Chapter 34

Natalie watches Reena post a polished, desperate layoff video and privately distances herself from the humiliation she perceives. She is nine months pregnant with her fourth child, Jessa, managing the kitchen while Clementine draws and Samuel and baby Stetson play nearby.

Caleb rushes in, urging Natalie to the barn. There she notices new workers and a newly acquired horse before Caleb seats her in his gadget-stuffed office to watch a popular livestream. A bearded host showcases Natalie’s Instagram, praising her as a wholesome, “traditional Aryan wife,” projecting claims about her baking, lifestyle, and anti-microwave views that do not match reality.

Caleb reveals he shared Natalie’s photo in an anonymous forum where the host found it. As the segment airs, Natalie’s follower count surges from thousands to tens of thousands in minutes, eventually surpassing three hundred thousand within a day. Alongside the adulation comes a torrent of angry, skeptical comments calling her life fake and cultish.

Natalie, unsettled by the host’s fantasies and the “exhausted and beautiful” framing, recognizes the misalignment between her curated images and their interpretations. The chapter ends with Natalie and Caleb absorbing the deluge of attention and hostility, as her online identity is abruptly and controversially defined by others.