Page 23 of Alien Warrior Chef… With Benefits
“Aunt Mara? Uncle Jek?”
They both rise.
“You’re late,” my aunt says with a frown. “And you look flushed. Were you… out with that alien again?”
“I—what?” I blink. “I was walking.”
“Walking,” my uncle says, folding his hands. “With Rekkgar, I assume.”
I don’t answer. Can’t. My heartbeat is still hammering against my ribs.
“We didn’t want to do this tonight,” my aunt says, voice tight. “But… news travels faster than light these days.”
I stare at her.
“News?”
My uncle sighs. “There’s been a Reaper attack. Out in the Badlands. A passenger vessel.”
My mouth dries.
“Auntie…” My voice is a thread. “Is this about?—”
“Yes,” she says. “The ship carrying your betrothed.”
For a moment, the room tilts sideways. My knees nearly give.
“He’s dead?” I ask. It comes out more like a gasp.
They both nod.
I feel… blank.
I never met him. Never even saw his face. His name was a name on a data scroll. A price of peace. A lock on my cage.
And now?
The key lies shattered in space dust.
“I’m… I’m not sad,” I whisper, shocked by my own words.
My aunt's eyes widen.
I feel tears prick my eyes—not for the dead stranger—but for the guilty relief now clawing up my throat.
“I’mhappy,” I say, voice cracking. “Gods help me. I’m happy he’s gone.”
They look at me like I’m unraveling.
And maybe I am.
But as I press my fingers to my lips again, still tasting Rekkgar’s kiss, I know one thing with crystalline certainty.
I’m free.
And nothing—nothing—will ever be the same again.
CHAPTER 6
