Gemotions

The photograph, grainy and indistinct, was clutched tightly in her hand. It showed Emily in her supposed "executive" role, with a group of smiling co-workers, all of them in suits. The truth, revealed by a mutual friend, clawed at her insides. Emily was a cashier, a job she'd kept hidden for years, fabricating a career that never existed. Her world had collapsed.

A bitter taste coated her tongue, a feeling of utter betrayal. She sank to the floor, her legs suddenly giving way. The room tilted. Her head began to ache. She remembered all the gifts, the grand gestures, the tales of success she had thought were true. Each memory now felt like a fresh wound, twisting the knife. The air around her seemed thin, impossible to breathe.