Page 43 of Pocket Wife

“You are not a tragedy I am waiting to endure.”

“You cannot know that.”

“No,” he says. “I cannot.”

The honesty steadies me and wounds me at the same time.

Inside the hall, someone calls for more ink. The valley is still fractured. Some families might still leave. Helix has found the tender places and pressed hard.

I wipe my eyes before tears can fall. “Then we keep choosing, I suppose.”

Rethan offers his hand.

I watch the silver-blue fingers, the faint glow that answers my nearness.

Then I take it.

A moment later, Nara Venn steps outside with her Helix offer folded once, then twice, then torn clean down the middle.

“I need three transport shares,” Nara says, voice unsteady. “And I am not promising I won’t panic again.”

I hold Rethan’s hand a little tighter.

“Good,” I say. “We will write that down too.

CHAPTER 18

RETHAN

The suspension notice arrives without sound.

It appears on the council chamber display at 06:12, pale text on a blue legal field, while I stand among archive crates, Helix offers, witness statements, and the scorched backing sheet from Westline.

The document does not accuse me of misconduct.

That would require proof.

Instead, it names concerns.

Procedural irregularity. Expanding authority beyond initial mandate. Undisclosed personal involvement with a protected settlement representative. Potential compromise of neutrality. Recommended withdrawal pending review.

I read it twice.

Then I read the sender line.

Alliance Preservation Authority, Internal Standards Division.

Behind me, the chamber doors open.

Lucy enters with damaged notices gathered from the night before. Bruising darkens near her collar, mostly hidden by her jacket. Her eyes find the display.

“What is that?”

“A suspension recommendation.”

“For you?”

“Yes.”