Chapter 28: The Red Beryl Ring

Nikolas Augustus was gazing up at the sky and the moon, which cast a bright light on them. Rakiza felt the strange feelings she had every time Nikolas visited her. She couldn't bring herself to compare Theo to Nikolas. They were not the same. Nikolas was gloomy and silent, whereas Theo was confidently demanding and possessive, which made her uncomfortable with Theo. But with Nikolas, she felt a strange kind of admiration for the way he treated her. He was modest and nice. But Theo was always on her mind, and she could only feel something for Nikolas if he was present. And it caused her to be perplexed. She had a different sense of it.
They were alone on the beach, but Nikolas never took advantage of her. He was always careful not to touch her flesh. Unlike Theo, who ran up to her and was at ease embracing and kissing her without her consent. Worse, she always desired Theo's lips on her.
After a few seconds of silence, Nikolas expressed his admiration for the night. "How delightful is the night with you, Rakiza?" He then looked at Rakiza.
Rakiza noticed his and looked at her with the saddest eyes.
"What made you lonely?" Rakiza couldn't stop herself from asking. She was concerned and perplexed by his soft and friendly demeanor.
Nikolas sighed and looked at the glittering ocean, and said, "Life sometimes gives you hardships that put you through suffering that is hard to endure."
"How come you said that?" Rakiza smiled a bit, adding, "You have everything a man could dream of having. You own the highest skyscraper in town and businesses that will provide you with anything you want, absolutely anything. You're simply not aware of how other men feel. Some are willing to drain all their sweat just to get the status of life that they are enjoying now. But for you, it was there right in front of you when you inherited it. Am I right? "
"Happiness is not all about money. And true happiness is priceless and can't be bought. And that kind of happiness is what I was craving, "Nikolas said solemnly.
"And what kind of happiness is that?"
He was silent again, still looking nowhere.
"Don't answer me if you don't like my query. Maybe it's too personal. "
"To always be with you," Nikolas almost whispered the words.
Rakiza was surprised by Nikolas's statements. She wasn't expecting to hear those honest words from the man she barely knew. Even if Nikolas had shown interest in her, she still couldn't believe that a tycoon would go down into his domain just to be with her. And then he told her the sweetest words she had ever heard. Her heart jumped for joy, but Theo's face flickered in her mind. And she felt guilty for being with another man under the lovely moon by the shore, a romantic setting for lovers.
Nikolas smiled at her and asked, "Have you ever experienced a situation where a man and a woman felt known to each other on their first meeting?" Do you have a sense of déjà vu?
"Familiarity, maybe. Déjà vu? I haven't." Rakiza confessed honestly.
"Will, that's what I'm feeling right now, with you here." He said softly.
Rakiza was at a loss for words. She didn't know how to respond to Nikolas's romantic statements towards her.
She felt Nikolas's courtship of her. From the look in his eyes, she could feel the love from the inner part of him for her. She wanted to say something joyful to him to divert his focus from the love topic to something casual, but it seemed Nikolas was trying to lure her to focus on him.
He continued her poetic words with, "It was a long journey to be with you, Rakiza." He moved closer to her, his gloved hands taking her hands in his, holding them a little tighter. "Look at me in the eyes, Rakiza."
Slowly, Rakiza held her eyes with his, but suddenly, a howling echoed the place. Rakiza was startled and withdrew her hands from Nikolas's grasp.
"You don't have to be afraid of anything as long as I am beside you." Nikolas comforted her.
Rakiza, on the other hand, was terrified by the howling and could feel it in her nerves. "I have to go home. It's already late. They must be looking for me now; you know, we have a curfew in the dorm. " She took a step back and nearly fell on her back, but Nikolas caught her.
"OK, you're right; time passed by unnoticed," Nikolas said as he escorted her back to his car. And the chauffeur assisted them by opening the door. They also drove quietly.
One thing Rakiza observed about Nikolas was that he wasn't a loud person. He was picking and choosing which words would come out of his mouth. Rakiza's observation of Nikolas was thorough, including his movements. She came to the conclusion that he was a very reserved person, and she admired him for it.
Rakiza thought their journey had been long when they arrived at the dormitory. There is only one light turned on. From the outside, their bedroom appeared gloomy. "Thank you for a beautiful evening," she remarked as she stepped out of the car.
"Rakiza, have beautiful dreams of me," Nikolas added.
"I will," she answered as she dashed to her dorm and smiled. Yes, she did have a dream with him that night. They went to the desert castle. Rakiza was surprised to see Queen Maruja's painting returned to the wall above the enormous staircase. They dance blissfully under the moon once more.
And before the night ended, Nikolas gave her a ring, which sparkled under the moonlight.
Before the night ended, Nikolas gave her a ring with a rare red stone. "I kept this ring for you to come back," Nikolas said as he placed the ring on Rakiza's finger.
Rakiza exclaimed, "Wow," as she gazed at the ring's red gemstone. Her voice echoed through the terrace garden of the castle.
"The stone is red beryl. I designed it for you, "Nikolas said, kissing Rakiza's hand with the ring. Rakiza was enchanted by the stone's alluring power. She'd never had a ring before, and the ring fit perfectly on her tiny long finger. "Thank you very much, Nikolas; I'll look after this ring and never take it off my finger."
"Just keep your promise, and I'll be happy," Nikolas said as his face faded and vanished.
Rakiza peered out the window as she slowly rose from her bed. Her head was pounding from the lack of sleep. She frowned as she searched for Muriel in her bed. But Muriel wasn't there.
She dragged herself into the bath room, surprised to see no one in the shower room. She mumbled as she hung her towel and turned on the shower naked. The cold shower water jolted her awake. She was reflecting on what had happened the night before.
"Ah yes, I was with Nikolas by the shore looking up the moon," she recalled as she continued to bathe herself, then wrapped her body in the towel and returned to her room.
Then another recollection surfaced: it was the howling that drove them away from the shore. "What a damn dog, disturbing the serenity of our stroll by the shore." The perfect round full moon made her smile, and Theo's face flickered in her mind once more. With those lovely sea green eyes, he smiles at her. "Oh no, Theo, get out of my head. You're ruining my morning," she murmured.
Muriel stepped in, surprised to see her awake, as the door swung open and said, "I thought you were sleeping when I returned. You look exhausted. "
"What happened? When I awoke, the dorm looked deserted. "
"Oh, you've got no idea where we were."
"What have you been up to?"
Chin responded as she entered the room, "We were at a funeral."
"A funeral?" Rakiza enquired.
"Yes, it was Alex's funeral, and everyone was..." Chin paused.
"Why didn't you wake me up? I should be there, "Rakiza wondered.
Muriel mustered the courage to finish Chin's statement. "Everyone except you was invited to Alex's funeral."
"What, and by whose order am I unable to attend the funeral?"
"Alex's mother strictly warned everybody not to tell you," Chin interjected.
"But why? We haven't met yet, so why did she warn you? "
Muriel went on to say that Alex's father blamed Rakiza for his son's sudden and horrible death.
"But that's not true," Rakiza sobbed quietly, "because you all know what happened." I wasn't present when Alex was assaulted and killed. "I was present in this room."
"Just let it pass, Raki," Muriel advised. "Time will come, they'll realize it's not your fault; let them mourn."
Rakiza's tears streamed down her cheeks as she said, "But it's not fair." "In fact, it was their son who forcedfully invited me to the carnival, and... it's not fair to hate me without hearing my side."
"You can't twist now what Teri has injected into Alex's parents, especially his father," Muriel sighed.
"Teri?"
Muriel replied, "Yeah, they heard Teri's version first, and we already knew how manipulative the witch is, so just ignore what happened and let it pass."
Rakiza was so upset that she cried the entire morning and forgot about Nikolas. But when Muriel returned from the kitchen to bring her some food, she noticed the ring on Rakiza's finger and asked, "Where did you get that ring?"
Rakiza frowned, as if she wasn't aware of the ring with a sparkling red stone. "Oh?" She was trying to figure out where the ring came from.
"Red beryl stone? Are you sure? Nikolas said that stone name?" Muriel was ecstatic.
"Yes, he told me that name, but why? What is this tone? " Rakiza inquired.
"Rakiza, that stone is pricey. Only rich people can afford to buy that kind of stone. And now Nikolas has just given you that fortune stone? And I would go crazy if somebody gave me an expensive stone like that, "Muriel laughed.
"It appears normal to me," Rakiza said, smiling. "Is this really that expensive?"
Muriel said, scanning her phone and conducting research. "Yes, and I'll show you proof." She jumped as she read the price and laughed out loud, "Oh my God! Oh my God, Rakiza!
Rakiza was besieged by Muriel's overreaction to the gem's price. And then she asked, "What do you have, Muriel?" Tell me. "
"Would you like to know how much that gem costs?"
"Yes, please tell me."
"It costs $10,000 per carat, my dear," Muriel exclaimed, giddy with delight. "Nikolas gave you a very valuable and rare gift in the world."
Rakiza froze as Muriel explained the stone to her, and how it became scarce and expensive, and the more Rakiza listened, the more terrified she became of the ring. She was staring at the ring and felt as if it had pricked her finger. She wanted to remove it from her finger, but she was terrified of losing it.
"Perhaps I should give this back to Nikolas," Rakiza said nervously.
"Are you insane? What would Nikolas think if you rejected that precious ring and returned it to him? It would hurt and insult him, Rakiza. "
"But I can't keep that ring safe, Muriel. I'm not worth a dime with that ring. He shouldn't have given it to me. "
Muriel expounded more. "It's a gift from him, Rakiza. A gift, no matter how expensive or cheap, should be kept as a remembrance. And I think that is what Nikolas wants. To have a significant bond between the two of you, like an engagement ring, to remind you of him. "
"Wait, you mean an engagement ring?"
"I believe that explains the expensive gift he gave you."
But Rakiza's heart remained terrified of the ring. She was well aware that it demanded responsibility and vigilance against loss under any circumstances. It bothered her, so she decided to return it to Nikolas.
Rakiza said, "No, I can't keep it safe with me; I should return it to Nikolas as soon as possible." She sat on the edge of her bed. "This is going to cause me a lot of anxiety."
Muriel regarded Rakiza with disdain. "Are you certain you won't come to regret it?"
"He can give me flowers, but he can't give me this ring."
"Rakiza, you're not rich. That ring could give you the dream you wanted, like finishing school without financial constraints, and now you're throwing it away. What kind of person are you?" Muriel snorted.
Rakiza said, "Please understand Muriel, I can't keep it, and giving up that ring would undoubtedly bring me peace of mind. And there's one more thing. That gift is too good to be true, and I can't promise Nikolas anything right now, if you're correct in your suspicion that he gave me that ring to bind me to him, which isn't what I want in a relationship. "
Muriel said, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Rakiza, and I'm going to hate you for it." Muriel exited the room, slamming the door shut.
Rakiza had not anticipated Muriel's harsh reaction to her decision. Muriel used to be more supportive and understanding of her, but now she has a different opinion of Rakiza. Furthermore, it hurt her a lot.