Chapter 1

Once again, I went viral for domestic violence.

The entire internet was filled with curses, asking when I would finally die.

When I got home, I dutifully knelt on the cold tile floor. My wife, Scarlett, slapped my face repeatedly with her slipper.

"Alex, I told you so many times, when you hit me, make your expression more vicious, your movements bigger. Why don't you listen?"

"You've ruined me! My products aren't selling!"

That's right, the one being abused wasn't Scarlett, it was me.

All because she'd crafted an online persona as a domestically abused wife.

I went along with it because she had absolute leverage over me.

Scarlett threatened me. If I didn't play along with her act, she'd disappear with our eight-year-old daughter, Chloe.

I knew Scarlett was capable of it. After Chloe was born, she was out early and back late within three days, living it up and chasing fun.

I'd raised Chloe by myself since she was a baby. She was the apple of my eye.

"You'll kneel there until morning. Reflect on your mistakes."

I don't know how long I knelt. In a daze, I heard my wife and daughter talking.

"Your dad is kneeling. Don't you feel bad for him?"

Chloe's clear voice chirped, "No, I don't feel bad. He doesn't deserve to be my dad. Derek deserves to be her father."