Gemotions

The phone slipped from Chloe's numb fingers and clattered to the floor. "Not commercially viable." The words echoed in her mind, a relentless mantra. She stared at the ceiling, the ornate plasterwork seeming to mock her. The hours she'd spent, the dreams she'd nurtured, the belief… all dismissed with a casual phrase.

She rose, her movements stiff and jerky. Her apartment felt like a prison. Every object, every photograph, every book on her shelves, was a reminder of what she had aspired to. She felt a burning sensation behind her eyes, her vision blurring. She would not cry. Not yet.