Gemotions

A tremor ran through Evelyn's hand as she stared at the printed manuscript. The words, *her* words, now belonged to someone else. The realization hit her with the force of a physical blow. She sat back, numb.

The publisher, in their apology, had claimed a clerical error. A mistake. But the pain, the betrayal, felt anything but accidental. Her future as a novelist, the dream she’d nurtured for years, seemed to slip away. She felt the weight of her disappointment drag her down.

She closed her eyes, trying to block out the image of the published book, the book bearing a name that wasn’t hers. The world around her dimmed.