“Did you really go out with Miss Morticia?” Lisa asked nosily as Nolan packed some files.
“We had dinner. Any problem?” Nolan asked, and Lisa shook her head.
“I’m just wondering how you managed to convince her.” Lisa leaned closer and whispered, “Are you two… together?”
Nolan sighed and turned to her. “Do you think I have a chance?”
“Huh?”
“She confessed she’s been in love with a man for more than ten years. Do you think I have a chance, Lisa?”
Lisa blinked, not only at his words but at how close they were, yet he leaned closer still.
“Then… why…”
Nolan straightened. “Nothing. I only wanted to get to know her. There were a few romantic feelings, but not anymore. Her heart has no space.”
“Really?” Lisa leaned forward this time. Nolan raised a brow at her closeness. Lisa cleared her throat. “Sorry.”
Nolan gave her a small smile and walked away, files in hand.
As he left, Lisa punched the air in excitement.
“I have a chance,” she shrieked.
Nolan entered the office, finding Morticia working with a serious expression as she drafted professionally.
“Here are the files, Miss,” Nolan said, placing them before her.
“Thank you,” Morticia replied. Nolan stayed to help her, contributing ideas and research, which proved helpful. Other teams contributed a little, and by the time the workday was nearly over, the draft was almost complete.
“Thank you, guys. Keep up the good work,” Morticia said dryly.
The team bowed and began leaving, but as Nolan made to leave, Morticia called him back.
“What would you like me to do for you, Miss?” Nolan asked politely.
“It’s about the dinner date we had. I’m sorry for agreeing to it. I hope it didn’t confuse you because… I don’t want to-”
“I understand,” Nolan interrupted, his voice smooth. “I can clearly see that. Let’s just consider the dinner a friendly one.”
Morticia’s lips twitched. “Hm. You understand we won’t go beyond that. Never.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Nolan nodded, then left.
_
Morticia stepped out, planning to eat her dinner at the restaurant before heading back home.
She stared into space. It had been three days since she last saw Klaus. Did he leave again? What a jerk.
Wait, why did she even care?
Morticia glanced down at her food and ate a little. As she began to leave, she bumped into a woman with a scarf around her neck, almost covering her face.
Morticia frowned, recognizing her.
“Tasha?”
Tasha was equally surprised, shocked beyond belief. “Morticia?”
–
“You work here in this city?” Tasha asked in a rasping voice. They were sitting in a corner of the restaurant.
“Yeah… You?” Instead of feeling angry, upset, or disgusted, Morticia felt none of those emotions. Instead, she was curious.
Tasha wasn’t dressed like the wife of a tycoon-nothing like Morticia had imagined her to be.
“I came to visit my father here in the city. Klaus told me never to come close to Washington, but I needed to visit my sick little brother.”
“What?” Morticia frowned harder. “Why would Klaus say that? Aren’t you two married?”
Tasha shook her head slightly. “We divorced more than a year ago after Klaus defeated Katie. The divorce wasn’t announced, and I’ve been living like a shadow.”
“Katie?” Morticia was starting to think Tasha wasn’t making sense.
“I thought you were working with Scarlett Holdings now. It belongs to Klaus. Didn’t he explain everything to you?”
Morticia bit her lip. What could have possibly happened all those years?
“Klaus had nothing to do with me. I only agreed to marry him to get some money for me and my brother. Katie wanted me to sleep with him that night so I could claim I was pregnant, but Klaus didn’t.”
Morticia’s eyes widened. “He didn’t?”
“Yes. The drug took a toll on him, yet he pushed me away every time I tried to touch him. He kept mentioning ‘Bunnie’ while jerking himself several times until he lost consciousness. I had to pretend he slept with me just to chase you away-”
Morticia breathed in confusion. “Tell me what happened… Everything.”
–
Nica couldn’t help but smile as she watched Old Evan play with little Evan. The boy referred to him as Grandpa, while Old Evan called her son “Little One.”
The joy on Old Evan’s face was priceless, and his health had improved. He was getting discharged tomorrow.
Vincent, however, stared at Nica’s bright expression. She looked even more beautiful when she smiled, revealing her sweet dimples.
Nica’s eyes suddenly met his, and he almost flinched.
“Hey, you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah… I…” he paused, quickly thinking of what to say. “I just wanted to ask if you’d like to go on a stroll with me.”
Nica nodded. “I’d love to.”
They stepped out into the evening, their hands interlocked as they walked through the street.
“Father loves Evan so much,” Nica said, her voice sweet.
“Father?”
“Yeah. I call Old Evan ‘Father,'” she clarified.
“Cool.” His gaze shifted to an ice cream cart. “Ice cream?”
Nica followed his gaze and nodded excitedly. They both went to the cart, and Vincent ordered two. While waiting, a voice chimed from behind.
“Vincent.”
Vincent and Nica turned to see a familiar woman standing a few feet away. Her dress covered most of her body except for her pale face.
Nica immediately recognized her.
Vincent did too and whispered, “Sienna?”
—
Morticia’s face was pale, her breath caught as she walked through the street with her head down.
She had just found out the entire story about Klaus.
“I did it to protect you.”
So that’s what he had meant. He left to protect her and her family, going to war alone… and she had been here, hating him.
He had lost his parents in the war, forced to separate himself from the ones he loved just to protect them.
He lived as a puppet, plotting against his enemies, losing his father, and after victory, still finding the world dark around him.
Morticia’s mind was in turmoil. She didn’t know what to do or think. The information was too much-too choking and shocking.
She recalled how she had pushed him away when he tried to explain himself. No wonder Vincent did him no harm and seemed not to care that Klaus was now in the city.
Vincent must have known everything.
A loud honk snapped her back to reality. Her head turned to the side, and she spotted a car speeding in her direction.
The world seemed to slow as she found herself unable to move.
A strong arm grabbed her, pulling her away from the road. Her head slammed against a hard chest, and his cologne filled her nose.
She looked up and met those dark, metallic eyes staring at her with worry.
“Bunnie… Are you okay?” Klaus breathed. He looked around, wondering what had caused her to walk into the road without watching her steps, but he saw nothing.
When he looked back at her, he saw tears building in her eyes.
She let out a bitter laugh, filled with guilt and concern. A tear dropped from her eye.
“Bunnie,” he whispered so low, his thumb reaching to wipe her tear away.
His touch broke her down.
Morticia began to cry softly, her heart squeezing painfully at the sight of him. She had hated him all these years, only to find out he was protecting her.
Klaus, confused, thought about hurting whoever had made her cry. Perhaps cutting their limbs off one by one.
But then… she did something shocking.
Morticia crossed the small distance between them, wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face in his chest.
Klaus stiffened at her action, shocked even more when she whispered,
“I’m sorry… Klaus.”