Gemotions

The photograph, a faded black and white print, was clutched tightly in Chloe’s hand. A smiling woman, her mother’s double, posed with a man she didn't recognise. This was her "aunt", apparently. Chloe's world felt askew. Her mother’s silence about her past, her father’s careless betrayal – it all converged in this single, damning photograph.

Chloe crumpled the picture into a ball and threw it across the room. It landed near the hearth.

She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine, her hand shaking as she did so. Every piece of family history she thought she knew was a lie. Chloe wanted to scream. Instead, she stared out the window, at the gray, indifferent sky.