Gemotions

He stared at the spreadsheet, the glow of the monitor reflecting in his tired eyes. Mark ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. Another Monday. He felt the familiar weight settle in his chest, making each breath a laborious effort. He hadn’t felt this way in years, not since… well, since everything. He’d been trying to ignore the niggling anxieties about retirement, about their future. He'd decided to look at their joint account. That's when he'd stumbled upon it: a separate investment portfolio, managed solely by his wife, and a sum he'd never known about.

His stomach clenched. The numbers danced on the screen, a mocking representation of his financial obliviousness. The air in the room seemed to thicken, making it hard to think. He felt a creeping sense of isolation, a sudden realization that he didn't really know the woman he’d spent the last twenty years with.