Gemotions

He’d always felt a kinship with Silas Blackwood. His words, his intricate plots, were the air Liam breathed. Now, scrolling through the accusations online, Liam felt the floor fall away beneath him. The accusations of plagiarism hung in the air, thick and suffocating.

His throat felt tight, as if a vise were squeezing it. He reread the articles, the comparative analysis, the damning evidence. A hot flush crept up his neck, burning his cheeks. This wasn't possible.

He dropped his phone onto the worn sofa, the screen facing up. The familiar cover of Blackwood's latest novel, now tarnished, glared back at him. He couldn’t look at it anymore. He felt a profound sense of… disorientation, as if reality had become a fractured mirror.

Liam buried his face in his hands, muffling a frustrated groan. He felt strangely empty.