Hazel’s POV
“The theater is at full capacity, and every single seat sold out in under six hours,” the foundation’s events coordinator said, practically vibrating with excitement as she checked her clipboard for the third time in as many minutes.
I stood backstage in the small theater, watching through a gap in the curtain as the audience filled in, familiar faces from the university mixed with strangers who’d read about the foundation in the papers, disabled artists and their families filling nearly a third of the seats, exactly as I’d hoped.
“Nervous?” Julian asked, appearing beside me in the dim backstage light, dressed sharply but without his usual armor of composure.
“Terrified,” I admitted. “This is different from a thesis defense. A thesis defense is just me and a committee. This
