Gemotions

The coffee tasted like ash in Clara’s mouth. Across the table, Liam was beaming, his eyes alight with excitement as he presented his proposal. The project: a revolutionary new energy source. Her project. Her thoughts were a snarling, tangled mess.

She’d spent years, sacrificing everything, driven by a fierce, burning passion, and now he was here, claiming it as his own. She felt a cold dread creeping up her spine, like icy fingers tightening around her throat.

"And I thought of you, Clara!" Liam declared. "We could collaborate! Think of it! Two brilliant minds working together!" Her hand tightened around the ceramic mug, cracking it slightly. "Wonderful," she muttered, the word a venomous whisper.