Gemotions

The tremor in his hands made it difficult to hold the coffee mug. Elias took a long, slow sip, the warm liquid doing nothing to calm his racing heart. His cheeks ached from the constant grin that threatened to permanently etch itself onto his face. He leaned back in his chair, trying to compose himself, but it was useless.

The headline blared from his computer screen: "Celebrated Novelist Accused of Plagiarism." And beneath it, the damning evidence. Every subtle nuance, every clever turn of phrase from his own unpublished manuscript had appeared, practically verbatim, in the latest novel of the renowned author, Seraphina Thorne.

He let out a shaky breath, then laughed. He had been so right! He felt a joyous thrill course through him, turning his stomach into a fluttery carnival. He leaned forward and typed a reply to the email from his agent. "I told you so…"