Gemotions

The recording was on her laptop. He found it by accident. A woman’s voice – his partner, Chloe – speaking in Mandarin, a language she had never expressed any interest in before. The words were simple, the intonation clumsy, but the message was clear. It was a message of love. His chest tightened.

He closed the laptop, the screen reflecting his own distorted image. The apartment seemed to shrink around him, the walls closing in. He felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to run, to escape the suffocating weight of the truth. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, the phantom echo of her voice still ringing in his ears.