Gemotions

The scent of stale coffee and forgotten takeout clung to the air. Sarah had spent the entire weekend holed up in their apartment, the blinds drawn, the world outside a blur. Mark was away, "working." She knew he wasn't.

She'd discovered the secret in his laptop, a word document titled, "Her Silent Years." The protagonist, a woman with Sarah's own meticulous habits, seemed to exist solely in the shadows of her own life. She was always alone, always observing.

Sarah felt a hollow ache in her stomach. Reading through the chapters felt like staring into a distorted mirror, a reflection of herself but rendered even more isolated. The apartment seemed to shrink with each passing hour, the walls closing in.

She went over to the window and pushed aside the blinds. The vibrant city scene outside seemed miles away, a world she could no longer reach. She took a deep breath, but it didn’t help.