Sanne leaned back.
“This is easy for you now because you get to be the good parent.”
“What does that mean?”
“You tell her she doesn’t have to work and suddenly you’re Dad of the Year.”
“I didn’t use the word work.”
“No. Because that would make you uncomfortable.”
Thomas stared at her.
“What would you call six takes before breakfast?”
Sanne stood.
“She plays with toys on camera.”
“She performs.”
“She has fun.”
“She was crying upstairs.”
“For five minutes.”
“Does five minutes not count?”
Sanne grabbed her phone.
“I am not having this conversation while you’re acting morally superior.”
She walked into the hallway.
Thomas followed.
“So what are you doing?”
“Fixing the situation.”
“How?”
“Calling Elise.”
Elise was their content manager.
Thomas stepped in front of her.
“No.”
“Move.”
“What are you going to tell her?”
“That Mila isn’t feeling well.”
“You just spent ten minutes complaining about lying.”
“Move.”
Mila appeared at the top of the stairs.
Neither parent noticed immediately.
Sanne called Elise.
The conversation lasted four minutes.
When she hung up, she looked relieved.
“They can move the upload to Sunday.”
Thomas stared.
“No.”
Sanne froze.
“What?”
“No filming tomorrow.”
“You don’t decide that alone.”
“Neither do you.”
“We signed a contract.”
“I don’t care.”
“You will when they ask for the advance back.”
“Then give it back.”
“We spent part of it.”
Thomas looked at her.
“On what?”
Sanne did not answer immediately.
“What?”
“Expenses.”
“What expenses?”
“The car payment.”
Thomas stared.
“You used the campaign advance for the car?”
“We use channel income for household expenses.”
“That wasn’t income yet.”
“It will be.”
“If she films.”
Sanne looked toward the staircase.
That was when she saw Mila.
The girl had heard everything.
“Mila.”
She came down slowly.
Sanne immediately softened her tone.
“Sweetheart, adults are just discussing boring things.”
Mila looked at her.
“If I don’t do the video, do we lose the car?”
“No.”
Thomas said at the same moment:
“That’s not your problem.”
Mila looked from one parent to the other.
“So yes?”
“No,” Sanne repeated.
Thomas said, “Absolutely not.”
Mila seemed unconvinced.
“What happens if I stop videos?”
Sanne replied first.
“Nothing.”
Thomas looked at her.
Sanne ignored him.
“Nothing happens.”
“Forever?”
Sanne hesitated.
It lasted less than a second.
But Mila saw it.
“I don’t know,” Sanne said.
Mila sat on the bottom stair.
“I want to stop.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Sanne stood perfectly still.
“Stop what?”
“Videos.”
“For how long?”
“All.”
Sanne laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because the answer seemed impossible.
“You mean forever?”
Mila nodded.
Sanne walked toward her.
“Sweetheart, I think you’re upset because you’re tired.”
“No.”
“You haven’t even had breakfast properly.”
“I don’t want people watching me.”
“You used to love it.”
“I don’t now.”
“You love opening packages.”
“I like the toys.”
“Exactly.”
“But I don’t like the camera.”
Sanne crouched.
“You know those toys come because companies like your videos.”
“I don’t want them.”
“You say that now.”
“I don’t.”
“What about the bicycle?”
“I don’t want it.”
“The holiday?”
“I don’t want it.”
“Dance?”
Mila went quiet.
Sanne saw the hesitation.
“There.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Stop.”
“What?”
“Don’t make her choose dance lessons against filming.”
“I’m not.”
“That is exactly what you’re doing.”
“I am explaining consequences.”
“To an eight-year-old.”
“She should understand that money isn’t magic.”
Thomas stared at her.
“No. We should understand that.”
Sanne stood.
“Again. Very easy to say now.”
The argument lasted another twenty minutes.
It became less about Mila and more about everything her parents had avoided saying for months.
Thomas accused Sanne of checking analytics during dinner.
Sanne reminded him that he had negotiated a higher rate for Mila’s last toy campaign.
Thomas said Sanne posted clips Mila asked her to delete.
Sanne said Thomas was perfectly happy to spend the money.
Thomas said he had started to hate himself for it.
Sanne told him guilt did not refund anything.
At 8:02, Mila disappeared upstairs.
Neither noticed for several minutes.
That afternoon, nothing was filmed.
