Gemotions

The laptop hummed, its screen reflecting Sarah's furious face. Mark, her boyfriend of five years, thought he was being clever, leaving it open like that. The title, "The Baker's Wife," glared at her. *Her* life, *her* bakery, *her* stupid, quirky personality, all laid bare. Her stomach churned, a cold knot forming in her gut.

She paced the small apartment, her slippers slapping against the wooden floor. Every detail of their life together, every inside joke, every fight, every shared moment, was now fodder for…what? Public consumption? Did he think their life was a story? A performance?

She slammed the fridge door, the sudden noise echoing in the quiet room. She grabbed a beer, the cold bottle doing little to soothe the rising heat in her chest. Outside, the city roared, a sound she suddenly found irritating, intrusive. He would be home soon. She’d have to act normal. But how could she?