Larissa could tell that he was doing it on purpose, so she returned a similar smile of provocation before saying loudly, "Nope! The kitten's mine. It has nothing to do with you. If you dare give it to someone else behind my back, I will call your mother at once!"

On Kevan's phone screen, Ruby's smile froze, though whether or not it was due to Larissa's words or due to the Internet's lag, one could not tell. Kevan did not keep her threat in mind though.

"Go on," he said. "Call her. Don't think that I'll be afraid of you just because you threatened me with my mom."

Biting her lip, Larissa used the final trump card that she had. "I will even tell her that you contacted Ruby again!"

Kevan's face darkened at once. "You'd dare?!" he snarled through his teeth, his rage seemingly suffused in these two words alone.

"Just watch me!" Larissa straightened up and did her best to stand up against his domineering aura. "You can't have forgotten what you promised your mother today, can you? Do yo