Gemotions

A wave of nausea washed over Emily as she stepped inside the pawn shop, the door closing behind her with a definitive click. She felt exposed, vulnerable, as if everyone could see the cracks forming in her carefully constructed facade. Her family was in dire straits.

She dragged her gaze over the display cases, her heart pounding. The ring. Her grandmother’s ring. The diamond sparkled with a cruel brilliance. She hadn't seen it in years, but she knew it instantly. It felt like a physical blow.

"I need to know the price," she said, her voice trembling. The shopkeeper, a man with a bored expression, named a figure that seemed both impossibly high and utterly inadequate.