Chapter 257
Giana stared at her, eyes wide in shock and lips trembling. She could barely get the words out. “Y–you… You…
Aria gave a bitter, self–mocking smile. “I’ve only ever treated one person before, but she died.”
Aria gave a wry, self–deprecating smile, her gaze drifting into the distance.
The light fell across her face, her long eyelashes casting deep shadows beneath her eyes.
Giana searched Aria’s eyes intently, but was met only with overwhelming sorrow, as if she were veiled in an impenetrable gloom.
Giana’s heart sank. Was there truly no way out?
Giana, refusing to give up, fixed her gaze and gripped Aria’s hand again. Her voice was unwavering. “Aria, just try! If I die, that’s my choice to make.”
Aria looked at her with confusion in her eyes. “Why? Are you really willing to risk your life for a fetus that’s not even fully formed?”
Giana’s lips twisted into a wry, yearning smile, her voice catching with emotion. “I know you don’t understand. Maybe no one really can…
“I once had a cat. I promised her that if I could ever get pregnant, I would keep and love the baby as I loved her.
“My cat was beaten to death by burglars during a home invasion!”
Tears welled up in Giana’s eyes. “If it hadn’t been for her,” she choked out, “I would never have escaped. I wouldn’t even be here today.”
Giana said with conviction, “I can feel it. It’s a girl.”
Giana’s heavy workload made her periods irregular. Sometimes, she would skip a month or two–nothing out of the ordinary for her.
If she had known she was pregnant earlier, she would have done everything in her power to protect the little one growing inside her.
Now, she was drowning in regret.
Giana said firmly, “As long as there’s even the slightest chance to save her, I’ll fight for it with everything I’ve got. I have to try.”
She told herself, ‘It’s not like I’ll die from this. At worst, I might lose the baby.‘
Aria drew a deep breath, then pulled out the sterilized medical kit from the case.
Those were the old traditional medicine practitioner’s needles.
Her own needles were meant to take lives, not save them.
Aria said, “Wait here. I need to sterilize the needles.”
Aria leaned over, pressed several key points on Giana, then quickly strode out of the room.
Giana’s two friends rushed over. “How is she?” they asked anxiously.
Aria didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Where’s the autoclave?”
One of them responded promptly, “Let me show you the way.”
Aria nodded, then looked at the other woman. “Stay here and look after her,” she instructed.
Aria strode out of the room.
1/2
Chapter 257
Owen remained rooted to the spot, his gaze following Arfa as she walked away.
Owen thought, ‘Something’s off about her.‘
Half an hour later, Aria returned with the needles. Giana tilted her head slightly, her eyes brimming with hope as she looked at Aria.
Aria’s hand trembled slightly as she clutched the medical kit. She ordered firmly, “You can leave now!”
One of Giana’s friends nodded and said, “Okay, Giana’s in your hands now.”
Aria stepped forward, opened the medical kit, and withdrew a long needle.
The needle cast a cold, clinical gleam across her face, lending her features an added solemnity.
The needle was unusually long.
Giana’s heart clenched. Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut, her thick lashes trembling violently.
“I’ll start from your abdomen,” Aria said gently.
Giana nodded firmly. “Okay.”
Aria lifted Giana’s top, twirling the needle between her fingers.
She tried to insert the needle, but an invisible force locked her hand in place.
Aria couldn’t steady herself. The needle trembled violently in her grip, leaving ghostly afterimages.
A deafening drumbeat of her own heartbeat filled her ears.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest, the deafening drumbeats echoing clearly in her ears.
Aria remembered when she first learned acupuncture.
Her hands were rock–steady, the silver needle held without the slightest tremor.
Her mentor praised her, saying she was born for this craft.
But he was wrong about her.
Her needles couldn’t save lives. Instead, they only took them.
