“Bunnie?”
Morticia froze in her spot, her breath becoming uneven. Bunnie? She hadn’t heard that in forever. Was he here? Behind her?
Her heart pounded hard in her chest, unsure of what to do.
“Bunnie!” The voice called louder this time, and realization hit Morticia. That wasn’t his voice.
She looked back and spotted a man running toward a woman who hugged him as he reached her. The woman’s name was Bunnie.
Morticia scoffed at herself. How absurd-did her heart just race at that name, thinking it was him?
It’s been four years, Morty! Four years since he broke you. Left you and went as far as marrying Tasha. The news of their marriage had made her cry for days until she fell sick.
Nothing felt alive, and it wouldn’t be any different if he came back.
Rhea spotted Morticia; she had actually heard that name and knew what Morticia might be thinking.
“She is not okay,” Valerie mumbled, staring at Morticia, who remained standing in her spot.
Taking a deep breath, Morticia snapped back to herself. Her feet moved again as she made to head to the entrance, only to be stopped by one of her teammates.
“We did it, Miss Morticia! I think we should celebrate!”
“Yeah, we should have a drink together, don’t you think?!” another teammate chimed in while others flashed her grins, clearly excited by their achievement.
Morticia forced a smile. “Congratulations, everyone. Your hard work paid off.” Her voice was steady, professional.
“But I’ll have to skip the celebration. There’s a lot on my plate,” she added, waving off their protests. “You all deserve this moment. Enjoy yourselves.”
“Why would you skip a drink to celebrate?” Miller’s voice rang out as Morticia made to leave. She cast a questioning look at him. “You’ve just made this company achieve a dream. Celebrate with us!”
Morticia scoffed at his sweet words and gesture. “Why are you acting all nice?”
The other team members blinked at Morticia’s cold words to Miller. No one talks to him like that.
Miller pinched the bridge of his nose. Did this woman have to ruin the moment?
“Fine. I’ll have a few drinks with you,” Morticia relented, and some of the teammates squealed.
Rhea cleared her throat. “Morty, you shouldn’t be drinking,” she winked at Morticia, trying to give her a signal.
“No. I’m fine,” Morticia faced the team. “I’ll pay for all the drinks!”
“Yes!”
At the bar, rain was pouring outside while inside, Morticia’s team chatted and drank.
Soon, Miller excused himself, claiming he had a family emergency.
Every moment, Rhea’s eyes would always go to Morticia, observing. Morticia’s drunken state brought out the real her, and Rhea was worried.
“She might get upset if she catches you staring at her,” Valerie whispered in her ear, and Rhea shuddered at her warm breath.
“I… just need to take care of her. The last time she drank, it was all crying Morticia. When she got sober, she made me promise to stop her from drinking,” Rhea looked back at her. “And now she won’t listen to me.”
Valerie held Rhea’s jaw, turned her face to hers, and kissed her gently, nibbling her lower lip.
She pulled away and whispered, “Don’t worry too much.”
Rhea’s face turned red.
“Guys, seriously. Get a room,” Morticia raised a brow at them.
Rhea immediately wished the ground would open up and swallow her under the gaze of others.
“Cheers, guys!” Rhea grabbed her drink, raised it in the air, and drank from it.
Finally, their attention wasn’t on her anymore.
“You shouldn’t do that, Val. Not when I’m around them,” Rhea said to Valerie in a hushed voice.
“But I badly want to kiss you,” she whispered in a hoarse voice.
“Val.”
“Fine,” Valerie chuckled, grabbed her drink, and took several gulps.
Morticia’s gaze shifted to the rain pouring outside.
‘You smell like rain…’ a smile spread on his lips. ‘I love rain… That’s why the beach is my favorite place… but that has changed. Because my favorite place is… by your side, Bunnie.’
Morticia chuckled, drinking more of her alcohol. She poured more into her cup.
“Why does everything remind me of him?” she mumbled to herself, drinking more.
She had left Washington just to forget him, but she was wrong. It felt like he was everywhere, even after all these years.
“Guys!” a girl among them, Lisa, called out, slightly drunk. “Well, I… I think I’m in love with my brother’s best friend!”
Others gasped except for Valerie, Rhea, and Morticia.
“What?” her friend beside her said, mouth falling open in disbelief.
“Yeah. I feel over the moon whenever I’m with him,” Lisa laughed.
“Do you wish to have more?” A guy, Nolan, slid a drink to Morticia and flashed her a smile when their gazes met. Nolan was the calmest among the team, barely spoke, and was efficient.
This was the first time he had ever spoken to her. His smile was cute, and he had a soothing vibe around him.
“I think she has drunk enough,” Rhea interjected and made to pull the drink away, but Morticia held it back.
“No, I’ll have it,” she retorted, pouring herself another drink.
“Cheers?” Nolan offered, and Morticia clicked her glass with his.
“Cheers,” she whispered, and they both gulped at once. The gaze swept around the place and caught the others staring.
“Woo… Miss Morty is about to take my Nolan away,” drunk Lisa spoke again.
“You’re crushing on Nolan?” her friend asked in disbelief.
“I’m crushing on so many guys!” she replied, throwing her hands in the air drunkenly.
“She is wasted,” another guy on the team spoke.
Morticia surprised them by answering, “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m not stealing your Nolan.” She poured more into her cup.
For a moment, Nolan’s gaze flashed with hurt, but it disappeared quickly.
“I’m ruined,” Morticia added, and Rhea sighed.
“W… why would you say that?” one of them asked curiously. They barely knew anything about their cold leader.
“Y’all,” her gaze swept through them drunkenly, and some of them leaned in curiously. “Have you ever loved with someone for so many years?”
“I have…” Lisa raised her arm, her eyes half open. “It only lasted for two years.”
“Hey,” Morticia tilted her head. “I’m talking about more than ten years.”
Lisa gasped dramatically, along with some others. “Ten!”
“Morty, let’s get out of here,” Rhea took her arm, but Morticia yanked it away.
“What? Am I not allowed to think of that motherfucker?” she raised a brow.
“You’re drunk. Let me take you home.”
“I miss him, Rhea,” Morticia confessed, and Rhea’s heart shattered. “I miss him so much, even with how cold I act. I want to hold him again. I want to hear the name Bunnie. Just one more time. Is that too much to ask? I just want him, even after more than ten years, even after he tore me apart and married another woman. I still want him. I want to see him again. I want to see him… ahh.” Morticia began to cry dramatically, and Rhea sighed.
“I told you not to let her drink… gosh!” Rhea snapped at Nolan, who quickly apologized. He was confused, just like the others.
Valerie helped Morticia up, assisting her out, with Rhea following.
As they left, the remaining workers quickly lowered their heads to gossip, except Nolan, whose gaze remained at the entrance.
“She loved someone? I wonder who the man is,” he mumbled to himself.