[EVE]
I fought back my tears, refusing to let them escape. I couldn't cry now. I had already shed so many tears over him in the past, and I wasn't about to start again—not now, not ever.
I'd promised myself long ago to never come back to him, to keep him from slipping into my life again.
My mind filled with memories of all the hurt, every word he'd said and every action he'd taken that left scars on my heart. Each painful moment had driven me to harden my resolve, to close myself off.
Piece by piece, I reconstructed the walls around my heart, reinforcing them against the pull he still had on me.
"You're too late . . ." I whispered, my voice barely audible over the distant rumble of thunder.
"What?" His expression turned wary, his hand still clasped around mine, his eyes searching my face.
