Gemotions

The party was supposed to be a celebration. Her friend’s new book was finally out, and they were all to gather and congratulate her. But the article. The blasted article, published in the same magazine, under someone else's name, was a festering wound in Emily's chest. She found a dark corner in the room and avoided her friend. The music throbbed around her, a constant reminder of her own failure.

She nursed a glass of wine, the bitter liquid doing little to soothe the knot in her stomach. Every toast, every congratulatory speech felt like a personal insult. She wished she could disappear. She wanted to shrink away into the shadows and never be seen again.