Gemotions

From the other side of the kitchen island, Liam watched his girlfriend, Chloe, as she hummed. It was a tune he didn't recognize, and the rhythm of it was foreign to him. He found his gaze snagged on the open laptop, where he saw characters he couldn't decipher. The screen was filled with the rhythmic strokes of calligraphy.

His muscles tensed. He felt a phantom pang in his gut. A week ago, he'd found a Japanese language learning app installed on her phone. He’d dismissed it then. Now, with the rhythmic humming and the indecipherable script, doubt began to cloud his vision. He gripped the edge of the countertop, his knuckles turning white.