Chapter 10: The Emerald Pendant

POV: Lianne Deivin

The cave was definitely not what I expected. It was actually even more. It was located at the foot of a mountain bordering the resort and another small town on the other side. The facade was neatly maintained by the staff of the resort and a makeshift sturdy stair made of wood provided an entrance to the cave.

The inside was beautiful and huge. We were awestruck. It had a floor-to-ceiling length of about five storeys high, and the center cave expanse could be compared to a football field. One could immediately see a wide body of water and a natural waterfall connected to it, providing the cave another striking scenery.

There were stalactites and stalagmites everywhere, but unusually, it had a weird color of crystallized green. There was a small opening right above our heads that invited the afternoon sunlight in, reflecting the walls and flooring thereby giving the whole area its faint green color.

Green... My favorite color.

The stone walls were covered with a variety of mosses and ferns indigenous to the area. This place was truly magnificent, but what caught my attention was the beautiful shimmering body of water and its waterfall. The atmosphere itself and its surroundings gave me a memory that I couldn't seem to cultivate in the back of my head.

Then, I remembered the color of the necklace that the lady in the painting was wearing. It was the same. Rich emerald green.

There were caverns from side to side where most of the guests ventured on. Jen and Alona decided to dip their feet on the water, while Rachel and I continued to check on the caverns with some other guests.

The caverns were spacious but it looked like a continuous maze. It emitted an aura of mystery, most especially that it was dimly lit. Surely, if I'm not vigilant enough, I could be easily lost in this place.

Rachel was having a conversation with one of the guests. A middle-aged woman who appeared to be a good friend of their family. She was pretty much occupied, it definitely showed, so I decided to continue checking the cavern by myself.

As I examined the area again I was filled with admiration and respect of its beauty. It was no wonder why this place became one of the top destinations of the resort. Alona indeed didn't make a mistake in choosing our day's activity.

Touching the stone walls here and there, I found that it gave me a calming feeling. However, my eyes widened and my heart jackhammered when it caught a distinct shadow figure of a person just hiding behind a large stalagmite a few feet away from me.

Watching too many stories I guess? I know my reaction was a bit overrated, considering there were many guests everywhere, but for some reason, I just felt wary of the figure.

I focused my eyes on the shadow as it slowly stepped forward and although the cavern was dimly lit, I could clearly see the grin on Cain's face as he began to approach me.

My breath was caught up in my throat. I pressed my hands onto my chest and out of panic, I hurriedly exited the cave, running quickly out of the cavern and into the makeshift stair completely forgetting about Rachel and the others.

I only stopped when I reached the back of the bus outside, panting. I don't think that this would hide me from him if he'd pursue me, but at least I could collect myself here and think of a plan.

"He's here... He's here!" I said out loud, shaking my head.

Different emotions mixed inside me. Scared? Excited? Worried? I'm supposed to be having fun right now. Why does this man give me this kind of reaction? And why do I feel so uneasy now? Maybe because of what happened last day with him? Or maybe because of the possibility of him giving me another physical contact. The thought made me shiver and my heart leaped for a second.

After a few minutes of calming myself, I suddenly jumped at the touch of a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you alright, Li?" Jen asked me with her brows drawn up.

"Oh! Jen! Alona!" I replied in a surprisingly high-pitched tone.

Jen, in reaction, blinked a couple of times while Alona, crossed her shoulders and raised a brow.

"Why are you here? And why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Jen asked again.

I drew my eyes downward and hurried to give her an alibi.

"Ah, uhm...a...a bat! Do you know I'm afraid of bats also? Aside from horses. There were a group of them hanging above the ceiling in one of the caverns Rachel and I went to, so...so...I ran right away after seeing them."

I'm such a bad liar. I noticed these past few days, I had been lying quite a lot to my friends.

Alona eased her shoulders and released a sigh, accepting my alibi. "You really scared us back there Lianne, you know that? I thought you're in some kind of shit for you to come running outside the cave quickly! You really should watch your movements girl, you don't want to have another syncope right?"

I forced out a smile. "Yes, sure."

For a moment, I thought I dodged their interrogations, but it wasn't the case.

I looked at them, puzzled by the sudden change of expression on their faces. Alona and Jen were looking past me. This time, they definitely look like they were seeing a ghost behind me.

"Jen? Alona?" I said, trying to recapture their attention.

"Hello ladies."

I turned to my side just as soon as a man's voice emerged from my back.

I held back an audible gasp when I found out who it was.

Cain wore a smile that doubled his handsomeness. He smoothly glided to our area like a man born from aristocracy. He wore a gray Henley shirt and black blazer duo with black pants that definitely looked regal on him. He exuded a friendly attitude, definitely a stark contrast to what I saw in him the other day. His overall bearing and his eye-candy appearance would probably affect my poor friends' hearts but not me. I already saw a bad side of him and that's an ultimate turn off.

I looked at him, then to my friends, then back to him. My jaw dropped. Wait! Did I just saw Alona and Jen's eyes twinkle?!

Not good.

When Cain reached us, he grabbed my arm so subtly it looked like he was just making a friendly contact. But no. It was actually to detain me and prohibit me from running away.

Well, I wanted to run away from him, but aside from his grip on me, I chose to remain for the sake of my friends.

'Think Lianne. Think! And don't forget to breath,' my mind told me. I wasn't even aware I was holding my breath already.

I needed to calm myself. He will not going to intimidate me once again.

"Hi Lianne," he greeted once again, flashing a bright smile whilst staring at me with recognizable depth.

"Uhm...Li? Is he your friend?" Alona asked immediately.

Finally! They are back to earth!

"Huh? I ah...I uhm...well." Really articulate, I know.

"I'm her friend," Cain filled in. "Cain Von Cavill, ladies."

Jen and Alona smiled widely at him, like two kids watching a delicious display in an ice cream shop, and then they gave me this weird oh-yes-he-is-a-good-catch look.

He pulled a small glossy rectangular card from his pants pocket and handed it to them.

Their eyes widened even more as they read the writings on it.

'Is that a business card?' I asked myself.

"You're the CEO of Cavill Industries?!" Alona squeaked in excitement.

Cain produced another off-the-charts smile again and coolly replied, "Yes, I am."

"Oh! Li! You haven't told us you have a CEO friend!" Jen remarked, sending me another weird you've-got-to-spill-everything look in her eyes.

"Oh, we...we just knew each other here in the resort Jen. I...I didn't even know that he is a CEO of a company," I choked.

"The Cavill Industries, Li. This company is actually very verryyy veerrrryyyy famous and wealthy," Alona stated, highly stressing the word as if I didn't know what it meant.

I didn't miss Cain grinning because of this. "You flatter me ladies," he said, then turned to face me and squeezed my arm.

"Well, I see that you're busy right now, Lianne, so maybe I should get going. I'll catch up with you later?"

'Hell no!' my mind stressed. I definitely don't want to catch up with him!

But because my friends were watching, I just simply nodded at him, albeit hesitantly..

Jen and Alona were all smiles when he left us. He strode towards another side of the parking lot and into a rather ridiculously expensive-looking silver race car. A man in black suit opened the polished door for him and in he went after glancing at us briefly.

"He is definitely a CEO alright. That car is a McLaren 12C'!" Jen gasped.

As the flamboyant car drove away, Jen and Alona were already staring at me earnestly.

Oh no...

But then suddenly they both squealed in excitement.

"Wow Li! I can't believe you know that kind of man!" Jen shouted at me.

Then Alona added, "Yes! And he is so gorgeous and damn so manly, you and him without a doubt look good together! I could see it in the way he looks at you, he likes you so much!"

'Oh, you don't even know everything girls. He is the man who almost raped me!' I exclaimed to myself.

But, that truth, I couldn't divulge to them. Sadly. It would be a good thing to keep it from them. At least I wouldn't have them all worrying on me again. This was still our vacation in the first place. They need to have fun, relax and enjoy.

Jen inched her way towards me and then grabbed my arm in a BFF-like manner. "So Li, spill me some juicy infos! We are dying in here of anticipation."

"Huh?" So the interrogation starts. "I don't really know him that well yet, Jen. Like I said, we just met...uhmm, two days ago."

"When Li! And where?!" Alona asked.

"In the mansion, he...ah...he is also a guest in the resort."

I hope my assumption is right. I actually don't know if he is a guest or not.

Jen stared at me like she needed more juice. "And?" she said.

"Uhm, you guys were so busy I had to find a way to occupy myself so I toured around the mansion by myself and there I met him in the...the third floor."

Oh no.. this is definitely leading up to that room on the third floor! I have to think of other diversions.

"We just bumped into each other there," I continued, straying from the truth. "That's just it. Yeah...I never knew that he is a CEO of a multi-billion European dollar company."

"Well, you are one heck of a lucky lady," Alona commented and then winked at me in encouragement.

"Heyyy guys!" The singsong voice of Rachel suddenly caught our attention. She was running towards us, with a clueless look on her face.

"Hey, what did I miss?" she asked, then I saw both Jen and Alona switching glances at me, their smile obviously only but a tip of the iceberg of excitement.

~ 0 ~

It was thirty minutes past five when we arrived at the camp site. The area was great. The pathways were made of cobblestone and on its sides, small bonfires were lit. There were small, medium and large cabins made of coconut and mahogany wood, and a mile away from the plaza, I could see a dark blue lake stretching miles away.

Breathtaking.

I knew without a doubt I was in touch with nature and I liked it.

Our cabin was one of the largest in the camp. It had four separate small rooms and a single living and dining room. It was actually located near the pebbled lake. Talk about VIP treatment.

Jen had gone quickly to where her boyfriend was, knowing his group was also in the camp. Now, I'm left all by myself again as Rachel and Alona had a meeting with the program committee for a camp welcome party this evening. Apparently, both of them were made judges in tonight's camp show.

I went to my assigned room, placed my backpack on a small cabinet and neatly folded my change of clothes on one of its shelves. The room was cute. It was painted pink and the light fixture above my head was shaped like a fern leaf.

And then my eyes caught something glinting green on my bed.

I turned to have a better look and saw a pendant necklace resting on my pillow. It attracted me, so I immediately took a closer inspection, sitting on the bed and scooping up the necklace.

The jewelry had a silver and gold chain, no doubt expensive, and as I looked at the pendant dangling in the air, I fell into a daze.

This looked exactly like the emerald pendant I saw in the painting!

"My God, is this really true?" I covered my mouth as disbelief enveloped me.

"And it suits you perfectly, Lianne."

I suddenly heard a familiar voice right at my door. As I looked, my heart sank without delay.

Cain stood on the threshold, wearing his devilish smile, obviously obstructing my path for escape.