I was in my third month at the hospital when, in a rush, I accidentally sent a photo of my car meant for the dealership to my work group chat instead. The new intern, a sharp-tongued girl named Dabby, immediately called me out. “Dr. Hayes, why are you posting a picture of my car? Are you that desperate for clout?” Stunned, I asked if she was mistaken. It was my car. But she just spammed the chat with a series of photos and videos of herself driving a G-Wagon, her hand casually on the wheel, proving it was hers. Her messages dripped with condescension. “Some people are just shameless. They’ll do anything to feel important. You think posting one sneaky picture of a car makes you the new Mrs. Fuchs?” I frowned and turned to my husband, who was sitting beside me. “Is there a second Mrs. Fuchs I should know about?” 1 In my haste to get to work, I’d sent the photo to the group chat for the interns I was supervising. Before I could delete it, they saw it, and the chat exploded. “Whoa! A G-Wagon with a starlight headliner? The customization alone must have cost a fortune! Dr. Hayes is loaded!” “I had no idea our supervising doctor was a secret heiress! My apologies for ever thinking otherwise!” “Dr. Hayes, what do your parents do? That car must be worth half a million, easy.” Dozens of messages flooded in, all prying into my family’s business. A few of the male interns even slid into my DMs, asking me out to dinner. I sighed. “I’m not an heiress,” I typed back. “It was just a birthday gift from my husband. Now, can we please focus on work…” Before I could finish, the new intern, Dabby, jumped in. “Dr. Hayes, why are you posting a picture of my car? Are you that jealous you have to leech off my life for attention?” “‘A gift from your husband’? Don’t tell me you’re trying to pass yourself off as some billionaire’s wife.” “I knew I shouldn’t have driven it to the hospital. Now I have people like you taking pictures of it to flex online. So tacky.” The barrage of accusations left me speechless. “Are you talking to me?” I typed, confused. “Dabby, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Maybe our cars just look similar?” She went silent for a few seconds, then began flooding the chat with selfies in and around the G-Wagon, including videos of her behind the wheel. Her tone grew even more mocking. “This G-Wagon, with this starlight headliner, is a one-of-a-kind custom job. How could a broke doctor like you possibly have one that looks ‘similar’?” “You snap one photo of my car and claim it’s yours? Why don’t you go take a selfie in front of the White House and claim you own that, too?” Her blatant ridicule instantly swayed the other interns. Their tone shifted on a dime. “Uh, Dr. Hayes, this is a little cringe… So awkward.” “It’s okay if you don’t have a nice car. No one would’ve said anything. But this is just… low. And getting called out by Dabby like this? Yikes.” “Wow, I didn’t know we had such a poser at this hospital. And she’s supposed to be teaching us? Hope she doesn’t teach us all how to be pathological liars, lmao.” Another flood of snide comments followed. Someone even tagged me, telling me to apologize to Dabby. I frowned and tagged her directly. “What is going on? Why are you in my car? And when did you take those videos?” I had helped design the starlight headliner myself. It was unique. The second I saw her pictures, I knew it was my car. Dabby shot back: Have you no shame? Still trying to lie your way out of this? Do I have to drive the car right up to you and rub your face in it before you finally give up? “If it’s really your car,” I typed, “tell me what color the interior is right now.” “Gray,” I said to myself, confident. I’d just had the dealership change it a few days ago. A second later, Dabby posted a new selfie from inside the car. The interior was now a vibrant, custom pink. She laughed triumphantly in the chat. “Spoken like a true wannabe! You’re caught! The interior was gray when you took your little spy photo, but I had it changed to pink yesterday!” “What’s wrong? Couldn’t steal a new picture in time, Dr. Poser?” That sealed it for the rest of the group. They were convinced the car was Dabby’s and began dogpiling on me. “She acts so aloof, but she’s just as obsessed with status as anyone. We’re so unlucky to have her as our supervisor.” “Seriously. Seeing someone else’s luxury car and trying to pass it off as your own? Getting exposed like this is just pathetic.” “She lies so easily. Makes you wonder if her academic achievements are fake, too. You hear about female doctors sleeping their way to the top, trading favors with old professors to get published…” The rumors grew wilder, escalating into outright slander. I was furious and about to fire back when a colleague burst in. There was an emergency surgery, and they needed me immediately. There was no time to deal with a bunch of interns. I dropped my phone and ran. 2 It was late afternoon by the time I scrubbed out of surgery. As I walked through the main lobby, a delivery guy came in carrying a massive bouquet of yellow roses. “I have a delivery for a Mrs. Fuchs!” he called out. “From a Mr. Fuchs!” A smile tugged at my lips. My husband, Julian, and I had a small argument that morning as I was leaving. We’d been giving each other the silent treatment all day. But yellow roses were his way of apologizing. Trying to hide my grin, I stepped forward. “Those are for me. I’m Mrs. Van—” “Don’t you touch my flowers!” Before I could take the bouquet, Dabby darted out from across the lobby, shoved me aside, and glared at me with pure contempt. “Ava, do you have any self-respect? First, you try to claim my car, and now you’re trying to steal my flowers? Have you no shame?” I stumbled back, the last of my patience evaporating. “Are you out of your mind?” I snapped. “Those are my flowers!” “Hahahaha!” The little clique of interns standing with Dabby burst out laughing. “Dr. Hayes, you really need to give up the act,” one of them sneered. “A bouquet this huge? Only a man from a family like Dabby’s fiancé could afford this. Who do you think would send something like this to a nobody like you?” “Exactly! I’ve never seen someone so desperate. It’s physically painful to watch you embarrass yourself over a bunch of flowers!” “You’re lucky Dabby is so classy and forgiving. If it were me, I’d have called security by now!” Dabby, meanwhile, put on a show of blushing modesty. “Oh, stop it, you guys! I told you I wanted to keep my identity a secret. You weren’t supposed to tell everyone!” She preened under their fawning. “My fiancé is the heir to a massive fortune. His family is incredibly powerful. So many people are trying to get his attention, and I just don’t want to deal with all that drama every day.” The others cooed, showering her with praise and envious looks. I was so dumbfounded by their performance I could barely think straight. “Your amazing fiancé lets you drive other people’s cars and steal other people’s flowers?” I scoffed. “And if you’re such a wealthy heiress, why are you even working as an intern? Shouldn’t you be at home, lounging by a pool?” “It’s called being self-sufficient! Something you wouldn’t understand!” Dabby shot back, her face flushing, clearly hitting a nerve. “I could say my fiancé’s name and it would blow your mind. He’s the heir to the Fuchs Corporation!” I blinked, processing what she’d just said. I frowned. “You don’t mean… Julian Fuchs, do you?” “Excuse me? You don’t get to use his first name!” Dabby snapped, her eyes flashing with arrogance. I was completely baffled. “Did Julian Fuchs marry you in your dreams?” “How dare you insult me?” Her face twisted in rage. “My fiancé will not let you get away with this—” I held up a hand, cutting her off. “I don’t know about your fiancé, but I can tell you this: the real Julian Fuchs will not let you get away with parading around town, impersonating his wife.” I’d never seen someone so bold as to impersonate me, to my face. It was a new level of audacity. Dabby’s face turned crimson. “How dare you say I’m an imposter? I am Julian Fuchs’s wife!” “Prove it,” I said, my gaze steady. “Talk is cheap. Why should I believe you’re Mrs. Fuchs?” “I’ll… I’ll call my fiancé right now! I’ll have him come down here and deal with you!” She whipped out her phone and dialed, her voice instantly turning sugary sweet. “Honey, you have to come to the hospital! There’s this crazy bitch here who doesn’t believe who you are, and she won’t stop bullying me…” A man’s voice, recognizably Julian’s, came through the speaker. “Who has the nerve to bully Julian Fuchs’s woman? I’m on my way.” Hearing this, Dabby’s confidence surged. She shot a triumphant look at the crowd. “Nobody leave! Just you wait until my fiancé gets here. He’s going to destroy this pathetic liar!” I stared at her, utterly bewildered by her conviction. If her husband was Julian Fuchs, then who was mine? Taking my chance, I sent a quick text to my Julian, asking him to pick me up from the hospital. He replied almost instantly with a simple “OK.” That settled my nerves. In fact, I started to look forward to the coming showdown: The Real vs. Fake Julian Fuchs. 3 While we waited, Dabby grew more and more smug. She hugged the yellow roses to her chest and sneered at me. “Ava, I get it. You come from nothing, so you’re desperate to feel important. But I can’t just let you get away with slandering me like this.” “You’re going to get on your knees and apologize,” she declared. “And you’ll promise to never try to ride my coattails again. Otherwise, I’ll have my fiancé ruin you.” I almost laughed in her face. Before I could speak, her sycophants chimed in. “Dabby, you’re too kind! After all the lies she’s told about you, all you’re asking for is an apology!” “Ava, the heir to the Fuchs Corporation is not a man to be trifled with. You should take her offer and get on your knees now, before he gets here and decides to make a real example out of you.” “Seriously! I heard Mr. Fuchs is extremely private and hates public appearances. The fact that he’s coming here today just for Dabby shows how serious this is. Do you have any idea the trouble you’re in?” It was true that Julian disliked the spotlight, but that was just his personality. It was absurd that they were twisting it into another weapon to use against me. A cold smile touched my lips. “We’ll see who ruins who.” This woman was out there impersonating me, driving my car, even changing its interior. I needed to get to the bottom of it. I couldn’t let her tarnish my name any longer. Dabby snorted. “Keep up the tough act. You’ll be singing a different tune when you see what my fiancé can do.” Just as she spoke, a commotion erupted at the hospital entrance. The hospital director and other senior staff were rushing to greet someone. “Mr. Fuchs! What a delightful surprise! If you had told us you were coming, I would have met you at the door myself!” “Mr. Fuchs, those three million dollars in medical equipment you donated solved so many of our problems. The entire hospital is eternally grateful to you!” I looked over and, sure enough, it was Julian. He was striding towards us, his expression calm and unreadable. One of Dabby’s friends, Tina, was the first to run up to him, a fawning smile on her face. “Mr. Fuchs, you’re such a devoted husband. Coming here the second you heard your wife was in trouble.” “Look, Mrs. Fuchs has been waiting for you!” she said, gesturing dramatically toward Dabby. Julian glanced at Dabby, then his gaze found mine. He spoke in a low, intimate voice that cut through the silence. “Honey, come over here.” The entire lobby seemed to hold its breath. Everyone’s eyes swiveled to Dabby, filled with envy and excitement.
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