The Chef | A Michael Jackson Fanfiction

Chapter 52

April 1988 - USA

Maeve's POV

The longer I was with Michael the more I understood the reason why he preferred to keep most things private.

The circle that knew about Michael and I was small but they still managed to give us a hard time and I'm not referring to family, no.

Since the engagement Michael was eager to plan the wedding because he wanted everything to be perfect for when our baby arrives.

With the planing of the wedding, the question of my debut to the public was thrown at us frequently.

Michael wasn't ready to share us with the rest of the world just yet. He wanted me and our child to stay safe which meant for us to stay out of the public for now.

To be the victim of rumors and lies I didn't need to be exposed to the world. I got an insight of how it feels when everybody talks shit about you while on tour.

The more my bump grew the louder became the voices of rumors and lies about me.

Was it an accident?
-I heard she got knocked up.

Who is the father?
-She doesn't know.
-No, he's in military.
-I thought she's a surrogate?!

How many babies are in there?
-She gained a lot of weight!
-Her belly is huge.

I tried to ignore all the things that were said about me but the hormones made it 10 times harder to ignore.

Of course Tatiana enjoyed the conversations regarding my looks. Knowing her she even added her own thoughts to contribute to the general image of myself that was starting to crumble.

I tried so hard to ignore the voices but it was sheer impossible to not let these things affect me and I started to feel uncomfortable in not only my body but also the work environment.

Was it the pregnancy? Was it the things that people said about me? Or the constant feeling that the universe tries to rip my relationship with Michael apart that made me feel so insecure?

At the moment we were in Dallas, there's only one more show tomorrow before we leave for Minneapolis.

Today's been very hard for me. I yet again heard people talking about me and as soon as they noticed me they got quiet and just stared while exchanging glances every now and then.

After tonight's show Michael noticed that something wasn't right but I told him that I was just tired.

Michael's POV

I heard quiet sobs from the bathroom. It's not the first time that Maeve cried, thinking I wouldn't notice.

She's been so sensitive lately but refused to talk to me. I only partly blame the hormones.

As I walked up to her I noticed she was standing infront of the mirror only wearing her bra and panties.  She leaned against the sink while heavy tears rolled down her face.

Although her eyes were closed she didn't shy away when I touched her.

I planted a soft kiss on her shoulder before hugging her tight from behind. Her hands held mine as we stayed like this for a while. I was humming a sweet melody to calm her down and when she finally did I spoke.

"What's wrong, Maeve?"

A heavy sight left her mouth. "It's stupid" she said with a broken voice before taking some deep breaths and turning around to face me.

"The crew... they keep talking about me. Rumors about who the father is or gossiping about how much weight I've put on... I try to ignore it because it's nothing compared to what you have to go through every day with the press and everything-"

"You should've told me" I told her while cupping her head with both of my hands, keeping her gaze on me.

"I didn't want to bother you" she confessed.

"I always want to know what's going on in your mind, good or bad...." I quickly pecked her lips. "A few weeks from now and you'll officially be my wife! Are you excited, Mrs soon to be Jackson?"

I successfully changed the topic because I didn't want Maeve to know how I really felt about the rumors and lies that are spread about her.

I've been dealing with the press my whole life but it's so much worse when these stories come from people you thought are on your side. So I thought of a way to stop them.

******

Maeve's POV

The next day all the crew members were called for a meeting. The topics that are discussed are normally irrelevant for us, the kitchen crew.

Besides changes in the schedule or additional rehearsing days, there's not much that we needed to remember from these meetings.

So we quietly waited for Frank to finish so we could go back to work.

At the end of his speech, he asked Michael if he wanted to add something and most times there wasn't but this time he nodded and grabbed the mic from Frank.

"First of all I'd like to thank everyone for the effort and work you all put in this tour. It has been a wonderful time so far" he was interrupted by applause from the crew.

When it got quiet again, he started to look a little nervous. Before he spoke, he bit his lips.

"And secondly, it came to my attention that there are some rumors going on about Maeve and I wanted to take the opportunity to address that this really is hurting me because I thought we're all family and we should support each other."

Michael took a short break while his eyes scanned the crowd. He met mine and I smiled nervously at him, not knowing where this speech is going.

"Maeve is the head of the kitchen, I'd be careful. She could poison us all and we wouldn't even notice" he joked.

"As you all figured, she is pregnant, obviously" he added.

I searched the crowd, no one was surprised.

"And to make the rumors stop I thought we'd come clean. As you all know, I consider us a family and what I tell you now is something I want to keep private for a little longer." He again looked through the crowd. All eyes were on him, some even nodded their head a little.

"Maeve and I are expecting a little baby boy, due at the end of July."

Whistles and applause filled the hall. Michael smirked proudly at me. This was the first time we told anyone the gender of our child, not even Michael's family knew.

"And..." he started, signaling for the crowd to calm down. "And we're getting married in May!"

Now the cheers got even louder and I also felt some taps on my shoulder.

It felt strange to reveal this secret to a small crowd but I'm glad that we don't have to hide 24/7 from now on, at least not at the stadium.

"So please stop spreading rumors. If you want to know something, just ask us, I don't bite and when Maeve isn't hungry, she doesn't either." I rolled my eyes at him.

"I hope you respect our privacy and keep the news to yourselves. Thank you!"