The door clicked shut behind Serenya, the sound small and final in the quiet that followed her down the hall. For a moment, I stayed where I was—hand still on the edge of my father’s desk, as if the wood could steady the leftover tension in my bones. I watched the space she’d left behind, then forced my attention back to the room that mattered right now.
Dad was already making notes. Neat. Controlled. The way he did when he’d decided the situation wasn’t allowed to touch him or those he cared about.
I exhaled slowly through my nose. “Has a decision been made on the firm’s scholarship recipients?”
He didn’t look up at first. His pen moved once more, then stopped. “Yes.”
My shoulders loosened a fraction. “Good.”
“I’ll be announcing them at graduation,” he said, finally lifting his gaze.
