Gemotions

The words on the page jumped out at him, each sentence a blow. He'd stumbled upon the novel by accident, a fictionalized account of their relationship, and he was the villain, the source of all her pain. A hollow feeling spread through him.

He slammed the book shut, the sound echoing in the otherwise quiet room. He searched for her, finding her in the bedroom, staring at the floor. He wanted to shout, to rail against the injustice of it all, but the words caught in his throat.

He had been self-absorbed, he knew, lost in his own world. Seeing himself through her eyes, however fictionalized, was a painful revelation. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides.