Annabelle stood there for what seemed a lifetime, staring at the place where Caddam had just stood.

She forced herself to choke back sob after sob, holding her hand to her mouth, never letting a Sound of it escape her lips lest Caddam hear it and come back. Annabelle didn't know if she had the strength to tell him no again with the way she was feeling.

But she had burned that bridge and it had to stay burned if she was ever going to have a normal life, or at least some semblance of one.

Once Annabelle had overcome her feelings and felt more in control, she forced herself...