Gemotions

The novel was titled *Before the Storm*, a title she found both appropriate and yet cruelly ironic. The protagonist, a woman remarkably like herself, was portrayed as manipulative, a master of deception. He had described her insecurities with such chilling accuracy. She’d known, of course, that he observed her, but to see it laid bare, reduced to prose, was a different sort of humiliation. She found herself unable to meet his gaze when he returned, preferring to busy herself with meaningless chores, her movements jerky and forced.