Page 121 of Alien War Daddy's Got Rizz

---

And it’s mine.

I step into my office and let the door seal behind me before the smile slips off.

My hand trembles slightly as I undo the fastener at my collar. It’s not nerves—it’s exhaustion. Every decision since taking back this company has felt like a battle. No—like cleanup. The kind of cleanup that comes after something burns too fast to save anything whole.

The desk is covered in contracts. Negotiations. Outreach proposals. Reports. I should care more about them.

Instead, I walk to the window and press my forehead to the cool glass.

Below, the skyline glows.

We look like a civilization that knows what the hell it’s doing.

But I know better.

Iwasbetter.

Then I became necessary.

My reflection in the window looks composed, powerful, even regal—but I see the cracks. The shadows under my eyes. The lines around my mouth. The weight in my stare.

I should feel triumphant.

Instead, I feel...unmoored.

A soft knock breaks the silence. The door slides open without waiting for permission.

Only one person does that.

Grau.

He doesn’t speak. Just steps inside, shuts the door, and leans against it like he’s bracing the world out. His shirt is black, collar loose, sleeves rolled—casual, but alert. That dangerous calm he wears like a second skin. The man looks like a myth who walked through fire and liked it.

“You saw the press feed?” I ask, turning to face him.

“I saw,” he says.

“Well? Did I look presidential enough?”

“You looked like you owned the room.”

“I do.”

He watches me for a beat. Then, “Does it feel like enough?”

“No,” I admit. “But it feels... functional.”

I cross to the desk, flipping through a few of the papers just to occupy my hands. “We’re onboarding displaced vets through the initiative next week. We’ve got buy-in from four major sectors. Public opinion is swinging back in our favor.”

“And?”

“And it doesn’t change what I did to get here.”

Grau steps closer but doesn’t touch me yet.

“It was always going to cost something,” he says.

“Yeah, well,” I murmur, “I didn’t think it would echo.”

---