_ A Room Full of Fools

I felt a quiet kind of pain, the kind that didn't demand attention but it settled into the bones after seeing the pain in her eyes. 

My father kept talking, oblivious to the way my heartbeat roared in my ears.

"And as much as I hate to discipline my own blood, I must," he continued, shaking his head as if I had gravely disappointed him. "Axel needs to understand that respect for his superiors is not optional. I have no issue with him apologizing if that is what it takes to set an example."

I exhaled slowly through my nose. Then I looked at María José again.

She had lowered her head with her fingers tightening slightly against the hem of her dress. She wasn't going to say anything.

Of course, she wasn't. She was used to this. Used to being nothing in their eyes.

Used to keeping her head down while the rest of them spoke over her, about her, as if she wasn't even worth acknowledging.