JEOPARDY: The Cursed Soldier.

44. So, Farewell

"Kayla!"

Rebecca's face broke into a wide grin the moment she noticed Kayla in her kitchen. She was busy kneading the dough while several omegas stood around, watching her work. "I haven't seen you in so long. How have you been?"

Kayla smiled back. But she didn't answer the question. She knew what she needed to do, but was unsure how to go about it.

In the two months she had lived in Soleria, she had only seen Rebecca for a couple of hours, but somehow the woman had snaked her way into her heart. Now, the reality that she might never see her again was making her sad.

"Y'all have seen me do this a dozen times. I don't understand what is so hard. But my Kayla is here, so you have to figure it out on your own. I want the buns to taste and look like the ones I make. How you do it? I don't care." Rebecca scolded the omegas surrounding her in that motherly way of hers before giving the dough one final knead and pushing it away.

Turning to Kayla, Rebecca said, "Let's go to my office, child." To the omegas, she added. "Don't knock on my door unless the kitchen is on fire. I've been coddling you for too long. They're so many things you still don't know how to make. You'll just have to learn the hard way."

Rebecca turned and started walking to her office.

This side of her and her love for cooking showed Kayla exactly how and why Rebecca had been her mama's best friend. Her mama loved cooking. She loved making delicious food and feeding people. A skill Kayla hadn't gotten even in scraps.

"What's with that look? Angela giving you a hard time? Alex?" Rebecca asked the minute she closed the door to her office.

Kayla shook her head. "I just wanted to check up on you."

Kayla sat down and breathed in the calming scent of the office. She couldn't recall when the smell of Rebecca's office had become so soothing, but at that moment, she realized that Rebecca had somehow become her safe space—her second mom, always ready with open arms and a listening ear.

"Oh my dear girl, I have missed you too." Rebecca's face became even warmer as her eyes sparkled in delight. "But more than anything I'm happy you that you're finally letting yourself care for me and taking the courage to express it. When you first got here, I feared you had taken after your stoic father. But you're your mama's daughter through and through, not just in looks."

Kayla shook her head.

All her life, she had been as stoic as her father. Her father had made sure of it. But it seemed like everyone in Soleria had worked together (unknowingly) to peel off all of her father's hard work. And now, here she was, emotional and expressive—ready to feel and express these feelings.

In that same spirit, Kayla said,"I also wanted to say something."

"Go ahead, child."

"I, uh, wanted to thank you... and to apologize. When I first got here, as you said, I was rude and brash. I was impossible to deal with, but you always received me with so much love and kindness. So... I just want to thank you for being my strength and safe space in a place that felt so hostile and strange to me.

"Honestly, you've become like a second mother to me. I don't always act like it or say it, but I don't know what would've happened to me if it weren't for you. Thank you."

Rebecca's eyes swelled in tears. Slowly, she walked to Kayla and pulled her into an embrace. "My sweet Kayla. You're so precious."

Rebecca's hands tightened around Kayla and suddenly she was crying. Hard. Kayla also tightened around Rebecca as her heart did the same.