She flinched as if I’d slapped her. She picked up her purse and stood to leave without another word.

“I won’t argue with you anymore,” she said as she walked toward the door. “Just please think about what I said.”

When the door closed, I sat down and realized my hands were shaking with anger. I’d faced down corrupt officials and armed men, but nothing compared to being dismissed by my own mother.

The next week passed in a blur of training schedules and supply checks. The army has a way of swallowing your time, which left me very little room for personal battles.

But the sting of that day didn’t fade. Every night when the lights went out, I saw Skylar’s smug face and heard her voice calling me a stinking woman.

Then, one evening, I got a text from her. “Just checking in—how’s life going in your little shack?”