Gemotions

She kicked off her shoes the moment she crossed the threshold. The day had been relentless, a constant push and pull that had left her feeling hollow. The apartment felt too warm, the air thick with the promise of more demands. The silence offered no comfort.

He popped his head out from the kitchen, a wooden spoon in his hand. “Ciao, amore!” he said. She froze, the sound of her childhood, distorted and clumsy, slicing through the air.

She wanted to scream, to lash out, to just… be *left alone*. But the words caught in her throat. The weight of everything she had held back, everything she had bottled up, felt like it was about to break the seams. She looked at him, his eager expression, and felt the first tear trace a path down her cheek.