Candice's POV
For some reason, Sairis was quiet.
Candice had braced herself for an argument. She had sat in her chair and prepared for Sairis to push back, to question her, to lay out every reason why this was the wrong decision with the calm and methodical thoroughness that he applied to everything.
She had been ready for that. She had rehearsed her responses.
What she had not prepared for was silence.
Sairis sat across from her with his arms crossed and his face completely still and just looked at her. No anger, no hurt, no surprise.
Nothing she could read or respond to. Just a pair of steady eyes and a quiet that stretched long enough to make her shift in her seat.
She cleared her throat. "I know this was not what you were expecting," she said. "Especially after everything you did to help me through the examination. But I had to make this decision."
