Gemotions

"You knew," Eleanor said, her voice flat, devoid of emotion. Her mother, her eyes red and swollen, nodded, silent and defeated. The truth had emerged slowly, painfully, in hushed whispers and awkward silences. Her father, the man she’d believed had loved her completely, had another life.

The news had knocked the wind out of her. Eleanor went home to her apartment, the silence amplifying her fury. The carefully curated memories of her childhood, the holidays, the family dinners, felt tainted. The thought of this woman, this unknown sister, suddenly intruding on her life, sparked a visceral reaction.

She tossed all the photos into a box in the basement. She couldn't look at them. He wasn't *her* father anymore. The anger churned within her like a storm. This new person. This new threat to her peace of mind. She loathed it.