Bunny Ears and Broken Contracts Chapter 04

Bunny Ears and Broken Contracts Chapter 04

Oliver hadn’t moved. I kept my voice flat, ice-cold.

“I didn’t sell you out. I sold you to Chloe. So technically, I kept it in the family.”

“Besides — isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”

The comments started flooding my screen again.

[Wait I looked away for TWO SECONDS and the FL already bought a new beastman?? And she’s sending the bunny straight to Chloe??]

[NOOOO don’t do it, babe!! We TOLD you the bunny has a phantom pregnancy, he didn’t betray you at all!!]

[He’s still a virgin!! He saved himself for you!!]

[Oliver just needs better guidance!! He can’t sort out his own feelings yet. He talks tough but he’s soft inside — he needs Hazel to be patient with him!]

[Exactly!! If you send him away now, there’s no coming back from that. When he figures out his real feelings and comes crawling back, he’ll think he’s too tainted to deserve you. He’ll camp outside your door and refuse to come in. And YOU’LL be the one who can’t take it.]

The silence stretched. When Oliver finally spoke, his voice was small but stubborn.

“Do you really not care if I’m gone?”

Outside, Chloe must have gotten tired of waiting. She leaned on the horn — two sharp blasts.

The noise split my skull open. I pressed my fingers between my brows, temples pounding.

I was done. “Get lost.”

Oliver flinched like I’d hit him. His ears quivered.

His eyes were burning red. He held my gaze for one furious second, then turned and walked out.

The engine noise faded down the street. The comments vanished with it.

I sat there, alone, staring at the screen.

I don’t know how long I sat there. When I finally stood, I went straight downstairs to the tank.

I pulled the cloth off. The merman blinked against the light, then swept his dark blue tail and drifted toward me.

He pressed his head to the glass where my hand rested, nuzzling my palm through the barrier.

I hit the release switch. A panel slid open and water gushed out across the floor, dragging the merman with it. He landed in a gasping, tangled heap.

I crouched beside him.

“What’s your name?”

“Gano.”

“I need to blow off steam. Right now.”

I watched him from above, letting the choice sit with him.

“If you’re okay with that, you stay.”

“If you’re not, I’ll release you back into the ocean.”

Gano’s lashes fluttered. He braced himself on his tail, and the translucent fins along his ears flushed a slow, creeping pink.

“You can do whatever you want with me,” he whispered.

“Just… please be gentle.”