The change of event

Meanwhile, a certain drunk woman had just woken up…

Bella Lim felt a sharp headache on her head as soon as she opened her eyes. Groaning, she used her fingers to gently rub her temples. She stared at the ceiling for a while before slowly rose from her lying position. Her eyes ran over the alarm clock on the bedside table. She heaved in relief after seeing that there was ample time before her working hour starts. 

She looked at herself and realized that the black dress she bought from D's boutique was still on her body. At the same time, everything that had happened last night came uninvited into her mind, impossible to appease the already painful headache she was feeling.

"It was indeed him. I met Eric," she mumbled, hoping that by accepting the fact, she would feel better. In the end, she rolled on the bed and then screamed into her pillow.

"So embarrassing!" 

Their meeting wasn't supposed to be like this!

Bella Lim returned to the night her life ended, and soon, the dire state Eric Wu was in came to her mind, giving her the comfort that what she experienced last night was nothing compared to the fear and anxiety she felt when seeing him in so much pain. 

Feeling better, she left her room.

"Morning, big sis!" little pumpkin smiled when he saw Bella Lim came out from her room. Lily heard the greeting and turned around with a spoon in her hand. 

"Morning, I made you some hangover soup," she told her.

"By the way, what really happened to you last night? Was the dinner awful?" she asked after seeing her approaching them.

Last night, she was really worried after seeing Bella's condition. However, when she wasn't saying anything and kept on drinking, she gave up and went to sleep.

"Morning little pumpkin," Bella Lim approached her little pumpkin and planted a kiss on his forehead. Then, she went to check Lily's hangover soup.

"I meet someone scary last night. He scared the shit out of me," Bella gave a small account of what she had experienced.

She took a slurp of the soup, second, third, and soon, she took over the whole pot. Lily watched her greedily savored the soup and laughed.

This wasn't the first time she saw her getting drunk. However, it was definitely, the first time to hear that someone scared the shit out of her.

"He? A man?" she asked with interest in her voice. She poured himself a cup of coffee while waiting for Bella to share more of her experience. For all she knew, this woman never showed any interest in men. Elis, the chef of Simply Café had been trying to woe her but failed miserably.  

"Uhuh," Bella acknowledged, then proceed to divert the story in a different direction: "Our new barista will come today, right?" she asked.

In the past, Carla would report to work on the first day she worked as Simply Cafe's manager. After the reborn, she wondered if it was still the same.

Lily rose an eyebrow as she stared at Bella with a bemused look.

"A new barista? You said before that Jordan wouldn't recruit anymore after Carla. Has he agreed to lessen our burden?" she asked.

Bella Lim was shocked. She looked at Lily who was also looking at her, waiting for her to respond to her last question.

"Carla is already a worker? Did she report in yesterday?" she asked in surprise.

"What are you talking about? She had been working for over a month already," Lily stared at Bella with a narrowed gaze. She thought that Bella was acting strange, yet, she couldn't put her fingers on what it was.

"Sorry, I tend to forget things after drinking. I completely forgot about Carla," Bella saw the look Lily was giving her and quickly made up an excuse.

However, there was already a big exclamation mark in her mind.

It seemed that another event in her past life had changed again! Was it because her position as manager came early? Therefore, certain events changed to fill the plots? But, this would make things complicated.

"Really? How come..." Lily wasn't convinced. "Do you still remember that she wanted your position?" she went on.

Lily finally noticed the unusual thing about Bella. If it was any normal day, Carla would become a taboo topic since the feud between the two was quite severe. Bella would become depressed whenever someone talked about Carla.

Yet, just now she talked about her in such a friendly way. What happened? Did they reconcile? That should be Impossible... A creased appeared on Lily's forehead.

Bella Lim coughed, inviting little pumpkin's concern as he gently patted her back. "Thank you," she mouthed.

The news she just heard was totally something that never happened in the past.

In her eyes, Carla was always the perfect example of a good employee; punctual and dedicated. Even though she was quite the pampered princess in the beginning: whining and complaining when she had to learn things under her. 

So, what about the thing Lily was talking about?

It was true that she wasn't close to Carla, because she was newly employed. Regardless, she was certain that there was no bad blood between them. So why?

"I think I have amnesia," she muttered in a low voice, but enough to reach Lily's ears. The other frowned in disbelieve. Was there a case where people tend to forget things when they get drunk? 

"Really?" Lily asked with concerned. Although, she doubted what Bella was telling her, if there was really such a thing, then, Bella would be at a disadvantage.

Carla wasn't an easy opponent. She had good credits and often used them to get to Bella's nerves. If she came to hit on Bella's weakness again, Bella would experience the feeling of humiliation again.

Lily watched Bella's reaction and saw the wrinkle on her forehead. A constipated look plastered on her face. Seeing her struggling expression, sympathy replaced the doubt she had towards Bella. Perhaps, there was really such a thing.

She had witnessed how terrifying Carla's bullying was. This could become the primary factor that caused Bella to forget certain things in her life. Her physiological barrier wasn't strong enough to go against Carla's constant verbal assault.

"Carla had been working at the café for a month. She is Jordan's cousin and a graduate of Azure University. She thought she was more qualified to be the manager because of her certificate. But… who knows what Jordan was thinking," Lily explained while also observing the ever-changing expression on Bella's face.

"Are you okay?" she asked with eyes full of worry. 

"Big sis, are you okay?" little pumpkin who sat next to Bella also asked. He too had noticed the conflicted looks on his big sister's face.

Startled, Bella Lim lifted her face to look at the two anxious people. She smiled, indirectly telling them she was okay.

"I remembered now," she looked at Lily, trying to convince her with a lie she needed to make. The other nodded satisfyingly. Seeing her lie made through, Bella exhaled.

However, it was really surprising to listen to the account Lily was talking about. If Carla was indeed a bully and she was the victim... according to her past self, she wouldn't retaliate if the other didn't hurt her or anyone that close to her.

"If she comes to you again, please don't forget that you have me. It pissed me off when you simply listen and do nothing," Lily poured herself another cup of coffee after reminded Bella what she needed to do.

Bella could only smile after listening to Lily's rant. Was it really that bad?

Whatever she would know once she meets her.

The three of them finished their breakfast. Lily left early as she needed to return home to change her clothes.

Bella Lim decided to bring little pumpkin along to the café since she hadn't found a new school for him to attend.

If it was like before, Jordan would never forbid her from doing so. Besides, little pumpkin was a good-natured kid, he would never make a chaos in the café. He would just sit in one corner, drinking his milk while drawing or reading.

He was her sweet, well-behaved little pumpkin.