“He looks completely different,” someone else added, sounding almost nervous. It wasn’t that he had become unrecognizable. It was that, for the first time, he looked like himself, without fear. The tuxedo fit cleanly across his shoulders, his hair was neatly trimmed, and he walked with a calm confidence that felt almost unreal in this room.
The elegant woman beside him leaned down, whispered something, and he nodded. Without hesitation, he led her toward the dance floor. Students stood frozen as they began to slow dance under the dim lights, the woman’s dress shimmering and Richard’s posture steady and composed. Those who had mocked him watched with slack expressions.