Gemotions

The lawyer’s office was opulent, the leather chairs gleaming. “For Samuel,” the solicitor announced, “the family's vineyard and all its associated debts. For Emily, the family’s savings, along with their summer house.” Emily’s breath hitched in her throat. Samuel, always the risk-taker, the adventurer, would relish the challenge of the vineyard. She, on the other hand, felt a wave of dizziness.

Her heart pounded. The thought of Samuel, with his reckless streak, managing the business filled her with anxiety. She needed to know what he was doing every minute.

She gripped her hands, her knuckles white. She had always relied on the security of money. It was her sanctuary, her comfort. She knew, even before Samuel spoke, that he would turn to her for advice, for funding. He would need her, and that was a burden she couldn’t escape.

She wanted to run, to bury herself in the sand. But she knew she couldn’t, not really.