Chapter 72 Monkey’s Paw: The Third Wish

Chapter 72: The Monkey's Paw: The Third Wish

Unfortunately, Jessica didn't come to her senses as Everly had hoped.

The monkey's paw was a highly sinister magical artifact. As long as it had bonded with its owner and not all three wishes had been used, it couldn't be thrown away or taken from her. Whether stolen, snatched, or willingly gifted, once it entered another person's hands, it would quickly vanish and return to its original owner. Therefore, as long as Jessica's monkey's paw could still grant wishes, Everly had to steer clear of her.

So, the next day, Everly took another leave of absence and skipped school.

She planned to stay out until the third wish was used, until Jessica could no longer harm her, and then return to give that wicked girl a good punch.

Misha, on the other hand, didn't share Everly's worries. She went to school as usual every day, commuting regularly between school and home, acting as Everly's eyes and ears at school, keeping tabs on Jessica's every move.

According to Misha's reports, on the fourth day after getting scratched up and hospitalized, Jessica returned to school.

Because her appearance kept changing, she didn't dare show her face. She wore a mask and hat at all times on campus, and even during meals, she avoided everyone, sneaking off to a corner to eat a sandwich by herself.

Even so, Jessica clung to her third wish, refusing to use it no matter what.

Until that day, in front of everyone, Edward confessed his feelings to "Gymnastics Goddess" Nia from the neighboring class.

They made a perfect couple, both being single, and Nia thought Edward was a decent guy, so she readily agreed.

Word that the two campus idols were officially a couple spread like wildfire, even flooding the school forum.

Watching the lovey-dovey couple walk hand in hand across campus, Jessica couldn't take it anymore. She ducked into a dark corner and pulled out the monkey's paw, making her third wish: "I want Edward to be mine, to stay with me forever!"

*Crack.* The last upright finger of the monkey's paw curled downward, meaning the wish had been accepted.

At that very moment, Edward, who'd been walking along, suddenly acted like a completely different person. He shoved Nia to the ground out of nowhere and turned to walk straight toward Jessica.

"Hello, from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I felt you were so special, so unique, deeply capturing my gaze... Would you be my girlfriend?" He looked at the masked girl with goo-goo eyes, a shy blush creeping up his pale cheeks.

"...What's going on? Didn't Edward just confess to Nia?"

"Is this a prank? That's too much..."

"Who is that girl? Does anyone know her?"

Everyone who saw it stared in disbelief at Edward and Jessica.

Not far behind Edward, a few girls helped Nia up. She'd just gotten to them when she heard her boyfriend confessing to someone else right in front of her. Nia had never been so humiliated in her life. Her face went red with rage, and her fists clenched tight.

Ignoring Nia's death glare and the shocked looks from everyone around her, Jessica held her head high, looking smug as hell.

"Yes, of course I will." She held out her hand to Edward, all coy and deliberate.

"Wonderful, my dear, I swear I will love you forever!"

Edward was over the moon. He grabbed Jessica's hand, pressed it to his cheek, and rubbed it all over, looking at her with such gooey affection it was like a lake shimmering in spring.

Jessica's cheeks burned, and she almost drowned in that dreamy look.

Just then, a fist came out of nowhere and slammed into Edward's face: "Edward, you scumbag!"

It was Nia—cheated on right after she'd just started dating Edward. Being on the gymnastics team, she was small but had serious core strength. One punch was enough to jerk Edward's head to the side, a trickle of blood showing at the corner of his mouth.

Jessica stepped right up, blocking Nia: "Hey, psycho, haven't you figured out you already lost? Taking it out on the guy 'cause you can't beat me? Pathetic."

"Pfft, you're no catch yourself. You'd even take trash like him—you desperate little *itch!" Hot-headed Nia didn't take crap from anyone. She swung and clocked Jessica right in the face.

"You... how dare you do this to me! Monkey's paw, I want this bitch's face ruined! Monkey's paw, monkey's paw..." Jessica's face was still healing, and Nia's punch split the scratch on her left cheek open again, blood seeping out. Furious, she grabbed at her chest—but only felt an empty leather cord. The monkey's paw at the end was gone, and she hadn't even noticed when it disappeared.

"Well, duh. She's used up all three wishes—even if the first one didn't really come true, the monkey spirit at least tried, so it still counts. She's lost the monkey's paw now, standing on the same level as everyone else." Misha said with a snicker.

Everly nodded in agreement and pressed her friend: "And then?"

"Then Jessica and Nia were at each other's hair, straight up brawling—honestly, the scene was utterly absurd, because, you know, in my eyes, Jessica had your exact body and face, so what I actually saw was you in a mask fighting Nia..."

Jessica was bigger than Nia but out of shape, and she was outclassed in both strength and skill. Just as she was about to lose the catfight, Edward finally stepped in. He got in between them, stood in front of Jessica, and told Nia, all pissed, that he was just messing around with her—the one he really loved was Helena.

"...Helena? Wait, who are you talking about? Who is Helena?" Jessica's smug smile didn't last long before it turned into pure rage and annoyance. She chased after Edward, demanding to know who Helena was, but Edward acted like he had no clue she was jealous. He smiled all sweet, touched Jessica's face, and said she was his Helena.

—So who exactly is Helena?

Everly tilted her head, full of question marks.

Misha snapped her fingers with a grin: "Who is Helena? That's a great question. If you asked around school, I'd bet nine and a half out of ten students wouldn't know the answer. But I—your most reliable partner Misha—just happen to know this little secret. Everly, have you ever heard that Edward's mother divorced his father long ago, and his current mother is actually his stepmother?"

Everly nodded.

Because Edward was the "Campus Emperor," every move he made drew attention, so gossip about him spread fastest around school. Even though Everly didn't care, she'd occasionally overheard people discussing how Edward was raised by his stepmother and that the two got along well.

But out of nowhere, why would Misha bring this up? Could it be...

"Exactly! You've already guessed it, haven't you?! Although everyone usually calls Edward's stepmother Mrs. Greenwood, her real name is actually Helena—meaning our scandal-ridden, girl-magnet 'Campus Emperor' Mr. Edward has actually been infatuated with his own stepmother all along!"

"..."

That's quite something. Truly, only in freedom-loving America would everyone's mental state be so wonderfully unhinged.

Everly felt at a loss for words.

Regardless, Jessica had used up all three wishes, which was good news for Everly.

Now that they were in high school, the material taught in class was getting deeper. Even Everly needed to pay close attention in class and study reference books after school to fully grasp the concepts. Taking an extended leave at such a time would hurt her grades.

So, the day after Jessica lost the monkey's paw, Everly "recovered" and returned to class.

During the break between classes, she ran into Jessica in the school hallway. At that moment, Edward was clinging to Jessica like sticky candy, gazing at her with eyes so syrupy they seemed to stretch into threads, while Jessica frowned with a look of pure disgust and impatience.

Everly suspected Jessica had already learned Helena's true identity—otherwise, there was no reason for her attitude to shift so drastically after being so in love before. Incidentally, even though Jessica wore a mask, Everly recognized that in her eyes, Jessica resembled a famous "world's most beautiful woman" from her past life.

Who would have thought that across time and space, she'd witness that legendary beauty again—on a classmate's face.

Thinking about how the monkey's paw had fulfilled Jessica's second and third wishes, Everly sighed. But then, remembering that Jessica had used the paw to curse her with disfigurement, Everly instantly stopped feeling sorry for her.

Not only did she not feel sorry, but after school that day, Everly found a moment when no one was around, slipped a trash bag over Jessica's head from behind, dragged her to a secluded corner, and landed several solid punches on her.

Jessica should count herself lucky that Everly had been on guard and hadn't actually fallen victim. Otherwise, what awaited Jessica wouldn't have been a few simple punches, but far harsher retaliation.

Beaten out of nowhere, Jessica was furious. But she had made many enemies at school—especially after snagging the "Campus Emperor" Edward, she'd strutted around like a peacock, clashing with quite a few girls. So she had no idea who had attacked her and could only swallow her bitterness in silence.

But Everly's revenge wasn't over yet.

She asked Misha to keep an eye on Edward, then waited for a moment when he was alone and blocked his path.

"You've been bewitched by supernatural forces, you know that?"

"What?" Edward frowned, trying to sidestep Everly. "I have to go find my girlfriend. Can you get out of my way?"

"How about you snap out of it?" Everly stepped forward, holding up a hand at Edward.

As an athlete, Edward reacted quickly, instinctively moving to block, but Everly had received systematic training and was clearly more skilled in combat than the amateur Edward. After a few exchanges, Edward found himself pinned face-down on the ground, with Everly's knee pressing hard into his back.

"What are you doing? Let go!"

Ignoring Edward's enraged shouts, Everly grabbed his chin with one hand and pulled a silver cross from her pocket with the other, pressing it firmly against his forehead.

"Sizzle..."

The moment the silver cross touched Edward's skin, a thick cloud of black smoke billowed up instantly. Though the boy's forehead remained perfectly intact, the air filled with the acrid smell of something burning.

At the same time, Edward's once furious and obsessive gaze gradually calmed, and his face, flushed with anger, turned pale in an instant. He turned his head to look at Everly, then glanced down at himself, his face showing a mix of struggle and sudden understanding. "I... what am I..."

"This cross will only keep you lucid for five minutes, so time is tight—listen to me. You're currently under the influence of certain forces, causing you to see Jessica as your true love and developing an obsessive attachment to her. To break free from this state, you'll need sage, coarse salt, armadillo shell, and firewood infused with seven sacred spices including frankincense and myrrh..."

Everly walked him through the curse-breaking formula and ritual steps that Rebecca had purchased at great expense from an exorcist group. Worried Edward might forget, she had also handwritten a summary of the key points and handed it to him.

"You'll need to prepare the materials and perform the ritual yourself, or if you have someone you trust, you can delegate it entirely to them. Additionally, here's another cross—when your mind is once again influenced by the monkey's paw and you feel love for Jessica, remember how you feel right now in your clear state, and what you truly think. If reason alone can't suppress your emotions, you can use the cross to regain clarity, but it only works once—after that, it's gone. Don't use it lightly unless it's an emergency."

With that, Everly placed the second matching silver cross in a box and set it before Edward.

Once the boy took the box, Everly felt her mission was complete. She lifted her knee off Edward's back and made a clean getaway.