"No, I can't hold it anymore. Francesca, you're mine, and mine alone…"

With a guttural roar, like a wild beast, Simon lunged forward.

Francesca silently screamed in her mind, "No!" Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. At that moment, she recalled the time when she was still afflicted with her condition, a state that had made her incapable of intimacy.

Back then, she had been grateful when Andrew had cured her, giving her the chance to experience love and the hope of family life.