I am aware that pregnancy is difficult. At first, I felt truly delighted for my pregnant coworker. When she felt sick, I’d bring her lunch and get her files from the printer. No big deal—I assumed it was a temporary problem.

However, she quickly began dumping her work on me, leaving small notes like, “Baby brain today! Would you mind helping?” At first, I assumed she was joking. But the texts kept pouring, almost every day. When I gently urged her to stop, she simply laughed. When I didn’t dismiss it, she took a long breath. What is her excuse? “I’m feeling sick, you’ll understand when you’re pregnant.” How can I even respond to that? So I just remained silent and walked away.

Being pregnant does not entitle you to be treated as royalty. I expected things to improve, but they didn’t. One morning, I strolled into the workplace and noticed her seated at my desk. She smiled and added, “Sorry, but I wanted extra space near the window. It helps with nausea. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t reach you.” I was stunned. She had just taken over my position without asking.

When she went for lunch, I left a sticky note on her new desk that read, “Please see me after work. This is not okay.” She never arrived. Instead, she sent an email to our manager, describing my remark as passive-aggressive.

Things worsened for me. The fact is that I am not heartless. I understand that pregnancy has serious obstacles. However, there is a difference between requiring help and abusing your situation to escape duties. And that line was crossed repeatedly.

Things reached a new low. Later, HR summoned me unexpectedly to a meeting. She was there, too. I expected a reasonable discourse. However, my jaw dropped when he asked me to apologize. He said my tone was harsh, that my sticky note made her feel unsafe, and that I should be more empathetic “during this sensitive time in a woman’s life.” I was speechless.

When I returned to my workstation, which I had been told I had to temporarily abandon, I discovered something more worse than being relocated: I had been entirely iced out. My teammates stopped talking to me. Even the coworkers I used to eat lunch with were avoiding me. One of them said quietly, “You shouldn’t have upset her—she’s pregnant.” Just like that, I became the workplace villain. Is asking for basic etiquette such a huge deal? Should I let someone walk all over me simply because she is pregnant? I would appreciate any advice.