Gemotions

The sun felt too bright, the air too thick. Charlotte felt like she was wading through water, each movement a laborious undertaking. Even thinking seemed to require an extra level of effort. She wanted only to close her eyes and retreat back into the oblivion of sleep.

A notepad, left carelessly on the kitchen table, beckoned her. It belonged to Liam, and she knew the familiar handwriting. The title, scrawled across the top, sent a jolt of something akin to fear through her. "The Gilded Cage." Her name followed.

The first few pages mirrored her life with disquieting precision: her morning routine, her anxieties, her secret desire to escape. As she turned the pages, a strange mix of hurt and anger welled up within her. He knew her. He really knew her. And now, the world would too.