Page 35 of Alien Warrior Chef… With Benefits
The path to the bakery feels different today. Every step heavy, but not with dread—just weight. Gravity. The kind that anchors ships and hearts.
I reach the glass door just as she’s switching the open sign, hand still on the latch.
She freezes.
So do I.
For a moment, we justlookat each other.
She’s in a simple navy-blue apron today, flour already streaked across the curve of her hip. Her hair’s tied up in a loose bun, strands curling defiantly down her neck. Her eyes—gods, those eyes—are wary now, ringed with something darker than fatigue.
Pain.
I did that.
Her lips part, but she doesn’t speak.
So I do.
“I was wrong.”
The words leave my mouth like thunder after too long in drought.
She blinks.
I press on.
“I thought leaving was the honorable thing. That stepping away from your freedom would give you peace. But it didn’t. Not for you. And not for me.”
Still, she says nothing.
Her jaw trembles, just a little.
I lower my voice, step closer but not too close. I need her to know this isn’t a cornering. It’s achoice.
“You offered me something no warrior deserves without earning. A chance. A truth. And I betrayed that by not standing beside you.”
Her gaze doesn’t soften, not yet. “You didn’t just walk away, Rekkgar. Youran.After I told you everything.”
“I know,” I say, and shame curls like a blade in my gut. “And I’ll carry that failure. But I won’t let it be the final word.”
She crosses her arms, shoulders stiff. “So what now? You show up with another muffin and a bow-tied apology?”
“No,” I say simply. “I came with nothing but truth. And a request.”
Her brow furrows. “A request?”
I take a breath. My voice goes low.
“Let me try. Let meearnyou. Not because you need rescuing. Not because I can fight for you. But because I want to stand beside you, every damn day, and never flinch again.”
For a long, awful beat, she stares at me like I’ve spoken a different language.
Then she turns away.
I freeze.
But then—she moves behind the counter, reaches for a tray. When she straightens, she’s holding a muffin.
