Gemotions

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the living room. Leo had withdrawn, spending all of his time locked in his study, the clicking of the keyboard the only sound that pierced the quiet. Ava felt a dull ache in her chest, a constant, low-level throb of unease.

She stumbled upon a flash drive, tucked away in his wallet. She plugged it into her laptop. A file, titled "The Shadow of Ava," opened on the screen. The story mirrored their life, their arguments, their silences, but in a way that felt utterly foreign.

The protagonist was portrayed as manipulative and controlling. Ava felt a jolt of shock, then a slow, creeping sadness. It felt like a punch to the gut, the realization that the man she loved saw her this way. She felt a cold sensation, a feeling of desolation.