Chapter 460
You need a written agreement if you want it to hold up in court.
That way, even if Caitlin tries to back out, she won’t have a leg to stand on.
With that, Raven pulled out a notepad and pen from her bag, quickly scribbling out two identical agreements.
Once she finished, she handed one to Caitlin. “Miss Gonzales, are you bold enough to sign p>
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Caitlin didn’t hesitate for a second. She scrawled her signature right across the page.
Watching Caitlin sign, Raven exhaled in relief.
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
Soon, she’d get to witness Caitlin’s “stunning dance moves p>
After signing, both girls tucked their copies away.
Raven’s friend, Maisie Howard, looked worriedly at Raven, noticing she’d actually signed a written bet with Caitlin. “Raven, are you really going through with this wager p>
“Of course!” Raven nodded, completely unfazed by Caitlin’s warnings.
Maisie swallowed hard before pressing, “But… what if the Ridge Viper actually comes after you? What then p>
Just the thought made her shudder.
And besides, Raven was risking everything on this bet.
If she lost, even if the Ridge Viper didn’t get her, her parents would kill her. And if not, they’d probably disown her.
Raven rolled her eyes. “Look at you all, scared out of your minds over nothing! It’s just a snake. No matter how fierce it is, it’s still just an animal. All that nonsense is just the village girl trying to scare us. Just wait-soon enough, she’ll be the one performing a striptease for us p>
Three days.
In just three days, Raven would see Caitlin’s humiliating striptease.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she felt, as if she could already see Caitlin dancing for them.
Maisie considered Raven’s logic and figured she might have a point, so she stayed quiet.
Off to the side, Cassidy clung to Jimmy’s arm and whispered, “Jimmy, who do you think will win-Freya or Raven p>
“No idea,” Jimmy replied, shaking his head.
Logically, a snake shouldn’t have that kind of intelligence, but there’s a reason the king cobra got the name “Ridge Viper.” There were stories of one chasing someone for miles across the hills-hence the ominous nickname.
Jimmy went on, “Freya’s just like her name-deep and mysterious. You can’t quite figure her out p>
Cassidy’s eyes widened in surprise.
That was rare—she’d never heard Jimmy pay a girl such a compliment.
“Jimmy, be honest, have you fallen for Freya already?” Cassidy’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
Jimmy shot her a look. “I’m not that shallow p>
Cassidy narrowed her eyes, grinning. “One day, you’ll see there’s nothing embarrassing about falling for Freya p>
Jimmy said nothing.
After the incident with the Ridge Viper, no one was in the mood to picnic in the hills anymore. They packed up and headed back down.
When Raven got home, she immediately fetched the snake egg and set it on her nightstand.
A housekeeper came in to clean and went pale at the sight of the eggn Maam, th that’s a Ridge Viper egg
thon earth did you bring that
thing home p>
“You’ve heard of the Ridge Viper too?” Raven turned to the housekeeper.
She nodded. “Of course! Back home,
it’s infamous. It’s vicious, and it
holds grudges. If you provoke it, it’ chase you for blocks just to get Levenge! You really should get rid of that egg, ma’am, before it
remembers your scent and tracks you down p>
If the Ridge Viper caught Raven’s scent, it would hunt her for miles, just to settle
the score.
“Mae, where are you from?” Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Verdant Grove,” Mae replied instantly.
Verdant Grove?
Raven’s expression twisted with disdain.
Figures. Trouble always comes from places like that.
If she remembered right, Caitlin had grown up in Verdant Grove, too. No wonder
they all sounded the same.
Raven could hardly be bothered. “That’s enough, you can go now p>
Mae hesitated, frowning. “Ma’am, when are you planning to throw that egg out p>
“My business isn’t yours to manage,” Raven snapped, her tone icy. Mae fell silent and quietly left the room.
Raven was the mistress; Mae the help. With Raven’s word, there was nothing more to say.
Meanwhile
At the Prescotts p>
As soon as Cassidy got home, she headed straight to her room to take off her makeup and start her skincare routine.
Her skin had always been a sore point; wearing makeup too long just made the breakouts worse.
Once she’d removed everything, Cassidy let out a heavy sigh at her reflection, staring at the acne covering her face.
All these years, she’d tried everything-countless creams, endless appointments with dermatologists—but nothing really worked.
Suddenly, she remembered something, grabbed the acne cream Caitlin had given her earlier, and unscrewed the lid. A gentle herbal scent wafted up.
The cream was clear and slightly cool to the touch. Cassidy dabbed a little onto
her blemishes, instantly soothed by the cooling sensation.
Mrs. Prescott walked in just then, catching sight of her daughter applying cream. “Cassidy, did you go to the dermatologist again p>
“Nope,” Cassidy replied, glancing over.
“Then where’d you get that new cream?” Mrs. Prescott asked, curious.
Cassidy smiled. “Oh, this? Freya gave it to me-she made it herself, said it works wonders. So I thought I’d give it a shot p>
Mrs. Prescott frowned, a note of worry in her voice. “Freya made it herself? Are you sure it’s safe? Yo can just put anything on your facè—what if it leaves scars p>
She’d taken Cassidy to see the best skin specialists, and nothing had helped.
How could Freya possibly do better than a top dermatologist?