“You don’t get to claim the officer I became when you refused to stand on that field when I started,” I said.

She blinked, her chin rising as she tried to recover her usual posture.

“Are you going to drag an eight-year-old misunderstanding into a public hall full of military dignitaries?”

“There is no misunderstanding,” I said.

“From this moment on, our relationship is formal and distant.

You won’t contact my command staff, and you won’t use my rank to push Derek’s business interests.”

Her lips pressed into a pale line, her eyes shifting to the crowd behind me.