My day started with my alarm waking me from a deep sleep. I turned and looked at the beautiful man beside me, smiling, knowing how happy I was.
I got up and went into the kitchen to make breakfast and pack a lunch since I would be at the hospital most of the day.
While making lunch for myself, I also prepared lunch for Max in case he didn't want to make anything.
After eating all the food, I put Max's food in the microwave, sat, and fed myself. I then looked through my emails to see what was scheduled for today.
Once I cleaned up the kitchen mess, I took Max's medication and water to his side of the bed. He was still sleeping, so I went into the bathroom and got ready for work.
When I was done getting dressed for work, I checked on Max, who was still asleep. So, I left him a note about the food, the nurse who would be there at 10, and that I loved him. I made sure to kiss him softly before I left for work.
As I drove to work, I could not help but think about how much my life had changed in less than a year and how happy I was.
My phone sends social media notifications, but I don't pay attention because I drive. Once I get to the hospital and walk inside, I notice people staring at me.
I tell myself I'm being paranoid, and I go to my office to start my day. My assistant Mary comes in to review the schedule, but she is not acting like her usual talkative self. I ask her if everything is okay.
Mary told me she was okay, but was I? When I told her I was, she looked at me for a minute and said, "Have you seen the social media posts about you?"
I shake my head no, and she hands me her phone. I gasped as I saw most of what my cousin had posted about Max and me yesterday. In her delusional mind, she tells people that I took him from her and the baby is not even his.
The tears started to flow as I read all these awful comments about me, and I saw one from the girl Max had been sleeping with saying that I took him from her also.
Mary says, "I know this is untrue, but people will talk." I explained to her what had happened yesterday and that Madison had only met him for the first time.
I asked her to give me a few minutes, and I would be out to start seeing patients.
When I'm alone in my office, I pick up the phone and call Max. He answers on the third ring, and I bust out crying. You can hear the panic in his voice as he asks me what is wrong.
The sobs stop coming long enough for me to tell him about the social media posts, and he gets mad. He told me to give him a little bit and he would take care of it.
Max assured me that he would take care of it. I told him I would try to work on it and check in to see what he came up with.
I leave my office and start walking down the halls. I see nurses and other doctors staring at me.
I head into my first patient of the day, a five-year-old girl who has broken her arm in two places.
I looked over the x-rays and then started speaking to the parents. Then the mom looked at me and said, "We would like another doctor. I don't see how you can show your face with what you have done here."
TI needed to defend herself, but I would not do that in front of the little girl. I left the room and went to look for the chief.
The chief assistant told me to go in, and he would speak with me. Doctor Price, a 60-year-old with a kind face, didn't look happy.
He motioned for me to sit and said, "Mia, we have a huge issue with parents complaining that they can't have a homewrecker treating their children."
With a deep breath, I explained to Dr. Price what had happened yesterday with my cousin, who listened.
I could tell he believed me, but I understood he had to do what was best for the hospital. With all the emotions from yesterday and today, I could feel my heartbeat in my ear, and I knew my blood pressure was elevated.
Doctor Price tells me it would be best to take a few weeks off and let all the gossip die down. I breathed and told him my health couldn't take this, and I would like to resign immediately.
He tries to talk me out of it, but I am not interested in being with people who believe social media gossip without hearing my side of the story.
I told him that once I'm home, I will email HR to request the resignation and thank him for the opportunity.
Walking back to my office, I felt sad and not light-headed. Once there, I told Mary I had resigned and asked if she could please box up all my stuff and mail it to my house.
I told her that my blood pressure was high and I needed to go, and she said she would pack it up and drop it off herself one day this week to check up on me.
When I left the office, I hugged her and told her how great it was working with her.
I hurry to my car, get in, call my brother, and tell him about what happened, as well as the blood pressure and feeling light-headed.
James told me he would get an Uber and be there in a few minutes; he told me to call my OBGYN and tell them we were on our way and what was happening.
Once that is done, I call Jessie and tell him what has happened. He told me he would get Max and bring him to the doctor's office.
I sit in my car for another 15 minutes trying to calm myself down, but it's no luck. I feel my pulse, and I can tell it's showing signs of tachycardia.
Placing my hand on my stomach, I promise my daughter I will protect her at all costs. I see a car pull up, and my brothers step out, hop in the driver seat, and take off for my doctor's.
When we pull into the parking lot, I call as per the person I spoke to on the call and let them know I was here, and they were going to let me in through the back door.
The nurse led me to an exam room and placed me on a table, and a baby monitor was placed on me as they took my vitals.
As a doctor, Mark felt he needed to double-check all my vitals. I looked at the nurse and said, "He's my big brother, and he knows best what's best for me."
The nurse smiles and says, "It's great to have a brother who's a doctor and wants to ensure you have the best care."
My doctor checks my vitals. She looks at me and says, "You are a doctor, and you know how important it is to stay calm when pregnant."
The doctor and my brother started speaking, and I felt left out of the conversation. "Hello. I'm a pregnant doctor, so could I please be in the conversation?"
About that time, my heart rate increases, and the monitor on the baby beeps, letting us know she is sensing stress herself. Tears rolled down my face, and I couldn't stop crying.
The doctor and Mark are trying to get me to relax. There is a knock at the door, and a nurse comes in and says an upset man on crutches must be in here with his girlfriend.
Mark said, "I will leave and let Max come back; he could help her relax and lower her pressure."
My doctor tells the nurse to bring him back to see me. When I see him enter the room, the tears flow again.
Max walks over, pulls the stool beside the bed, and kisses my head. He says, "Babe, I'm here now. Let's calm down and stop the crying."
The doctor told us she would give us a few minutes and then return to talk to us. Once she was gone, he looked at me and told me everything would be fine and that I must stop worrying so much about what others think.
He sits there and holds my hand, kissing my cheek for a few minutes, and his comforting me regulates my heartbeat.
After a few minutes, the doctor returned and rechecked my vitals. She told me that everything was back to normal now.
Then she asked if we wanted to see the baby in 3D, and we were both on board. So she went out, got the machine, and came back in.
Once the gel is placed on my stomach, she finds the heartbeat first. When Max hears our daughter's heartbeat for the first time, tears start to run down his face.
Max looks at me and says, "This is so incredible. Thank you for sharing it with me."
The doctor shows the baby's different angles, and you can see her features on the screen.
We both stared at the screen. The doctor asked if we wanted the video and a few photos printed, and we said, "YES."
Once I'm back dressed, the doctor returns to talk to us. She says, "We know you have a stressful job, and you have to take it easy; it's not healthy for the baby or you to get this upset."
I tell her and Max that I resigned from my job this morning because I knew I could not stop how people were seeing me and saying things about me, so I was putting our baby first.
The doctor supports me if I want to do that. She told me to schedule another visit in four weeks, and then I could go out the back door again to avoid all the prying eyes in the lobby.
Max calls Mark and asks if he can bring my car to the back door. We walk out the door, and I must convince my brothers I'm good to drive Max and me home.
Max tells them he will be there and if he sees anything happening, he will make me pull over.
I kiss my brothers and thank them for helping us today, and I love them.
On the drive home, Max tells me that he had sent the nurse home since he had left the hospital. He doesn't want to discuss social media posts but tells me they will be sorry.
We get home, and I head straight for the bathroom, get changed in some panjamins, and crawl into bed.
Max comes in, changes clothes, and lies beside me until I fall asleep. While I'm sleeping, Max and his PR team go on the attack.
Max is lying beside me, reading a book, when I wake up after a three-hour nap. He smiles and says, "Sleeping Beauty has finally awakened from her nap."
The end of snuggling against him is too strong, and I just lay my head on his chest. Max places light kisses on my head.
After a few minutes, I asked him to tell me what he had done to fix our problems. He laughs and says the first thing he did was give them a taste of their karma.
Max pulled up his IG account and handed me his phone. An hour ago, a video was updated, and it has over 2 million views and over a million comments.
The video was shot outside on the porch, and Max looks content. In it, he explains that Madison's post was a lie and that he just met her yesterday.
To prove his point, the post even tagged the video shot yesterday at my brother's house. Then he tells everyone that he is not dating the other woman, that they are just hooking up, and that she never even went to his house.
At the end of his video, he explained that we've known each other for years. We met again the week of his brother's wedding and realized we had feelings for each other. He said I lived outside the country, and we had much to overcome to be together.
Max tells everyone he is the happiest he has ever been and that he loves me and our unborn child. He asks everyone to give us privacy as we deal with all the issues and things we are facing now.
He told me his lawyer had served my cousin and the other lady with papers. Also, the post has been taken down, but not before people started crucifying both of the women on social media.
Before I could say thank you, Max's phone rang. It was Jeremy. He answers and Jeremy says "Who am I beating the shit out of next."
Max laughs and tells Jeremy that he has handled it. Jeremy then asks how I'm feeling. He tells me that Max has told his parents, Ashley and him, what happened with me and the baby.
I told him I felt better after the nap and needed my brother to feed me. Max told me Maria had brought some soup and bread for us.
Jeremy tells Max he made it with all their help, and he is jealous that Max always gets to eat Maria's cooking.
We talked for a few minutes more, and then we told him we would be watching his game tonight and wished him luck.
After the call, Max texts his parents and Ashley to let them know I was awake and feeling much better.
They all said they were glad I was better. When I turned my phone back on, I saw many texts from family and friends.
Instead of answering each text, I go to our large family group chat, tell everyone I'm feeling better, and thank everyone for all the warm wishes.
Once I had taken care of that, Max asked me if I was sure about leaving my job. I told him I was sure this was the best thing for all of us.
Now, I tell him I'm hungry and need to eat. So we head into the kitchen, warm up the soup, and sit down to eat.
We sat silently, enjoying the taste of chicken noodle soup and bread. With a couple of hours before the game started, we decided to relax.
Max plays on the playstation, as I read beside him on the sofa. Just doing nothing but being near one another is all I need to feel safe.