No Longer Your Live-Streamed Wife

Chapter 2

Melissa was standing outside my hotel room with a bag of clothes and toiletries.

My charger, antacid, sanitary products, even the earplugs I wore to sleep were all inside.

A chill ran through me. "How did you know I was staying here?"

"Gavin told me. He was worried you wouldn't have what you needed, but he thought seeing him would only make you angrier, so he asked me to bring your things."

She handed me the bag. My blue nightgown lay on top.

Gavin had once said the neckline was too low and that I should only wear it at home for him.

Now Melissa knew exactly which drawer it was kept in.

She didn't apologize. She simply kept explaining.

"Wendy, you misunderstood what happened with the calls. Gavin and I really weren't trying to hurt you. Please let me come inside first, okay?"

I held the doorframe and didn't move. "Whose account is it?"

Melissa bit her lip. "I registered it."

"Who uploaded the videos?"

"I did."

She admitted it so readily that for a moment I had nothing to say.

"I should have thought more about how you would feel. That part was my fault. But people in the comments are saying the videos were recorded without your consent. If we don't deal with it quickly, the account could be suspended. Could you sign an informed consent statement saying you knew about and agreed to the filming?"

She pulled out the document and a pen with practiced ease.

She handled it with the same careful efficiency she'd brought to every other problem she'd supposedly helped me solve.

When a coworker stole credit for my work, Melissa helped organize the message history that proved what had happened. When Gavin and I had our first serious argument, she sat between us and told me he simply didn't know how to express himself.

Before the wedding, I had asked her whether Gavin was right for me.

She held my hand and said, "A man as self-controlled as Gavin only loses control around you. He really loves you."

Now I was the problem that needed to be managed.

I looked down at the informed consent statement.

I, Wendy Moore, acknowledge that I was fully aware of the recordings and authorize Melissa Rhodes to use the footage to create content. Copyright in the finished content and all resulting proceeds belong to Melissa Rhodes.

It was only several sentences, yet my chest tightened with a sharp ache.

My husband had deceived and betrayed me. My best friend had used my body to make money.

And after I discovered it, neither of them seemed genuinely sorry.

"I want to see the platform dashboard."

No matter how hard Melissa tried to persuade me, I repeated the same demand.

Eventually, she had no choice but to log into the anonymous account.

The moment it opened, a revenue figure flashed across the screen.

Paid-content income this month: 23,640 dollars.

She closed the window immediately. "That has nothing to do with you."

"The money came from videos of me. How does that have nothing to do with me?"

"The account has other content."

"The total includes my six episodes."

"I'll return the money."

"Who are you going to return it to?"

Her hand stopped.

Instead of answering, she opened the account security page. "Wendy, let's solve the informed-consent issue first."

At the same time, Gavin sent me a message.

Gavin: Wendy, deal with the informed consent statement first. We'll talk about everything else after you've settled down.

It was almost word for word what Melissa had just said.

"Who wrote the statement?"

"Gavin did."

Melissa's phone lit up immediately.

Gavin: Is she willing to sign it?

Melissa turned off the screen.

"Wendy, you can't judge a marriage only by your spouse's mistakes. Gavin has done a lot for you over the years. I've been a good friend to you too, haven't I?"

She pushed the antacid toward me. She even remembered that I took only half a tablet at a time.

I had developed my stomach problems during the hardest year of Gavin's startup, when I worked beside him through endless days and late nights.

Back then, Melissa said she envied us for having struggled together.

Apparently, she'd envied me enough to want my place beside Gavin and even a say in how our marriage should work.