LA-based celebrity "Ari the Ghost Lover" got her start ghost-writing text messages to insecure womens' romantic prospects. She's now unbelievably rich from her self-help Netflix show — but the money and fame are insufficient salves for her wounded sense of self. Ari continually laments that she is fat and ugly, and keeps herself on punishing diets. She despises herself for her cruelty to salesgirls and waitresses and female fans, all of whom she is sickeningly jealous of. Much of this self-hatred stems from the horrible sexual abuse she suffered as a young girl at the hands of her stepfather. Ari often thinks back to her ex-boyfriend Nick, whom she still loves. She recalls that she told him about her history of abuse in order to make him love her, and remembers — with satisfaction — his furious and protective response. In a parallel to telling Nick about her stepfather, Ari tells her current boyfriend — Jeff — about Nick, and how he once raped her (One night, they both took psychedelics, and she awoke to him on top of her.) Ari informs Jeff that she plans to talk about the rape in a speech at a gala that evening. Unbeknownst to the placidly sympathetic Jeff, this is Ari's revenge on Nick for his upcoming wedding. Ari confesses to the reader that the night of Nick "raping" her was the best night of her life. But making Nick take the fall is the only way she can unburden herself of the trauma her stepfather inflicted on her without evoking disgust from the audience. Ari fantasizes that Nick will forgive her because he still loves her.