#Chapter 149: Optics and Blood

I should have gone to Simon. The longer I avoided it, the worse it got. I wasn’t even making up new excuses anymore. I just sidestepped hallways, stayed conveniently busy, and smiled with a steadiness that didn’t quite meet my eyes. It wasn’t about fear, not exactly. It was about control. If I didn’t go, then maybe I wasn’t spiraling. Maybe everything could still be handled on my terms. Besides, there were more pressing things to deal with. The plaza outside the council chambers had been cleared and staged for a midday press event. I stood beside Richard at the front of the temporary platform, the weight of fifty cameras aimed squarely at us. Reporters packed the line, drones hovered above, and councilors flanked the platform edges, trying to project calm authority in the autumn sun. I wore the blazer with the highest collar I owned. The one Jenny once said made me look like a war widow. Richard’s speech was short and deliberately neutral. It was meant as a public reassurance