Bunny Ears and Broken Contracts Chapter 03

Bunny Ears and Broken Contracts Chapter 03

I told the workers to leave the tank in the living room and went straight to my room. Oliver trailed after me, jaw tight.

I could hear him breathing hard behind me, practically shaking with it. I didn’t look at him once.

He finally snapped.

“What the hell was that back there? What do you mean you sold me?!”

“You’re not even gonna answer me? You walk around like you’re carved out of ice — would it kill you to feel something? God, how did I end up with an owner like you!”

I sat down at my desk and woke up the computer. The tab I’d left open last night was still there.

The screen still showed Oliver’s post. The engagement counter was still climbing.

Most beastmen were loyal to a fault, and the comment section had torn into him over it. Buried in the thread, Oliver had replied last night.

[Don’t yell at me.]

[I know what I did was wrong.]

[I only posted because I don’t know what to do about this baby.]

The top comment didn’t hold back.

[If you want to stay with Hazel, get rid of it. If you want to find a new home, go find Chloe and see if she’ll even take you.]

Chloe had told me last night — Oliver had gone to her and asked her to step up. He’d already chosen to leave me.

So why was he standing here throwing a tantrum?

I propped my chin on my hand.

Oliver was standing across the desk from me, his face flushed. I looked up at him.

I swiveled the monitor to face him.

“Why are you showing me—” His eyes followed where I was pointing. The words died in his throat.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

The flush drained from his face until there was no color left at all. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded like it belonged to someone else.

“Th… this wasn’t me. You don’t actually think I posted this, do you?”

“Enough.”

I leaned back in my chair and let the silence sit. “Chloe messaged me.”

“You know exactly what you said to her.”

Oliver’s eyes welled up again.

“So that’s it? You saw the post and decided to get rid of me?” He barely got the words out.

Outside, a sports car roared up to the curb. A second later, my phone lit up. Chloe.

“I’m out front. Bring him out.”

“God, I’m so pissed. I didn’t sleep at ALL last night because of this.”

“Got it,” I typed back. “He’ll be down in a minute.”

Oliver stared at me. He really hadn’t believed I’d go through with it.

The same way I never believed he’d betray me — until I saw the post with my own eyes.

The day I found Oliver, he was nothing but bones wrapped in gray fur. He’d been dumped in the weeds on the outskirts of Oakridge, barely breathing.

I stood over him for a long time. If I walked away, he wouldn’t survive the night.

I’d never planned on keeping a beastman. I didn’t realize there was beastman blood in him until I got him home.

The vet frowned the entire time he examined him.

“A gray rabbit, miss? That’s about as common as it gets. My guess is he’s a reject — some lab’s failed experiment. Even if he shifts into human form down the line, don’t expect much in the looks department.”

“Keeping a beastman is a real commitment. If you’re going to dump him later because he’s not pretty enough, better to walk away now.”

I’d already carried him home. That warning was a little late.

I did regret it, though — eventually.

For the first two years, Oliver was constantly fighting for his life. I burned through expensive supplements and rare treatments like money didn’t matter.

The money I could stomach. What I couldn’t afford was looking away — one careless moment and he’d stop breathing.

Once he was strong enough, he shifted into human form. Then came the harder work — fixing what was broken inside.

In the beginning, he was terrified of everything. He flinched at his own shadow, never spoke louder than a whisper, and was convinced he was hideous. I dragged him in front of a mirror and made him look.

“Eyes. Nose. Mouth. Oliver, there’s nothing wrong with this face. And I’m only going to say it once.”

“Stand up straight. Speak louder. You have a home now, and you have me. Act like it.”

I taught him confidence. I taught him that he mattered. I taught him to want things and go after them.

He learned every lesson.

Bold enough to chase after Chloe. Willful enough to decide he wanted a different owner.

He seemed to have forgotten where he came from. He didn’t realize that everything I gave him, I could take away.