I stood beside him when the room had filled. Not behind him, not at the professional remove I'd maintained for the past three weeks. Beside him — at the distance that meant this is real and deliberate and I am not apologizing for being here.
Jade Sterling arrived at seven minutes to noon in white.
Pure, deliberate white. Not accidental.
Her eyes found me before they found him. I held them. Didn't adjust. Didn't arrange my expression into anything other than what it was: calm, present, and unmoved.
She moved toward Dax. I stayed where I was. This was his announcement; I didn't need to defend my position in the room before the position was official.
She said something to him. He replied in the register I'd learned was his "professionally polite but done with you" tone. She moved away.
