Gemotions

The newspaper headline swam before her eyes: “Local Artist’s Secret Life Revealed!” She snatched the paper from the newsstand, her hands trembling so violently she nearly dropped it. A wave of nausea washed over her, making her lightheaded.

Her breath hitched in her throat, a choked sob. The article contained everything: the affair, the gambling debt, the art she’d buried. Everything she'd kept locked away, protected. All of it public now.

She sank onto the nearest bench, the cold metal seeping into her bones. The world tilted. She clawed at her hair, as if trying to rip the thoughts from her head, the memories from her mind. She felt utterly exposed, utterly vulnerable.