White Coat, Black Heart

My name is Joseph Sinclair, and I am an attending surgeon at the central city hospital. My fiancée, Felicity, works at the same hospital as a nurse in Pediatrics. We were scheduled to register our marriage next month, and the wedding date was already set. That afternoon, I had just finished a three-hour surgery. As I took off my surgical gown, ready to head to the lounge for a quick nap, I overheard some colleagues whispering at the Nurses' Station. "Have you heard? The hospital recently organized a sperm donation event, and quite a few people signed up." "No kidding. I just went to the administration building to submit some documents and saw the registration list. Surprisingly, Felicity Sullivan's name was on it." "Felicity? Isn't she about to marry Joseph Sinclair? Why would she sign up for something like this?" "Not sure. But it looks like she listed herself as the recipient, and the donor was... Garrett Locke?" Garrett Locke, Felicity Sullivan's male best friend. Seeing these two names together felt like an ice pick stabbing sharply into my heart, snapping me wide awake. I forced down the rising panic and walked over to the Nurses' Station, pretending to ask casually, "Where's the registration list for the sperm donation event you mentioned earlier?" My colleague was briefly taken aback by my question, then handed me a printed list. I quickly scanned the list and found Felicity's name near the middle. In the donor column was Garrett Locke's name in bold, while the recipient column listed Felicity's own name and ID number. The signature is Felicity Sullivan's own handwriting. My knuckles whitened as I clenched the list, my fingertips icy cold. Felicity registered Garrett Locke for sperm donation—and listed herself as the recipient? What exactly is going on? I took out my phone and called Felicity. The phone rang for a long time before she answered, Felicity's slightly noisy voice coming through along with faint laughter. "Joseph? Is something wrong? I'm eating out right now." "With whom? Where are you eating?" I tried to keep my voice calm. Felicity hesitated, her tone somewhat unnatural: "Just... with family, at a hotel near my place." "Family? Including Garrett?" I asked him directly. There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before Felicity's voice came through: "Yes, Garrett was there too. Why are you asking?" "I saw the list for the hospital's sperm donation event." I said deliberately, "You signed Garrett up, and the intended mother is listed as yourself, right?" Felicity's voice immediately rose a few tones: "You saw it? Joseph, I was planning to tell you about this later." "Talk about it later?" I couldn't help but laugh, but the laughter was bitter. "Felicity, when you did this, did you ever think about me? About the fact that we're about to get married?" "Why would I bother thinking about that?" Felicity's tone held a trace of impatience. "It was just a sperm donation event. Garrett and I are good friends; he wanted to donate sperm, and I happened to want to get pregnant, so we just agreed on it." "Just agreed on it?" I felt like my heart was being squeezed tightly by a hand, the pain making it hard to breathe. "Felicity, what do you think I am to you?" "Is our engagement really worth so little to you?" "Joseph, can you stop making baseless accusations?" Felicity's voice brimmed with anger, "Garrett and I are purely just friends; don't read into it." "Alright, I'm busy right now. Goodbye." Before I could say another word, Felicity hung up. I stood frozen as the phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a sharp crack. My colleagues could see something was wrong and fell silent, too afraid to speak. I bent down to pick up the phone; the screen was cracked—just like my heart in that moment, shattered and broken. I didn't go back to the lounge or stay at the hospital; instead, I drove straight to the hotel Felicity mentioned. Trusting my instinct, I found the private room's door. Before I could push it open, lively voices came from inside. "Congratulations, Felicity!" Felicity Sullivan's mother said. "From now on, I'll have to trouble you to take good care of her." Garrett Locke's voice came, carrying a hint of flattery. "No need for formalities. You and Felicity have been childhood sweethearts. Now, with a child, you're one family." Felicity Sullivan's father's voice came through as well.