Chapter 70: Monkey’s Paw (3)
“Have you done anything recently that might have made someone hate you?” Rebecca asked.
“Anything?”
Everly thought carefully. Her daily routine was very orderly: classes, then tennis, and the rest of the time mostly in the library. Nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary… Wait—actually, maybe there was something?
“I refused a boy’s confession today… could it be that he’s so full of hate born from love, embarrassed by rejection, that he cursed me to be disfigured?” Everly paused at the thought, then quickly dismissed it. “That doesn’t seem likely. Edward isn’t short of admirers. He doesn’t have deep feelings for me—he just thought we matched well, so he picked me. Even if I refused, he’d only feel a little regret, then quickly move on to the next girlfriend.”
Many of the student couples around Everly followed this pattern. They weren’t deeply in love; they just thought dating was fashionable, and the current partner happened to fit their image, making them look trendy. So naturally, they got together… Simply put, it was like fast food: quick to match, filling, but not very nourishing.
Someone like Edward would never harbor a grudge over a single refusal, let alone try to harm her appearance. Besides, a Monkey’s Paw can only grant three wishes. Unless someone truly hated her, no one would waste a wish on such a trivial matter.
“Could it be a girl who secretly likes Edward?” Misha suggested. “You might not have realized it, but your rejection of Edward probably spread across the school very quickly. Edward has a ton of female fans, maybe one of them is twisted enough to hate you for it and made a wish to disfigure you.”
Misha’s reminder made Everly’s mind click.
That made sense. Edward wouldn’t hate her, but it was entirely possible that one of the obsessive girls who adored the school heartthrob would see her as a thorn in their side. After all, when she thought carefully, the only thing she’d done recently that could provoke resentment was refusing Edward’s confession.