Chapter 9 - Ryan Was Not Filming for Doctors Anymore
I found the account by accident.
Ryan left his tablet in the bedroom.
A notification appeared:
2 new comments on “Pregnant wife refuses dinner again.”
I stared.
Opened it.
Private social-media profile.
Not huge.
About:
4,800 followers.
Anonymous handle.
Ryan had been posting edited clips.
Me crying.
Me saying:
“Leave me alone.”
Me refusing one of Judith’s shakes.
One video filmed after I vomited had the caption:
Day 43 of trying to keep two people alive while one acts like a toddler.
Comments:
She sounds exhausting.
Bro, run.
Call her bluff.
Make her eat.
Ryan replied to some.
Sometimes joking.
Sometimes portraying himself as:
heroic caregiver.
The account earned:
almost nothing.
Maybe a few hundred dollars through platform bonuses and affiliate links.
So this was not primarily:
money.
It was validation.
Thousands of strangers told Ryan:
You are right.
Your wife is difficult.
Your mother is helping.
Emma is the problem.
I confronted him.
He deleted:
the app
in front of me.
“I’m sorry.”
Then:
“I needed somewhere to vent.”
“You posted me without permission.”
“Your face isn’t always visible.”
“That is not the point.”
“I’ll delete everything.”
“Now.”
He said:
“Fine.”
Then asked:
“Can we not tell Mom?”
That was the moment I should have left.
Instead I stayed.
May you like
Three days later, Judith started locking the attic door every night.
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