11 THE PENDANT
How?
How could this be?
I turned the pendant around, twisting it in my fingertips, my movements hurried as I fretted to find an answer.
No. There had to be some mistake. I was probably seeing it all wrong.
Yes. This wasn't my biological mother; of course, it couldn't be!
I was simply seeing things here, my mind fooling me into believing that this was a photo of my biological mother.
Obviously!
It had to be that.
I let out a loud laugh, shaking my head to myself, unable to control my amusement.
How dumb could I have been?
This definitely wasn't the woman who gave birth to me!
I just needed some sleep. The delusions would stop then.
This was just a simple pendant, a photo of an innocent woman captured in its heart. This was probably Edward's mother, or his lover- the photo slightly weathered through age.
Maybe, Edward had fallen in love in his teen years…the girl did look to be around fifteen or sixteen….
Yes.
This pendant belonged to him.
This woman was his special someone.
I did not know her.
How could I?
It was ridiculous to believe otherwise!
But… then….
I took another closer look at the pendant, the curiosity in me winning out, her hair…a rich blonde…her smile…like the stars that glittered the moon-filled sky…her cheekbones… I had seen them before…. every time I looked into the mirror…those earrings….
I instantly touched my ears, my eyes wide, as my shaking fingers touched the hard metal, circling the pearl that I had proudly worn in my ears since the day I turned eighteen.
Mom had gifted it to me; she had said that my biological mother had insisted on leaving me something of hers to remember her by.
I had not understood her reasoning. I had been adopted for Christ's sake!
A closed adoption with no way to contact the woman who had given birth to me. If she was so concerned about building a bond with me, why would she opt for a closed adoption?
My parents were not the kind to oppose. They had told me everything about my adoption- the good part and the bad- including showing me the single photo that they had of my birth-giver. They certainly wouldn't restrict me from knowing more of where I came from.
Still, despite the barrage of questions that had swam through my mind, and a small part of me that had wanted to rebel and reject her gift, I had accepted it. Mom had made me understand that keeping grudges was futile. No one even knew where the woman was! And more importantly, it was just a gift. It need not mean anything more than that, if I didn't want it to mean anything more. I could still accept her gift, without adding meaning to it.
And so, I had accepted it. Falling in love with these very earrings the first time they had graced my ears.
I rarely ever took them off; them having a permanent place on my dressing table.
And so, without a doubt, I knew that these were those exact same earrings that the woman in the photo was wearing.
They weren't identical. Or an error of the mind.
No.
These were the same earrings.
These were my mother's earrings.
.
.
.
The banging of the front door made me jump at my place, my left hand- the one with the pendant in hand- quickly hiding itself behind my back, afraid of the consequences of Edward finding out about my discovery.
'Are…you okay? You look pale?'
I shook my head, a nervous smile creeping out onto my face. 'Of course. I am fine.' I finished with an even weirder laugh.
He ignored my creepiness, his eyes indicating his disbelief towards my declaration. 'If you insist.'
'Yes, of course.' I frowned. 'You…um…you had a good smoke?'
What?
'What?' he mirrored my inner voice.
'Well, did you?' I repeated my question, sweat lining my forehead.
'Yea.' He shrugged, looking away from me, equally uncomfortable by our conversation as his eyes searched for a way out. 'I…uh…I will be around.'
'Yes. Of course.' I stated, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, the wall seemingly more interesting than his face.
He nodded his head, accepting my answer, once again exiting the room, his steps rather quick, as he stood outside the door and took in the cold air that surrounded us, silent in his movements.
I let out a sigh, my shaking hand bringing the pendant once again in front of my wide eyes- now that the coast was clear- expecting a miracle as I announced that I had been mistaken.
That these earrings were not the same ones.
That I had just been joking, laughing out loud at my humourless joke, as far away from funny as one could ever be.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a joke.
This was my biological mother's photo, who I was looking at through these hazy lenses. I now had no doubt on that in mind.
Edward had a photo of my biological mother in his pocket.
Why?
.
.
.
Had he known her?
Was she…related to him?
No.
That could not be it.
Till I remembered, mom had told me that my biological mother had no living relatives in the country. Her family was from Italy, she had moved here to study. She did not know anyone apart from the few friends she had made while here, none of whom had been by her side when she had given me up.
How did Edward know her then?
Maybe… they had met while they were both young?
But… Edward was thirty-one, while I was twenty-one. He would have been nine or ten when he would have met her, if he had even met her…
No.
He had to have known her in some other relation….
Irrespective, why would he keep a photo of hers with him? She had to have been somewhat important for him to do so. No one kept a photo of someone they had met in passing, or of someone who hardly mattered in their life.
No. She was important to him.
But how?
How had he known my biological mother?
Was this mere a coincidence or was the plot about to thicken?
'Where's my pendant?' a desperate howl resounded through the room. 'I need it back.'
'Cool it down, boss.' Edward became the voice of reason. 'What are you talking about?'
'I want my pendant back. That's it!'
I frowned to myself; it was another night, and once again I had been woken up by the sound of the door banging open, Boss rushing into the cabin, fear and worry evident on his face.
'What pendant?' Edward repeated, confused. 'I don't have any pendant on me.'
'Don't lie to me!' Boss gritted his teeth in anger. 'You must have stolen it. I assure you I will get you arrested.'
'Don't.' Edward warned him, his tone deadly. 'I am taking this as your first mistake. Make sure you don't repeat it.'
'I just want my pendant back!' Boss wailed out in desperation and helplessness. 'I can't seem to find it.'
'And you think it is here?' Edward seemed unsure.
'Yes.' Boss insisted. 'I always keep it in my pocket. I had it with me last night. But when I reached home, it wasn't there!'
'Maybe you dropped it somewhere on the way?'
'NO.' Boss protested. 'It has to be here. I am sure of it.'
'Well,' Edward let out a sigh. 'I haven't seen it, if it is even in this cabin. You can look for it. If it is that important to you. Anyhow, what did it even look like?'
'It was heart shaped.'
Oh.
'Silver based. A thick chain. Blue crystal in the centre. You can't miss it. It has a shine.'
No.
No.
This can't be happening.
'It is important.' Boss insisted once again. 'I need to find it.'
'Fine. But I haven't seen it.' Edward shrugged in nonchalance. 'Have a look around, if you want.'
He took a seat back on his prestigious chair, Boss looking around for the pendant that currently lay in my jeans pocket, away from his grabby hands and impure eyes, his search frenzy as he attempted to find something he never would find.
I just lay there, unmoving, unable to digest that the pendant belonged to him.
The photo belonged to him.
It was his pendant that I had found.
Not Edward's.
Boss had known my mother. Not Edward.
Boss had a photo of my mother in his pocket. Not Edward.
Boss had had me kidnapped. Not Edward.
Edward was simply following his orders.
Boss was the one to give out the orders.
Boss knew my biological mother. Closely knew, if this pendant was anything to go by. It couldn't be a mere coincidence that I was here today.
Or a simple enough kidnapping with a hefty ransom in mind?
No. It was much more than that.
He had planned this.
There was a specific reason for me to be here today.
The plot was much thicker than I had assumed it to be.