Page 67 of F*ck You in My Head

"Making a statement. Standing by everything. Your preferences, your website, and the streams, and casually drop that it was an act of revenge by a spurned ex-partner. There is money to be made in sex tapes of this sort– you will. You'll be told how despicable and reprehensible it is, but you're above that."

"What if I want to tell people it is neither one nor the other?"

"Then I'll tell you that it's a battle against windmills. You can't win."

"But someone should say something against it. Think of all the people who might be interested but are afraid to try it because of reactions like that. Or act it out."

Kaden tilted his head. "It's a touchy subject. And most magazines, especially the tabloids, will make whatever statements they want to hear or need for headlines anyway. No one is going to print a neutral, well-researched article just to get people to dare to stand by their preferences."

That was unfair. Unjustifiable. If you could drag someone through the mud for that, why couldn't you also put everything in perspective? In a place where it would reach many people– and not just those who were interested. After all, no one had asked who wanted to see the video and who did not.

None of us had the social media reach to get a post like this out to the masses. The only way was through the platforms that were already spreading the video and the stupid accusations behind it.

"In fact, these are exactly the words that Alexander thrown at me back then– while he himself regularly visited the sex club. This double standard is nerve-wracking". And that was probably putting it kindly, because in principle it was so much more than that.

Condemning someone while doing the same thing yourself was wrong.

"And now it's on a much larger scale. I understand you, Audrey. I really do." Kaia's compassion wouldn't change the situation.

After the initial shock, I had realized that I didn't really care how many people saw what happened between Lei and me. We trusted each other, and the bond we had created between us would certainly not suffer from the comments of some trolls.

It was just hard for me to see shame being spread on a large scale and others being judged for having similar preferences.

When my phone started ringing, Kaia handed it to me without comment. My father's name lit up. Just what I needed.

Before I answered, I swallowed, my eyes fixed on Kaia's face. I needed an anchor if I was going to survive this conversation.

"Is that why the wedding didn't happen?" He sounded calm. Much too calm.

I narrowed my eyes. "It's a little more complicated than that, but yes. Bottom line, that's what it comes down to. And just so you know, the website where you can watch these streams is behind a paywall. So stuff like that doesn't happen. But I'm afraid Alexander is not a big fan of privacy."

I had said earlier that his guilt could not be proven. Now I wanted my father to realize that his oh-so-beloved ex-son-in-law was one of the few who should even be considered– and he had the best motive of all.

"Who do I have to pay to make this video disappear?"

I snorted. Of course, his question was not about me, but about the fact that there were enough people out there who knew whose daughter I was.

"Don't worry, we have already consulted lawyers and are working on a statement. But you can't get rid of the video, no matter what you pay. It's on the Internet. Over six million people have seen it. It's probably on other websites and servers, and phones. The damage is done," I explained, struggling to control my voice.

"And you really think Alexander is behind this?"

"Who else? He found out about my website, called off the wedding as he didn't want to marry me because of it, and then made sure I took all the blame so he wouldn't tell my parents. He was just waiting for me to show up online again– so he could discredit me for good."

"I guess he didn't think about the fact that you have the same name as my company."

I took a deep breath before speaking again. "You know what? If all you care about is your business, you'd better take care of it instead of talking to me on the phone. I mind my own business."

Was it embarrassing that my father knew about the video? Had he probably even seen it? Of course he had. Was it worse that it was not only his daughter but also his best friend? But nothing would change, no matter how much he cared for his company.

"Thank Alexander, will you?" I would have liked to tell him it wouldn't be long before someone would hunt him down, but I didn't want to spoil the fun beforehand. Without another word, I hung up, tossed the phone to Kaia, and shook my head.

"Maybe we should just sweep this call under the rug," she muttered promptly, her eyebrows knitted together.

"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. Did I understand that he was willing to pay money?" Kaden interjected.

"To make the video disappear, yes."

He quickly closed the laptop. "What if you convinced him to use the money for education instead? Bribery, our own platform... whatever we can think of."