Chapter 2: The Video My Wife Wanted the World to See
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The laptop fan hummed softly. Somewhere upstairs, Kerensa was singing to herself, a small, fragile sound that made the scene in front of me feel even more grotesque.
I turned toward Meliora.
"You recorded this?""
She crossed the room and reached for the laptop.
"Give it back.""
"It's your computer.""
"Then stop touching it!""
She slammed the screen halfway shut, but I caught the edge before it closed.
"Move, Adrian.""
"No. Not until you explain what this is.""
Her face flushed.
"It's a parenting video.""
I stared at her.
"A parenting video?""
"People are interested in honest motherhood. They want to see real experiences, not those fake, perfect families you see online.""
I looked at the screen again.
The project contained clips of Kerensa crying, reaching for her mother, and turning her face away from the clippers.
There was a separate audio track beneath the footage.
Meliora had added music.
Not sad music.
Dramatic music.
The kind used in transformation videos, with a rising beat designed to make an audience wait for the final reveal.
"You planned this," I whispered.
Meliora's mouth tightened.
"I planned a video. I didn't plan for you to come home and attack me.""
"Did you shave her hair because you wanted to film it?""
"Don't be ridiculous.""
"Then why are there multiple camera angles?""
She said nothing.
I clicked on one of the clips.
The video began with Kerensa sitting in the bathroom, her curls tied into two little ponytails. Meliora's voice came from behind the camera.
"Tell everyone what happens when you don't listen to Mommy.""
Kerensa looked directly at the lens.
"Nothing, Mommy.""
"That's not what I asked.""
The little girl twisted her fingers together.
"I don't know.""
Meliora sighed loudly for the camera.
"See? This is what I deal with every day. She refuses to take responsibility for anything.""
The clip ended.
I felt cold.
I opened another.
This time, Kerensa was already crying.
"Mommy, please don't.""
Meliora's voice sounded bright and cheerful.
"Hold still, princess. This will be funny when you're older.""
The clippers started.
Kerensa jerked away.
The recording stopped.
A third clip showed the bathroom mirror. Meliora had propped her phone against a bottle of shampoo, positioning the camera so that both she and Kerensa appeared in the frame.
It wasn't a spontaneous moment.
It was a production.
Meliora reached over my shoulder and closed the video.
"You've seen enough.""
I turned toward her.
"Why did you do this?""
She rubbed her forehead.
"Because she has been impossible lately.""
"She's four.""
"She keeps ruining everything! My clothes, my filming schedule, my mornings. She gets into my makeup, cries whenever I tell her no, and refuses to cooperate when I need her to sit still.""
"So you shaved half her head?""
"I thought it would teach her to stop acting like a spoiled brat.""
"While you filmed it.""
Meliora's eyes narrowed.
"You're making this sound worse than it was.""
I glanced at the laptop.
"How could I possibly make this sound worse?""
She grabbed the back of the chair and pulled it away from the desk.
"Do you know how much time I spend trying to build something for this family? You go to work, you get praised for bringing home a paycheck, and everyone assumes you're a hero. I spend my days trying to create something of my own, and you treat it like a joke.""
"I have never told you not to work.""
"You don't have to say it. You show it every time you look at my videos.""
I remembered sitting at the dinner table weeks earlier while Meliora described her plans for a parenting channel. She had wanted to turn our ordinary family life into content.
I'd supported her.
I'd even helped set up lights in the living room and bought her a microphone for her birthday.
But I'd also drawn a boundary.
No filming Kerensa during tantrums. No sharing private medical information. No posting humiliating moments just because they might attract attention.
Meliora had agreed.
Now I understood what that agreement had been worth.
"Did you upload any of this already?"" I asked.
"No.""
"Did you send it to anyone?""
"No.""
Her answer came too quickly.
I checked the project's media folder. There were several exported video files, including one with a thumbnail showing Kerensa's half-shaved head.
The filename included the words FINAL_VIRAL.
I didn't need to open it to know what she had intended.
Meliora stepped between me and the desk.
"Stop digging through my files. You're invading my privacy.""
"You're right about one thing," I said.
"I shouldn't be going through your personal files without a reason. But this isn't just about your privacy anymore. You've filmed our daughter in distress and planned to publish it.""
"You're not going to destroy my career because of one bad afternoon.""
"Your career?""
She pointed toward the laptop.
"Do you know what people watch? They watch conflict. They watch consequences. They watch a mother who isn't afraid to be honest about how difficult children can be.""
"Kerensa isn't a character in your show.""
"She's my daughter too!""
"Then start acting like it.""
Her expression hardened.
"You don't understand how this works. A video like this could reach hundreds of thousands of people. Maybe millions. We could finally make real money from my channel.""
I stared at her.
"You were going to make money from our daughter crying.""
"People pay for authenticity.""
"That's not authenticity. That's exploitation.""
She slapped her palm against the desk.
"You think you're so much better than me!""
"No," I said quietly.
"I think she deserves better from both of us.""
That silenced her.
For the first time, I felt the weight of what I'd done in the hallway. I'd struck Meliora. I'd used the clippers on her hair. I couldn't pretend those choices had been justified simply because she'd done something cruel first.
But I also couldn't let my guilt become another excuse to ignore Kerensa's pain.
I closed the editing program without deleting anything and unplugged the laptop's power cable.
Meliora lunged for it.
"Don't you dare take my work away from me!""
"I'm not taking your work. I'm stopping this video from being published while we figure out what happens next.""
"You can't control me!""
"I'm not trying to control you.""
"Then give me the laptop!""
"No.""
She stared at me, breathing hard.
I carried the laptop to the kitchen counter and set it down. I didn't erase the files or send them to anyone. I wanted the original material preserved, not turned into another weapon in a fight between us.
Then I took out my phone and called our pediatrician again.
When the receptionist answered, I explained that Kerensa needed to be seen that afternoon. I mentioned the shaved scalp, the distress, and the fact that the incident had been recorded.
Meliora stood motionless by the desk.
After I ended the call, she spoke in a different voice.
"Adrian, please.""
It was the first time she'd sounded frightened rather than angry.
I looked at her.
"What?""
She glanced at the laptop.
"You can't tell people about this.""
I said nothing.
"My followers trust me. If they find out what happened, everything I've built will disappear.""
I stared at the woman I'd married.
There was no question about what she feared most.
Not Kerensa's nightmares.
Not the possibility that our daughter might be afraid of her mother for years.
Not even the fact that she'd shaved a little girl's head while filming her pleas to stop.
She was afraid of losing her audience.
"Is that why you did it?"" I asked.
"Because you thought it would go viral?""
Meliora wiped at her eyes, careful not to disturb her makeup.
"It was supposed to be a funny discipline video.""
"Funny?""
"People do things like this all the time. They prank their kids. They shave a little hair, let them get upset, then reveal that it's a wig or a joke.""
I looked at the clippers.
"Was it a wig?""
She didn't answer.
"Did you plan to reveal that it was a joke?""
Her lips parted.
Then closed.
I understood.
There had never been a harmless reveal. No hidden wig. No second camera showing Kerensa laughing after the scare.
My daughter had been the entire point.
Meliora had wanted an upset child because an upset child would keep viewers watching.
I picked up the laptop again and carried it into my home office.
"I'm taking Kerensa to the doctor. I'm also going to speak to a lawyer.""
Meliora followed me down the hallway.
"A lawyer? For a haircut?""
"For what happened today.""
"You can't take my daughter away from me!""
I stopped.
"Our daughter," I said.
"And I'm not making a custody decision in this hallway. I'm making sure she's safe while we figure out the truth.""
Meliora's eyes filled with tears.
"You're destroying our family.""
I looked toward the stairs.
"No, Meliora. I'm trying to stop us from teaching our daughter that the people who love her are allowed to hurt her.""
I went upstairs and found Kerensa sitting on her bed, carefully arranging her stuffed animals in a circle.
She had placed her rabbit in the middle.
"What's everyone doing, baby?"" I asked.
She looked up.
"They're having a meeting.""
"About what?""
She picked up a little stuffed bear and placed it beside the rabbit.
"About who is going to protect me.""
My throat tightened.
I sat beside her.
"And what did they decide?""
Kerensa looked at me as though the answer should have been obvious.
"They said Daddy would.""
I held her hand.
"I'll do everything I can, sweetheart.""
She leaned against my shoulder.
After a moment, she whispered, "Daddy, Mommy said I have to be brave because lots of people are going to see me.""
I went still.
"What people?""
Kerensa pointed toward the stairs.
"Mommy said the people on her phone would see my new hair. She said I should smile when the video comes out.""
I looked at the doorway.
Meliora was standing there.
Her face had gone completely white.
Because Kerensa had just revealed something the laptop couldn't tell me.
May you like
Meliora had already told our daughter that the world was going to watch.
And that meant the planned upload might not be the only place she'd shared the footage.
