after the baby was born. I felt like my whole world had collapsed. Then, Nicholas suddenly showed up, took me home, and treated me unusually well. He bought me my favorite cake and even warmed up a glass of milk before bed. Holding me gently in his arms, his voice was soothing. "Be good. Drink your milk and get some rest. I’ll take care of everything for you." Believing him, I drank the milk. Less than twenty minutes later, I felt a sharp pain and blood started pouring down my legs. Pale-faced and terrified, I clutched Nicholas’s hand, begging him to take me to the hospital. Instead, he kicked me in the stomach—hard. Then another kick. And another. With a chilling laugh, he sneered. "I paid people to frame you for that medical accident. "Theresa, can you believe it? Some people will even die for money. The poor will do anything for cash. Hahaha!" My pupils dilated in shock. He let out a cold chuckle. "I bribed them all. And now, you have only one path left—death. Oh, and that milk? I laced it with abortion pills. Hahaha!" The next second, another brutal kick landed on my stomach, harder than all the previous ones. I watched as bright red blood gushed from between my legs. In my final moments, I heard his last words. "Finally, nothing stands between me and Shereen anymore." I will never forget the excruciating pain and the utter despair of that moment.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

I copied the car dashcam footage onto a USB drive. Then, I immediately contacted a lawyer and filed for divorce. Since Nicholas cheated during the marriage, I demanded that he leave with nothing. After that, I went to the hospital and scheduled an abortion. Bringing this child into the world without a complete family would be irresponsible. So, not having the baby was the best choice. Unfortunately, I never expected to run into Nicholas and Shereen at the hospital. They had just walked out of the gynecology department. Nicholas had his arm wrapped around her, laughing and chatting intimately. They looked like a perfectly happy couple. The moment he saw me, he quickly let go of her and hurried to explain, "I just came with Shereen for her checkup. Theresa, you know her husband passed away… She’s all alone…""Oh, I know." I smiled sweetly. "Nicky, make sure you take good care of her. She must be so pitiful on her own." Nicholas grinned. "Theresa, you’re so understanding. That’s why you’re my wife. Come home tonight. I’ll cook for you." If this were the past, I would’ve been thrilled to hear him say that, but now, I only felt disgusted. "I have to work late. You take Shereen home and eat with her instead." After I left, Shereen suddenly barged into my office. Her eyes were filled with malice as she slammed the door shut. "Did you find out about my disease?""What are you talking about? I don’t understand." I played dumb, looking at her innocently. "Today, after my blood test, the doctor told me I have HIV. I also had a blood test during my last checkup. You must’ve seen my results, right?""That’s your business. Whether I know or not doesn’t affect you." She scoffed. "Smart choice. Let me warn you—don’t try anything funny. If you piss me off, I’ll make sure you’re the first person I infect." With that, she turned and walked out. Moments later, I stood by the window and saw Nicholas kiss her. Then, the two of them left together, looking as happy as ever. He was probably taking her home. After all, I had just told him I wouldn’t be there tonight. Sure enough, when I checked the security footage at home, I saw them cuddled up on the couch, passionately kissing. Nicholas’s breath was heavy, his voice hoarse with desire. "Shereen… use your mouth…" I gagged uncontrollably. The security camera had actually been broken for a while, which was why Nicholas acted so recklessly, but this morning, before I left, I had someone fix it. The dashcam footage only had their voices. Now, I finally had visual proof. With this, the evidence was complete. … The next morning, I sent the video to my lawyer. A week later, Nicholas barged into my office, fuming with rage. I was tidying up the meeting room when he stormed in. "Theresa, what is this?" It seemed like the court had summoned him. I glanced up at him calmly. "This is a hospital. Please keep your voice down." He ignored me and gritted his teeth. "Why are you divorcing me? What did I do wrong?" I almost laughed. How could he have the audacity to ask that with a straight face? Without a word, I played the security footage. The moment he heard his own voice in the video, his face turned pale. "It was just a mistake, Theresa! Listen, I only did it because I couldn't touch you. I lost control for a moment—" Before he could finish, a voice suddenly came from outside the door. "Doctor, I forgot to ask—if a mother has HIV, can her baby be infected too?" It was Shereen.