Gemotions

"So, the new promotion is finally official!" Leo announced, beaming across the dinner table. Maya, his girlfriend, knew better. She’d just spent the afternoon scrolling through his social media, finding out everything he claimed to have achieved in the workplace was fabricated. His tales of deadlines, project leads, and success.

She picked at her food, the delicious aroma of the meal lost on her. Her appetite vanished. She watched him, his face lit up with a self-satisfied glow, and the feeling intensified, making her throat constrict.

The room seemed to spin. Each word from his mouth, each smile, felt like a deliberate act of deception. She felt a profound sense of loss, as if something precious had been stolen from her. The cheerful background music in the restaurant suddenly grated on her nerves.