Cadence covered the short distance back to her apartment building as quickly as she could. Hopeful that the tears would wait until she reached the solace of her room to start again, she avoided contact with everyone in the lobby as she made her way to the elevator and climbed to the twenty-second floor. She was slightly distracted by the number of messages she was receiving on the IAC, and though many of them were positive, she decided to turn it off. It would be better if she simply did not think about tonight’s events at all.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator door finally opened. Stepping out...