As expected, Cecilia was sleepy.
She hadn't slept all night. Not a wink. As the result, her body was heavy with exhaustion now, her eyelids threatening to close with every slow blink.
There wasn't any problem with her work at the conference. Everything was done, checked, double-checked, and bulletproofed to within an inch of its life.
She could have simply returned to her dorm, crawled into bed, and slept until the conference ended. The only reason she was still out here, still present, still visible, was Ruby and Nikolas.
She didn't trust them. Didn't trust that they wouldn't sabotage her work, wouldn't create unnecessary drama in her absence, wouldn't use her withdrawal as an opportunity to spin narratives.
So she had gone the extra mile, made sure her contributions were visible, witnessed, undeniable. Multiple people had seen her working. Multiple people could confirm that everything she had touched was in order.
It was exhausting. But necessary.
