Gemotions

Clara felt a cold dread wash over her as she read the manuscript. Her husband, Ben, had written a book detailing their relationship, thinly veiled as a work of fiction. In the pages, she was a frantic, emotionally needy person, almost comically so. A wave of shame hit her.

She sat on the sofa, clutching the laptop to her chest. She couldn't cry. Tears wouldn't come. Instead, she felt a numb stillness, a void where her emotions should be.

She slowly placed the laptop on the coffee table. She needed to get out, to breathe. The air inside the house felt thick, suffocating.