Gemotions

The framed photograph on the mantelpiece – her mother, radiant in her wedding dress, her father beaming beside her – suddenly seemed…wrong. Amelia felt a hot flush creep up her neck. This woman, this *other woman* who produced a daughter her father apparently loved, had invaded her space even in absence.

A lawyer had called. A half-sister. Years of family dinners, shared holidays, suddenly tainted with the thought of another woman, another life. Her hands were ice cold, even though the room was warm.

She grabbed the photo and walked to the kitchen, the silver frame felt heavy in her grasp. She would not let this stranger change anything. She slammed it down on the counter. The image stared back, mocking.