Gemotions

A chill snaked up Leo's spine as his mother, eyes brimming with tears, confessed. A half-brother, she’d mumbled, a son from a past she’d buried. Leo's jaw tightened. He’d built his life around the image of their perfect little family, the three of them. Now, this… this intrusion felt like a personal betrayal. He excused himself, citing a sudden headache, and retreated to his workshop, slamming the door. The familiar scent of sawdust and varnish usually calmed him, but today, it did nothing. He grabbed his chisel, its sharp edge a mirror to the jagged edges of his emotions, and attacked a piece of oak with a ferocity that bordered on violence.