June brings an unexpected invitation.
Professor Chen emails asking me to speak at a symposium on Victorian literature and modern parallels.
Your thesis on power dynamics in Brontë novels has been selected for presentation. The committee was particularly impressed by your personal insights into navigating complicated relationships. Would you be interested in speaking?
I stare at the email for a full minute.
"They want me to talk about my thesis. In public. At an academic conference."
Marcus looks up from his laptop. "That's wonderful. You should do it."
"You don't think it's too soon? After all the publicity?"
"It's been four months. And this is academic, not tabloid. Your work stands on its own merit."
"What if people only come to gawk at the girl dating her biological father?"
"T
