My sister threw red wine across my dress uniform and told me I didn’t belong in that ballroom, my father told security to take me out before I embarrassed his future son-in-law, and I looked at the stain running over my ribbons, checked the countdown on my watch, and said, “You’re right. I don’t,” because in sixty seconds the room was about to learn why I had really come

by

He used the word family right before trying to justify something ugly as he often did throughout my childhood. Go clean yourself up or better yet just leave before I have the private security team escort you out of the building, Jessica added.

Russell did not hesitate to agree with her demand because he had been using the same script for twenty years without any updates. I looked down at my medals as a slow drop of wine formed on the edge of the metal before falling onto the marble.

Instead of reacting to their insults, I rolled my sleeve up just enough to expose my tactical watch which featured a scratched face and a worn strap. I pressed a small button on the side of the device to activate the screen.

The countdown started at sixty seconds and the digital display began to tick down while I raised my head to look at them again. I will go, I said in a low and even voice that lacked any hint of a rush or an emotional edge.

My sudden calm made a few people shift uncomfortably because it did not match the humiliation they expected me to feel. Jessica smirked with satisfaction while Russell straightened his jacket as if the situation had already been resolved.

That is a good choice, I said while glancing briefly at the countdown on my wrist. But you have exactly one minute left to enjoy that smile on your face.

The room fell into a strange kind of silence where the only sounds were the distant clinking of glasses and the steady rhythm of the band. Jessica blinked once in confusion before laughing at what she thought was a hollow threat.

Oh my god, are you actually serious right now, she asked while crossing her arms over her silk dress. What is that supposed to be, some kind of dramatic threat you learned at the academy?

Russell scoffed and told me that this was not a military base where I could act like I was in charge of the situation. He stopped talking not because I interrupted him but because I simply stared at him with an expression that made his confidence waver.

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