Chapter 6

Once Aaron woke up, he chose a more expensive antiretroviral medication. After two more days of treatment, the rash on his face faded noticeably.

His latest test results showed that his CD4 count had risen to 80.

His appetite returned as well, and he could finally eat without vomiting.

The next day, his condition improved further.

He went home after receiving Vanessa’s message.

“Your face…”

Vanessa recoiled several steps when Aaron removed his mask and revealed the alarming rash covering his face and neck.

“I’m not dying just yet. Why did you ask me to come back?”

Aaron knew his appearance was frightening. He did not even want to look at himself, but Vanessa’s obvious disgust still broke his heart.

He remembered the vows from their wedding:

“I take you to be my husband. I promise to love you and cherish you, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

How ridiculous those vows seemed now!

“I’m going to tell you the truth, but you have to promise me you won’t do anything reckless,” Vanessa said.

“I have a doctorate, for God’s sake. I’m not about to kill anyone or burn the place down.”

Aaron’s breathing grew strangely rapid.

His heart ached beyond words. “Who was that man? Gavin Ford? Does he love you? Does he treat you better than I did? What does he have that I don’t?”

“You’re still accusing me?”

Vanessa took out a report and handed it to Aaron. “Read it carefully. I don’t have AIDS, and I didn’t infect you! Apologize to me!”

Aaron read it twice, his mind buzzing as he struggled to accept the result. “How is this possible? How is this possible?”

“Hmph. Do you think I tampered with the results? Aaron, I never imagined you could be so vile! You’re the most despicable man I’ve ever met! I’m divorcing you, and nothing will change my mind!”

“If you didn’t infect me, then who did? I haven’t been with anyone else…”

Overcome with emotion, Aaron reached for Vanessa’s shoulder.

She immediately sprayed pepper spray straight into his face.

The burning spray left him unable to open his eyes, and he collapsed onto the sofa.

“What? You want to infect me? Don’t even think about touching me again!”

Vanessa sprayed him again and again, nearly emptying the entire can.

She felt a surge of satisfaction. “You failed to keep yourself faithful, caught a disgusting disease, and now you’re blaming me? Science has proven that I am innocent. What else do you have to say for yourself?

“Get up and hit me! Go on, hit me! Tell me about the woman who infected you. Is she prettier than me? Wasn’t I good enough for you?

“Is that why you had to sneak around behind my back? Aaron, you’re nothing but a dog—a dog that sneaks off to eat scraps! I’m giving you your own words back. I must have been blind to marry you!”

“You…”

“What? You don’t like hearing the truth? Then get up and hit me!”

Vanessa grabbed a pillow from the sofa and began hitting Aaron with it. When he caught hold of her, she quickly pulled away and fled through the door.

Aaron screamed her name hysterically, yelling at her to come back, but Vanessa only hurried away.

Once inside the elevator, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself as tears slipped down her cheeks.

“Aaron, you bastard! You were sleeping around with another woman behind my back! You even hit me! You’re the worst!”

…

It took Aaron a long time to wash the pepper spray from his face before his vision finally cleared. His eyes were swollen, and the rash on his face, neck, and hands still burned fiercely wherever the spray had touched it.

Vanessa, that crazy woman!

“If Vanessa didn’t infect him, then who did?”

Aaron knew for certain that Vanessa was the only woman he had ever slept with.

If he contracted HIV through sexual contact, then she was the only possible source.

As for getting it from a man, that was impossible. He simply had no interest in men.

He thought about it for a long time but could not come up with an answer.

Not long after he returned to the hospital, his temperature suddenly spiked. His fever grew so high that he passed out and remained unconscious throughout the night.

The next day, Rebecca examined him and said, “The fever was caused by a sudden eye infection. After a night of IV treatment, your condition has stabilized, and you probably won’t develop another high fever today.

“However, the progress you made over the past few days has been wiped out. You’ll have to start over. Prepare yourself mentally.”

She flipped through his medical chart, compared a set of test results, and continued, “The timing of this fever may actually have worked in your favor. You might be lucky.

“The high temperature may have reduced your viral load, and your CD4 count has risen slightly. That’s probably the only good news.”

Aaron was too focused on figuring out how he had contracted the disease to pay much attention to Rebecca’s words.

After three more days of treatment, Aaron still showed no real improvement, but he had regained some energy.

That evening, he was reading after dinner when Maya entered the room.

Aaron noticed that she was not wearing a mask, a nurse’s cap, or her uniform.

It was the first time he had seen her dressed normally.

Her delicate face was strikingly beautiful, and she had a lovely figure.

She was still young, with a youthful softness to her features. In a few years, she would grow into a stunning woman.

However, she still wasn’t as perfect as Vanessa…

Aaron’s heart sank. “Are you off work?”

Maya glanced at the notoriously difficult novel “Ulysses” in his hands. “Can you actually understand that?”

Aaron held a doctorate and was more than capable of understanding a book like that, but he replied, “Not really. It just makes me look intelligent. Do I look like an artist?”

“Your words remind me of something my grandmother used to say. Anyone who makes it through hard times with grace is an artist in their own right.”

Aaron savored the words and nodded. “I’ve learned something from you. Your grandmother must have lived with remarkable dignity, and she must have passed away peacefully.”

“Peacefully? I don’t know. I was only eleven or twelve when she passed away. I didn’t understand what it meant to be dying, and I couldn’t stay by her side.

“But as far back as I can remember, she was always confined to a hospital bed, surrounded by medical equipment. One of them was a dialysis machine.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories. By the way, you came here after work. Did you need something?”

“Not really. I just didn’t want to go home, so I thought I’d keep you company.”

Maya randomly picked a book from the stack Aaron had brought and sat down to read.

Aaron found it a little strange but did not press her. He continued reading, occasionally noticing her phone light up with another call. Each time, she simply hung up.

He smiled. “Did you have a fight with your boyfriend? Is that why you don’t want to go home?”

“No. I don’t have a boyfriend. My mom wants me to go home for dinner with some relatives, but I don’t feel like going.”

“I guess they’re trying to set you up with some guy, right?”

“Something like that.”

“I think you should go. Even if you’re not interested, you can at least enjoy a free meal. You can only avoid your family’s matchmaking efforts for so long.”

“Then I’ll worry about the future when it gets here. Hee-hee!”