Two Hearts Pledged

I was born with a peculiarity: two hearts beating inside my chest.
It was the only thing about me that ever brought my parents any joy.
Because my older brother, Jason, was born with a congenital heart defect.
The only reason I existed was to ensure he would live.
Then I met Kitty, and we got married.
She rescued me from the abyss of my desperate longing for a family’s love.
I thought she would be different from my parents.
But when my brother’s heart began to fail, she became obsessed with the idea of me donating one of mine to him.
What she didn’t know was that I only had one heart left.
My other one was already inside of her.

1.
“It’s just one heart, Ethan. Why are you being so selfish?”
“Weren’t you born to keep your brother alive?”
Kitty’s grip on my arm was like a vise.
“But I want to live, too. I’ll die without a heart.”
Her face tightened for a moment before she pressed on. “You have two hearts. Give one away, and you’ll still have one left. You’ll live.”
“But your brother is different. Without this heart from you, he’ll die.”
Ignoring my struggles, Kitty shoved me into the prep room.
I tried to explain, my voice filled with a desperate helplessness. “I only have one heart now.”
“You saw the test results, didn’t you?”
She wouldn’t listen. “Who knows what you’ve done to get out of this? You probably bribed the lab technicians to fake the report.”
She was convinced I’d paid someone off to alter the results.
“No, Kitty, that’s not it. I had surgery when I was a kid. I already donated one of my hearts.”
“Enough, Ethan! This is about saving your brother’s life. Why are you being so stubborn?” she snapped, cutting me off.
“I’m not lying. My heart is inside you.”
But she didn't hear a word I said. She was already walking toward my brother's prep room.

2.
The other doctors in the room stared at us, momentarily stunned.
Then, someone spoke up. “Picking now to whisper sweet nothings? That’s just disgusting.”
“Your brother is fighting for his life, and you’re in here hitting on your sister-in-law with cheesy lines.”
Only our immediate families knew Kitty and I were married. Her colleagues had never met me. And since Kitty had handled every single aspect of Jason’s hospitalization, everyone in her department assumed he was her husband.
Kitty had never bothered to correct them.
“Exactly. Instead of trying to save his own brother, he’s trying to seduce his wife.”
“What a waste of a heart.”
Their words were like daggers. I had to tell them the truth. “Actually, I’m the one who’s—”
Kitty came back out and grabbed my arm again, her grip tight. “You are donating your heart today. Your brother is already in the operating room. You’re next.”
She brandished a stack of papers. “I’ve already signed the consent forms. All you have to do is get on the table.”
Inside the OR, I saw Jason. He looked so frail and weak that it was impossible not to feel sorry for him.
“Don’t worry,” a doctor said kindly. “Your wife, Dr. Evans, will make sure you live a long, healthy life.”
Jason didn’t correct him. He just offered a weak, grateful smile. “It’s all my fault,” he rasped, his voice filled with self-reproach. “Making my brother sacrifice so much for me.”
He looked at me, but his eyes held a glint of triumph.
The other doctors murmured in sympathy, their gazes turning on me with contempt. To them, my brother was a saint, and I was a monster.
After a few reassuring words to Jason, Kitty turned to me. She ignored my frantic struggles and forced me onto the operating table.
“Get the anesthesiologist in here. Now,” she ordered.
A moment later, the fight went out of me.
Kitty’s fingers brushed against my cheek. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll make sure you survive this.”
Her mentor had been a pioneer in heart transplantation. She was confident she could pull this off.
“After your brother recovers, the whole family will finally accept you. And I’ll be right here by your side.”

3.
The surgery began, a tense and focused dance of scalpels and sutures. Hours later, Kitty lifted a heart from my chest. Without a second glance, she rushed it into Jason’s operating room.
My chest was a gaping wound. My body lay alone and forgotten on the cold metal table.
Suddenly, the piercing shriek of the heart monitor jolted the attending physician awake.
“He’s dead? I thought he had two hearts.”
One of Kitty’s colleagues sounded confused. “You actually believed that story Dr. Evans told? It was just a joke.”
“Serves him right,” another one muttered. “Trying to seduce Dr. Evans while her husband was dying. He got what he deserved.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“He’s dead. Someone will come for the body eventually. If not, the morgue will deal with it.”
With that, they all left.
Kitty, meanwhile, was completely absorbed in Jason’s surgery. It was her first heart transplant, but she was confident. After several grueling hours, she finished, the procedure a success.
Exhausted but triumphant, she followed Jason to the recovery room. Only after he was settled did a thought of me cross her mind.
As she was heading back to the OR, she ran into a colleague from the surgery.
“Where’s my husband?” she asked.
The colleague thought for a moment. “Isn’t he back in his room already? Don’t worry, someone’s watching him. The nurses in the department will take good care of your husband.”
The odd phrasing didn’t register with Kitty. She figured her colleague was right. With her position in the hospital, the nurses would be sure to look after him.
So, she went back to her office and got back to work.
A day later, Jason woke up. Kitty was right there by his side.
“Jason, you’re finally awake.”
Seeing her, he burst into tears.

4.
Kitty gently hugged him. “Don’t worry. The surgery was a success. Your heart is going to be fine now.”
Jason touched his chest, overwhelmed with relief. The illness that had plagued him his entire life was finally gone. He clung to Kitty, sobbing.
“You need to stay calm,” she murmured, rubbing his back soothingly. “No extreme emotions.”
A nurse passing by smiled. “Dr. Evans, you take such good care of your husband.”
Kitty froze. She remembered I was in another room on the same floor.
“You’re mistaken,” she started to explain. “He’s not…”
Jason clutched his chest, a pained expression on his face, effectively cutting her off.
Kitty’s attention immediately shifted back to him. “I told you not to cry. You need to rest so you can recover.”
Seeing Jason like this, so vulnerable, a memory of me surfaced in her mind. She realized she hadn't seen me since the surgery.
“Jason, you get some rest. I’m going to check on Ethan.”
As she stood up to leave, Jason grabbed her hand, his grip surprisingly strong. “I had this surgery without telling my parents. This is a critical time for my recovery. I’m scared to be alone. I’m worried I won’t heal properly.”
His pale face and pleading eyes made her heart soften. Besides, she thought, the doctors and nurses would be looking out for me because of her. I would be fine.
“Okay,” she sighed. “I’ll stay with you for a few more days.”
Jason watched her sit back down before slowly closing his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the morgue, an attendant was staring at my body.
“It’s been two days and no one’s come to claim him. What are we supposed to do?”
Another attendant was cleaning up. “What are you looking at? Let’s just get this done so we can go home.”
Together, they unceremoniously shoved my body into a black bag.
“Look at him. Died a pretty nasty death. Probably wasn’t a good person.”
“Good, bad… they all look the same after cremation.”
“True. Still a shame, though. So young.”

5.
Two more days passed.
Jason’s recovery was going well, and Kitty finally decided it was time to check on me.
She walked into my room and found it empty. A nurse was stripping the bed.
“Where’s the patient from this room?”
The nurse looked up. “Oh, Dr. Evans. He was discharged.”
A flicker of annoyance went through Kitty. I’d just had major surgery. What was I thinking, leaving the hospital instead of resting?
She pulled out her phone and dialed my number. It went straight to voicemail.
“Fine,” she muttered, her anger rising. “Go ahead and die out there for all I care.”
She stormed back to Jason’s room.
He immediately noticed her foul mood. “Is Ethan still angry? He won’t forgive you?” he asked, his voice full of concern. “It’s all my fault. I’ll go talk to him right now. I don’t want you two fighting because of me.”
He made a show of trying to get out of bed, and Kitty rushed to stop him.
“Don’t worry about him. You need to focus on getting better. That way, when Mom and Dad find out the good news on the day you’re discharged, they’ll be overjoyed.”
“As for Ethan,” she added dismissively, “he’s not going to die. He’s already been discharged.”
She remembered how I had begged her before the surgery, and a feeling of resentment bubbled up inside her. We were brothers. Why was I so unwilling to save him? And seeing Jason, always so considerate of me, only made my selfishness seem worse.
Fine, she thought. If I was going to be so stubborn, then I could have some time to cool off on my own. It wouldn’t be too late to bring me back for Jason’s discharge party.
Later, in the doctor’s lounge, her colleagues were laughing and joking around. The moment she walked in, they all fell silent.
Kitty found it strange. “What were you all talking about?”

6.
No one said a word. After a long, awkward pause, a colleague put her arm around Kitty’s shoulders.
“What else? About how devoted you and your husband are to each other, of course.”
Kitty thought about how I’d been forced to give up one of my hearts for her. She supposed, in a way, that did show how much I loved her. Even if I had been coerced, I had still helped her save a life.
With that thought, she forgave my sudden disappearance. But the fact that I wasn’t answering her calls still infuriated her.
Her colleague noticed her troubled expression. “Is your husband in a bad mood?”
Kitty didn't answer.
“He just had surgery. It’s normal for him to be a little down,” the colleague continued. “Just be patient with him. Do something to cheer him up.”
Kitty’s frown slowly smoothed out. She remembered how much I loved the pastries from the bakery near our apartment. She decided she’d go home after her shift.
Carrying a box of pastries, she walked into our apartment.
“Honey? I bought your favorite pastries.”
Silence.
As she set the box down, her eyes fell on the divorce papers I had left on the table a week ago. The moment she had told me to donate my heart, I had decided to leave her.
Kitty stared at the papers in disbelief.
Seriously? she thought. All this over one heart?
How dare I try to divorce her over this?
Furious, she threw the box of pastries into the trash. “If you don’t want this home, then don’t ever come back!”
Just then, her phone rang.
“Kitty? Where has Ethan been lately?”
It was my father. He rarely called, and even more rarely asked about me. His world revolved around Jason.
An idea formed in Kitty’s mind. My parents were the only ones who could get me to show my face. And Jason was almost fully recovered.
So, she told my father about the surgery.

7.
My parents rushed to the hospital that night. The moment Jason saw them, he burst into tears. The three of them clung to each other, a tableau of relieved grief.
After a while, my parents asked about me.
“Where’s your brother? He’s in the same department. He should be here to see you.”
Jason hesitated. “He’s already been discharged.”
My mother held Jason close. “Discharged? He certainly recovered quickly. Leaving the hospital just a few days after surgery. He’s probably going to get himself killed out there.”
My father shot her a warning look. “Don’t say that. Even though Jason has a new heart, there’s no guarantee there won’t be complications. If Ethan dies, what will happen to Jason?”
My mother quickly covered her mouth. “You’re right, you’re right. If anyone’s going to die, it should be after Jason is completely safe.” She turned to Jason, her voice full of love. “Don’t worry, darling. Your father and I will always protect you.”
A warmth spread through Jason’s chest.
The next day, Kitty walked into the room to find this idyllic family scene. For some reason, it bothered her. She had never seen my parents look at me with such affection.
“Kitty, you’re here! We can’t thank you enough for saving Jason’s heart.”
They were so grateful to her, but they didn’t mention my name once.
Kitty asked if they had heard from me. The question immediately soured their mood.
“Why are you worried about him? He’s been discharged, so he must be fine. You should be focused on Jason. Jason has always been so fragile, while Ethan has always been as strong as an ox.”
My parents had always wanted to set Jason up with Kitty. They’d only held back because of his heart condition. Now, with me out of the picture, the path was clear for them.
Before Kitty could say anything, a colleague walked in. “Dr. Evans, you take such good care of your husband. You’re here every day.”
My parents beamed, assuming their wish was already coming true. A faint blush colored Jason’s cheeks.
But Kitty’s face darkened with anger. “Who told you he was my husband?”

8.
The colleague, oblivious to Kitty’s fury, just laughed. “Everyone in the department knows. Don’t be so modest.”
She quickly left to attend to her other duties.
My parents took Kitty’s hands. “Kitty, since Ethan isn’t here, and everyone already thinks Jason is your husband, it will ensure he gets better care.”
Kitty saw the hurt expression on Jason’s face and swallowed her anger.
Back in her office, before she could find her colleague to set the record straight, she was told her old mentor had arrived.
She rushed to the director’s office. The moment she saw Dr. Peterson, she threw her arms around him.
“Dr. Peterson! It’s been so long. How have you been?”
He smiled, looking her over. “I heard you performed a heart transplant. The student has surpassed the master.”
He reminisced about the surgery he had performed on her when she was a child, marveling at how she had followed in his footsteps.
Kitty froze. “What surgery are you talking about?”
Dr. Peterson was taken aback. “The heart transplant, of course. The one you had when you were a little girl.”
The office was silent for a moment. Then, someone burst in.
“Dr. Evans, you need to come quick! The family in room 32 is fighting!”
Room 32. Jason’s room. She took off running.
As she burst in, she heard someone shouting. “Don’t you dare deny it! My nephew donated his heart to your daughter!”
Kitty rushed forward and pulled the two women apart.
One of them was her mother, who looked at her with tear-filled, guilty eyes.
The other woman, when she saw Kitty, started shouting again. “It was you! My nephew Ethan’s heart is inside you!”
Kitty stared at her, her mind reeling. My words came rushing back to her.
My heart is inside you.

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