Sprawling on the carpeted floor, Lianne’s eyes rested intently at the king-size bed as surge of memories flooded inside her. She saw herself in the same bed with the mysterious man, passionately making love. It did stun her greatly, but the memory brought her briefly to tears at the same time. It ached her heart and as the flashbacks continued; she saw the mysterious man caressing her neck passionately and her, in the dream, moaned and submitted herself to him.
Ruen…
All of a sudden, the name echoed in her mind.
‘Ruen…’ And then she saw herself utter his name in the flashback.
At first, Lianne was confused, but a sudden realization hit her.
‘RUEN!’ Her mind shouted, this time with renewed determination. It was as if she was a baby, learning her first words.
Before she could lift herself up, the unknown man
POV: Lianne Dievin“No...” A choked cry burst out from my lips as I covered my mouth with my hands. I looked at my mysterious man, Ruen, with thorough concern enough to create beads of sweat on my temples. My breathing doubled. I was hyperventilating, as if no oxygen was filling my alveoli. I could feel my pulse bounding like crazy too, so tangible under my skin.I glanced at the finger inserted on the trigger and I immediately shook my head.‘Please don’t move. Please don’t move!’ my mind chanted.I longed to see this man since I saw him in the library. There were so many questions I wanted to ask; answers I wanted to hear from his mouth. I certainly don’t want him to die so soon.However, surprisingly, this new man who called himself Cain somehow knows something too. As to how and why, that&r
POV: Lianne DievinWe went back to the mansion after we made a short stop at the police office. I did have a hard time with the police’s interrogations but luckily I managed a good alibi. I just can’t disclose them all of what happened! If I did, I’m pretty sure they would think me crazy or some daydreaming woman. I didn’t press any charges also, just so I could keep myself from any more pressure with these uniformed men. One gun-wielding man was enough for me.Luckily, Alona and Rachel’s family connections with the resort owner made us stay for four more days. Now, I could at least make up with my friends after stealing their vacation time inside the hospital.And surely enough, Jen immediately left me to date with her boyfriend. It was after lunch when Alona suggested we visit the resort’s famous cave and hot spring at the foot of the moun
POV: Lianne DievinThe 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 giv
“Cain!”Lianne stood up quickly as soon as she recognized him. The necklace in her hand dangled wildly in response — a reaction that was comparable to her heartbeat, drumming wildly against her rib cage.“Ahh...you saying my name is music to my ears, Lianne, ” he commented, pleased, but exuding aura that wasn’t like earlier when he was in front of her friends.“I suppose you don’t know how to knock?” Lianne glared at him, her sarcastic tone clear.“This door is already open Lianne, and also, I’m not used to knocking. All doors are opened for me, ” he said with greater sarcasm.‘I know what I ask and I mean the door in the living room!’ that thought crossed her mind. Lianne wanted to ask him this, but chose a different question instead.“Why were you able to come inside a
Darkness surrounded me first before a soft glow of green light appeared before me.“You look absolutely ethereal tonight, but you always have been and every day for that matter.”I then heard a man’s voice say.As if I was in a movie, suddenly my green surroundings shrunk into one ball of white light and everything came bursting out into view.The music of the orchestra was the first thing that caught me, then I saw a massive hall with huge pillars standing mightily on each corner. The marble floor was finely polished, the ceilings were so high with exquisite chandeliers hanging, and there were silk decorative curtains on every balcony door.I was in awe.I looked to my left and saw Cain offering his hand. He was smiling quite dashingly on me. I accepted it and I smiled back.Weird.I don’t rem
POV: LianneMeet me where the moon and the waters kiss.Ruen’s message was vague. It didn’t say exactly what time and where we should meet, but since it was already night time and that the note mentioned ‘water’, I opted to go to the only body of water the camp had: the lake. Now I’m walking along the shoreline trying to find him and hoping I was right with my hunch.With the pristine lake and the reflection of the moon on its surface, this could be possibly the one he was talking about.Nobody was around, I presume, because of the camp show and that proved to be an advantage. It provided me an easier way to find him.And yes, just over the distance, I noticed a man standing near the shore. The water almost touched his boots, but I think he was too engrossed with staring at the lake that he didn’t no
Since Mansion (Days Earlier)“Have you found her?” Mr. Gillard Rafael asked, directing his question to Ruen who was standing against the balustrade of a VIP room of the Since Mansion. Ruen’s eyes were fixed on a scenery in front of them: a beautiful sunset, similar to what he was accustomed to way, way back in the past.A female servant of the mansion had just left the balcony after preparing two cups of tea: one for Mr. Rafael who was sitting near the coffee table and one for Ruen. The former was wearing once again his most favorite hat, a white and black checkered fedora hat, coupled with a formal suit the shade of dark blue. He sipped the contents of his cup as he waited for the latter’s response.“Yes, I found her finally, ” Ruen answered right after he heaved a sigh. God knows how many years he had been searching for her. He never gave
POV: LianneI didn’t have enough sleep at all the whole night taking care of my unexpected patient. Apparently, Ruen had a fever as high as 39 degrees Celsius because of his gunshot wound. To make things complicated, he was also in pain and he didn’t even take any pain medications to help him endure it.What was he even thinking anyway?! Kill himself to death?!I thought him courageous and strong though, that he went through this much to bear the pain while he met with me twice today and drove us to his house. I didn’t even notice his ailment until we arrived here and him suddenly falling, but even so…even so it’s just too twisted.Why didn’t he tell me that he was suffering? I could have helped him sooner.My arms and back ached a little. I had to position him on the large sectional sofa so that he