Gemotions

The cafe air, thick with the scent of roasted coffee, suddenly felt stifling. Liam gripped the chipped ceramic mug so tightly his knuckles were white. Across the small, round table, Chloe, his Chloe, laughed at something the stranger across from her said. That laugh, a sound he'd held close to his heart for twenty years, now felt like a cruel joke.

He slammed the mug down. The clatter echoed in the sudden silence. "Chloe, it's me. Liam. We built that treehouse? Remember the time we--"

Her brow furrowed. She looked confused, then apologetic. "I'm so sorry. I don't... I don't know a Liam." The stranger snickered. Liam’s vision blurred.

He shoved back his chair, the legs scraping loudly against the tile floor. "You don't know me? After everything?" He didn't wait for a response, pushing past startled patrons and out into the bright afternoon sun, the taste of betrayal bitter on his tongue.