Summary: PhotobucketAbsence of Light AwardsSpike Pratt is known for being an outsider and a troublemaker. However, what people don’t know is that he has long since decided to never let anyone come too close, not wanting them to find out the truth about his tragic past. But one night he happens to stumble upon a girl in serious trouble. Will he help her? And will she be able to help him? Runner Up for Best Angst at the Cradle Of Humanity Awards round 1! Runner Up for Best Angst AU at the Absence Of Light Awards and now also Runner Up for Best Story at the Cradle Of Humanity Awards round 3
Rated: NC-17
Categories: NC-17 Fics Characters: None
Genres: Romance, Angst
Warnings: Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Rape, Child Abuse
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 96 Completed: Yes
Word count: 142700 Read: 146128
Published: 12/05/2007 Updated: 03/10/2009

1. 1 by Pet [Reviews - 24] Liked (1180 words)
WARNING!! This story will deal with both child abuse and rape, although it won't be too graphic. If that bothers you too much, don't read! However, the story may seem dark at first, and I think it's safe to say that it's my darkest fic so far, but I promise, the angst won't last forever and there will be Spuffy all the way. Now you've been warned, I'm really nervous about posting this fic but I hope you'll give it a chance and let me know what you think!

2. 2 by Pet [Reviews - 21] Liked (1189 words)
I'm very happy that so many of you seemed to enjoy the first chapter, thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! I really hope you'll like the rest of the story as well. I have the next 2 chapters finished, and the next 3 after that almost finished in my head, so I hope I'll be able to update at least a couple of times a week.

3. 3 by Pet [Reviews - 25] Liked (1352 words)
Wow, I never thought I'd get so many reviews for the first 2 chapters, thank you so much!

4. 4 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1109 words)
I have no words for how much I appreciate every single one of the reviews I've gotten so far, I can't believe I've already gotten so many! Thank you all SO much!

5. 5 by Pet [Reviews - 25] Liked (1125 words)
I wasn't going to update again so soon, but the chapters just demands to be written and once I have them finished I really want to know what you guys think. So, here it is. Hope you'll like!

6. 6 by Pet [Reviews - 20] Liked (1350 words)
Again, thank you for all the lovely reviews!

7. 7 by Pet [Reviews - 22] Liked (1429 words)
I'll try to post one more chapter before Christmas, most likely on sunday. Thank you all of you who read this story and take your time to let me know what you think, your support means the world to me! *hugs*

8. 8 by Pet [Reviews - 21] Liked (1078 words)
I wasn't going to post this chapter until tomorrow, but since I still have some last minute Christmas preparations to take care of then, I'll just update tonight instead. I'm so happy you're still enjoying this story, thank you all so much for your nice reviews, and Merry Christmas!

9. 9 by Pet [Reviews - 20] Liked (1349 words)
Here's another chapter, hope you'll like it! :)

10. 10 by Pet [Reviews - 25] Liked (1352 words)

11. 11 by Pet [Reviews - 24] Liked (1194 words)
I so should be writing on A Second Chance instead of this one for a change but... well muse wouldn't let me. So here's the next chap of this instead, hope you'll like it! And thanks for the many reviews I got on last chap! :)

12. 12 by Pet [Reviews - 21] Liked (1162 words)
I'm going back to work in a few days, and then I probably won't be able to update as often as I have now. But I'll try, cause this story is far from over. I really appreciate every single review I've gotten so far, thank you all so much! Oh, and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

13. 13 by Pet [Reviews - 24] Liked (1688 words)

14. 14 by Pet [Reviews - 27] Liked (1271 words)
A lot of the reviews I've recieved so far have been saying the same thing, in short terms: Xander = Ass. And it makes me extremely happy! *lol* In the show, I hated the fact that Buffy's friends turned their backs on her when she needed them the most, after constantly saving their lives for seven years. Xander and Willow were supposed to be her best friends and they betrayed her. In this story, that's how I've intended to make them come out, and I'm so happy I'm succeeding. So feel free to keep hating them! :) Enough with the rambling, I'll let you get on with the reading and I hope you'll like this chapter. Thank you!

15. 15 by Pet [Reviews - 28] Liked (1608 words)
I'm amazed at how many reviews I got for the last chapter, thank you all so much! I'll respond to all of them as soon as I can. :)

16. 16 by Pet [Reviews - 19] Liked (1158 words)

17. 17 by Pet [Reviews - 29] Liked (1576 words)
To all of you who have taken time to leave me a review so far, thank you so much! :)

18. 18 by Pet [Reviews - 23] Liked (1721 words)

19. 19 by Pet [Reviews - 22] Liked (1368 words)
And let the angst begin... Sorry, but things have been going just a little too well lately, don't you think? ;)

20. 20 by Pet [Reviews - 24] Liked (1163 words)
I've been struggling with writers block for a while now, and for some reason I still feel like whatever I manage to write simply sucks. Hopefully I'll get over it.

21. 21 by Pet [Reviews - 27] Liked (1652 words)
I'm still struggling with this story but this chapter was a bit easier to write for some reason. I guess all your lovely reviews made my muse happy. Thank you! I hope you'll like this chapter as well.

22. 22 by Pet [Reviews - 24] Liked (1299 words)
I had almost finished writing chapter 22 the other day, but then I realized I hated it so I deleted it and started over from the beginning. This is how the new chapter turned out. I hope you'll like it!

23. 23 by Pet [Reviews - 21] Liked (1229 words)

24. 24 by Pet [Reviews - 21] Liked (1785 words)
Damn writers block kept me from posting this days ago. I hate it, because I want to write so bad and yet the words refuse to come. But I finally managed to write this chapter. Please let me know what you think, right now your reviews would mean more than ever.

25. 25 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1329 words)
Holding my breath and praying that my muse will let the chapters keep coming.

26. 26 by Pet [Reviews - 26] Liked (1687 words)
I know I said I wasn't going to write anymore on this story until I had finished A Second Chance. But I just really missed writing on this one. However, I feel like I have lost about half of my readers for some reason, which makes me sad. To those of you still with me, thanks for your reviews!

27. 27 by Pet [Reviews - 25] Liked (1250 words)
Thank you SO much, all of you who took your time to leave me a review and let me know you're still with me after all. Your support is just what my muse needs right now. *hugs*

28. 28 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1404 words)
So sorry for the delay in updates, but I've had so much to do lately. The chapters will keep coming though, I'm not abandoning this fic. Thank you so much for all the reviews, I'll try to respond as soon as I can.

29. 29 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (2029 words)

30. 30 by Pet [Reviews - 22] Liked (1214 words)
Once again, I've been struggling with writers block which is both annoying and frustrating. Also, I feel like I'm losing readers again. Still with me? Please let me know, for some reason, even the simplest review seems to do wonders for the muse.

31. 31 by Pet [Reviews - 21] Liked (1485 words)
To those of you still reading and reviewing my story, thank you so much! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

32. 32 by Pet [Reviews - 19] Liked (1295 words)
I seem to have beaten the writers block for now, probably partly thanks to your wonderful reviews. Please keep them coming, makes both me and my muse very happy! :)

33. 33 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (2050 words)
I have to admit, I had a hard time writing this chapter, at least the second part. A little warning; it won't be pretty. I think it's the darkest chapter so far. Still, you all know what this story is about by now, and I'm going to assume you've already read all the warnings.

34. 34 by Pet [Reviews - 14] Liked (1677 words)
This story has been nominated for Best Angst at the Cradle Of Humanity Awards! *does happydance* Thank you so much, whoever nominated it! :D

35. 35 by Pet [Reviews - 29] Liked (1433 words)
I feel like I'm losing readers and reviewers with every chapter, which makes me a little sad. Thank you to those of you who are still with me, your kind words and reviews are what keeps me writing! *hugs*

36. 36 by Pet [Reviews - 23] Liked (1420 words)
I'm amazed! I never thought I'd get so many reviews for my last chapter, I can't tell you how much it means to me. I'm so very happy I haven't lost my readers after all, thank you all so much! As a thank you for all your wonderful support; here's the next chapter a couple of days early. Hope you don't mind. ;) Oh, and a special thanks to Zoe for helping me out a bit with the grammar!

37. 37 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1427 words)
Healing is nominated for Best Angst at the Cradle of Humanity Awards. (A huge thanks to whoever nominated it!) If you like this story and wanna vote for it, you can do it here. If not, there are also a lot of other wonderful fics nominated you could vote for.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! *hugs*

38. 38 by Pet [Reviews - 18] Liked (1340 words)
It seems like this story will be a lot longer than I had planned from the beginning. I thought 30 chapters, maybe 35 at the most. But I think it's safe to say that this story is nowhere near over yet. Could be about 50 chapters when it's complete, maybe less, maybe even more, but I'm not quite sure yet.

If anyone here have read the first (and only so far) chapter of my newest story - The Tower - and are waiting for an update, I'm afraid you will have to keep waiting. Because right now, I don't have neither the time, nor the motivation to write on that one. I thought about taking it down for now, but I haven't decided yet. However, I will try to continue on that fic eventually.

I found out that one of my other stories - Saving You - has won Best Original Character (readers choice) and Best Romance (runner up) at the Spark and Burn Awards round 4. If anyone here voted for it - thank you so much! :D

39. 39 by Pet [Reviews - 18] Liked (1617 words)
Another early update, hope you'll enjoy! Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! :)

40. 40 by Pet [Reviews - 16] Liked (1735 words)
I've been struggling with this chapter for two days, but finally I managed to finish it. Hope you'll enjoy!

41. 41 by Pet [Reviews - 25] Liked (1213 words)
I'm so sorry for the delay. I wish I could promise it won't ever happen again, but RL keeps getting in the way and it also seems that my muse doesn't think I should be writing anymore. Of course, I intend to try and keep writing on my fics until they are both complete, I just don't know how often I'll be able to update. But I'll promise to do my best. I just hope you haven't gotten tired of waiting and that I haven't lost all of my readers.

42. 42 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1592 words)
Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter! *hugs*

43. 43 by Pet [Reviews - 14] Liked (1166 words)
Photobucket This story has won Best Angst - Runner Up at The Cradle Of Humanity Awards, thank you soo much to whoever nominated it and to all of you who have voted! *hugs* My one-shot Meeting William also wan Best Drabble. Can I just say I'm incredibly happy and grateful right now? :) Anyway, here's the new chapter of this story, and no, I don't see an ending coming any time soon, whether that's good or bad. :)

Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews, unfortunately I'm getting seriously behind in responding, especially since I lost all the respondings I'd done at chapter 41 when the site went wonky. But I'll do my best to catch up and respond to them all.

44. 44 by Pet [Reviews - 16] Liked (1524 words)
I plan on try updating this story a little more often as soon as I've finished High School Outcasts, which hopefully will be pretty soon. I can't wait to just have one fic to focus on. But knowing me, I'll probably just start a new one instead. *sigh* Oh well, here's the next chap on this story, hope you'll enjoy! And thank you all so much for the reviews! Oh, and Healing has been nominated again, this time for Best Fantasy Angst at Spuffy Awards round 15. And I've been nominated for Fantasy Excellent Author! :D

45. 45 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1387 words)
No, you're not just seeing things, this is the second update this week. I know, this is not the story I was supposed to update now but what can I say? I just had a huge argument with my muse, who refused to let me write on HSO and insisted on me writing another chapter of this story instead. Hope you won't mind. :)

46. 46 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1630 words)
Are you still with me? I hope so. Sometimes I feel like this story will just go on and on forever, and I worry that I might lose most of my readers along the way. But I'm not gonna change the way I have this story (almost) planned out, it might seem slow sometimes but I feel like it's necessary. Oh well, enough with the rambling. To those of you who're still enjoying this story and are kind enough to leave me a review to let me know, this chapter is for all of you. *hugs*

47. 47 by Pet [Reviews - 13] Liked (1597 words)
I now have the rest of the story almost completely figured out in my head. Yay! *lol* I'm thinking somewhere around 10 more chapters, but you can never know for sure. Thanks for all your reviews!

48. 48 by Pet [Reviews - 19] Liked (1145 words)
This story is nominated for Best Fantasy Angst at the Spuffy Awards round 15. If you wanna vote for it, or on any of the other amazing stories nominated, you can do it here.

I'm getting out of town for a couple of days next week, on a much needed mini-vacation. I won't be able to update any of my stories again until earliest next Thursday or Friday. Hopefully you'll have patience with me. :)

49. 49 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1346 words)
I just found out that High School Outcasts has been nominated for Lonely School Award (Best High School Fic) at the Cradle Of Humanity Awards round 2. A huge thanks to whoever nominated it! :)

50. 50 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1361 words)
Wow, I never thought this story would make it to 50 chapters. And it's not over yet. ;) Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed my story so far! *hugs*

51. 51 by Pet [Reviews - 14] Liked (1399 words)
Here we go; another chapter closer to the big confrontation we all know is coming. Still with me? Please take a moment to let me know. ;)

52. 52 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1767 words)
I feel like I'm loosing readers again. Makes me kinda sad. To those of you still with me; thank you!

53. 53 by Pet [Reviews - 11] Liked (1254 words)
Thank you so much to those of you still reading and reviewing this story!

54. 54 by Pet [Reviews - 13] Liked (1339 words)

55. 55 by Pet [Reviews - 13] Liked (1464 words)
I had a hard time getting started with this chapter. Damn muse refused to cooperate. But once I managed to start writing, the words just kept coming. I hope you'll like it. :)

56. 56 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1190 words)
Been writing this chapter on Wordpad without wordcount so I hope there are enough words for me to post. I can't wait for my own computer to start working again, as some of you know, the damn thing crashed the other day and I lost every single file I had. Thank God for small favors; we have two computers!

57. 57 by Pet [Reviews - 10] Liked (1371 words)

58. 58 by Pet [Reviews - 25] Liked (1308 words)
To those of you who're still with me and keep letting me know; can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I feel like a lot of people are losing interest in this story and I guess I could try to wrap it up a bit sooner than I had first intended. But at the same time, I don't want to. There are still some loose ends that needs to be tied and I don't really wanna rush things just to get it over with. To those of you who're lurking; please take a moment to let me know what you think. Your reviews is what keeps me writing, there wouldn't be a story without them. I have to admit, I'm amazed at all the positive response this story has gotten and it makes me incredibly happy. I would just really hate to lose my readers now when we've gotten this far.

59. 59 by Pet [Reviews - 12] Liked (1206 words)
Wow! I can't tell you how much all your wonderful reviews for the last chapter meant to me. Thank you all so much! *hugs* I'll respond to each of them as soon as I can.

60. 60 by Pet [Reviews - 12] Liked (1271 words)
I'm sorry about the delay. I was going to post this chapter two days ago, but then something went wonky with my internet - again, and I wasn't able to get online. Sometimes, I really hate computers. I swear, I was this close *measuring between fingers* to just throw the damn thing through the window. But now it's working again, for some reason. *phew* Oh, and I'm so getting a laptop! Ok, enough with the ramblings; here's the next chapter.

61. 61 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1277 words)
Someone said in a review that the Spuffy relationship in this story is progressing too slow, and it got me thinking. Maybe there are a lot more of you feeling that way. I must say that I've worked really hard to make their relationship evolve in a believable pace, since this story's dealing with such a heavy subject, and the last thing I wanna do is rush things. However, I really don't wanna bore anyone by making things move too slow, either. This story is slowly getting closer to the end, but there are still some issues left and I wish to deal with them the way I have planned. However, I'm not gonna blame anyone for not staying with me to the end, I understand that some people wants a little more... how should I put it? Action, in their stories. Anyway, just wanted to explain that this was my intention with this story from the beginning. Gonna stop now and let you get on with the reading. A huge thanks to those of you who are still enjoying this story! I really appreciate every single review I've gotten for this story so far.

62. 62 by Pet [Reviews - 10] Liked (1410 words)
Thank you so much to all of you who left me a review for the last chapter, means the world to me. *hugs*

63. 63 by Pet [Reviews - 11] Liked (1267 words)
I'm really sorry for the delay, but I'm still struggling with my writing. I promise to respond to all of the reviews as soon as I can, sorry for not doing it sooner. I really appreciate them all.

64. 64 by Pet [Reviews - 16] Liked (1381 words)
I got a mail from a reader the other day about this story. I tried responding, but my email wouldn't let me. I don't know if the person in guestion will read this, but, well... just wanted to point out that I'm not holding a gun to anyone's head, forcing them to read my story. If anyone thinks, after reading 63 chapters, that the plot is thin and they don't like it anymore, maybe it's time to stop reading. Just a friendly suggestion, I'm not trying to be rude. Anyway, to all of you who do like this and are still with me; I can't tell you how much your reviews and continued support means to me. You guys rock! *hugs*

65. 65 by Pet [Reviews - 9] Liked (1282 words)
Wow! I can't believe this story has gotten over a thousand reviews! I'm amazed, and appreciate every single one. I can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me. I'll do my best to keep the chapters coming until this story is finished.

66. 66 by Pet [Reviews - 11] Liked (1396 words)
I realize that this story seem to be of the never-ending variety, and I don't blame anyone for giving up on it, seeing how I seem to lose readers again. However, I'll try to update a little more often, at least I'll do my best. Trust me, I want this story to develop as much as you do, but I'm not gonna rush things to do so. I'll try to have another chapter up before next weekend.

67. 67 by Pet [Reviews - 10] Liked (1355 words)

68. 68 by Pet [Reviews - 13] Liked (1571 words)
After giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to take a break with my other story - Lies. I'm not giving up on it though, I will definitely finish it. But right now, I want to focus on this story, try to finish it once and for all. And I have to tell you, having made up my mind about my writing makes me feel so relieved like you couldn't believe. So I feel that it was the right decision to make. Anyway, thanks to those (few?) of you who are still with me here!

69. 69 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1373 words)
Since I decided to take a break from my other story, I have actually found it easier to write on this one. Hopefully, things will stay that way. Thanks for your reviews, and please keep letting me know what you think of this story! Now I'm gonna go respond to the reviews for the previous chapters. :)

70. 70 by Pet [Reviews - 12] Liked (1603 words)
Thank you so much for the lovely response on last chapter. *hugs you all* The muse appreciates it as well, seeing how she keeps cooperating.

71. 71 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1473 words)
Okay, I think there will be about 10 more chapters or so and I'll do my best to keep them coming. Hopefully, what is left of this story won't disappoint. Thanks to those of you still reading!

72. 72 by Pet [Reviews - 22] Liked (1712 words)
I was not going to update again so soon, seeing how it's only been 3 days since I posted the last chapter, but what can I say? My muse just really wanted this to happen, I guess. :)

Ok, seriously, this chapter is making me sweat and I'm extremely nervous about both this and the coming chapters, mostly because I personally think I suck at writing these specific things. What I'm trying to say is - right now, any supporting comments would mean more to me than ever.

73. 73 by Pet [Reviews - 20] Liked (1753 words)
Another quick update, don't know what's gotten into my muse lately. Must be all your wonderful reviews, I'm just amazed at the response I got for last chapter. *hugs you all* More A/N at the bottom of the page.

74. 74 by Pet [Reviews - 13] Liked (1496 words)
Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! I actually expected to get at least a few complaints about the big love scene, but I'm amazed at your positive support. *hugs* Next chapter will be up in a few days.

75. 75 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1645 words)
I'll try to have one more chapter up before Christmas, probably on Monday. Unless I get really inspired and write faster. :)

76. 76 by Pet [Reviews - 10] Liked (1584 words)
For some reason, writing this chapter made me all weepy, something that very rarely happens to me while writing. Must be overly emotional right now. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and the next chapter should be up some time before this weekend.

77. 77 by Pet [Reviews - 14] Liked (1623 words)
I can't believe it's been over a year since I started writing this story. It'll feel weird when it's finally over, gonna miss writing it.

78. 78 by Pet [Reviews - 18] Liked (1606 words)
Here's another quick update. I know this is gonna sound weird, but I hope reading this chapter will be as painful as writing it. Cause that would mean I've succeeded. I have (thankfully) absolutely no experience whatsoever of any kind of abuse, which means I have to rely on my imagination while trying to express Spike's feelings. I just hope I can manage to make it come out as believable as possible.

79. 79 by Pet [Reviews - 12] Liked (1565 words)
Thanks so much for all your lovely reviews! Without your kind words and support, I would never be able to keep the chapters coming so quickly, you guys really inspire the muse. :)

To Shadowsbabe: Thank you for your e-mails, your help and encouragement really means a lot to me. Unfortunately, I'm unable to respond to any of your e-mails for some reason, I keep getting a delivery failure message whenever I try. Just wanted to make sure you know how much I appreciate it, you've been most helpful. :)

80. 80 by Pet [Reviews - 16] Liked (1735 words)
I'm trying to write as much and fast as I can right now, since I have to go back to work in 2 days. It's not that hard, though, my muse suddenly seems to be working in overdrive and I could easily write a chapter a day if I wanted to. I just have to remind myself that I do in fact have a life outside of fanfiction. *lol* Anyway, enjoy the chap!

81. 81 by Pet [Reviews - 9] Liked (1583 words)
Thanks for the reviews! I'll respond to all of them asap. :)

82. 82 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1605 words)
Still with me?

83. 83 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1628 words)
I started writing this chapter immediately after I finished the last one, however, it took me a couple of days to finish. Hope you'll like it. :)

84. 84 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (1813 words)
I never thought it would be so difficult to wrap this story up. I fear that it's simply impossible and the story will just go on and on and on for ever. *lol*

85. 85 by Pet [Reviews - 14] Liked (1789 words)
A little angst warning on this chapter. Don't hate me. ;)

86. 86 by Pet [Reviews - 14] Liked (1708 words)
I realize some of you found last chapter kinda upsetting. That's fine. It was really interesting to see the reactions. Here you go - another chapter. Hope you'll enjoy!

87. 87 by Pet [Reviews - 14] Liked (1704 words)
Thanks for all your reviews and for sticking with this story. I love to hear your opinions so please keep them coming!

88. 88 by Pet [Reviews - 10] Liked (1740 words)
If anyone here's waiting for an update on Betrayal, I just wanted to let you know I'm working on it and will try to have another chapter up in a few days. As for this story, I hope you'll like this chapter. :)

89. 89 by Pet [Reviews - 9] Liked (1637 words)
Still with me, I hope.

90. 90 by Pet [Reviews - 16] Liked (1806 words)
Sorry about the delay. The truth is, the lack of response for the last couple of chapters made my muse take off and I had to struggle to get this chapter out. Now, I feel it's almost a relief that this story soon will be over (thinking maybe 5 more chapters or so) because it seems like people are started to get tired of it. Anyway, to those who still bother to let me know you enjoy this - thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

To u2fan2005: (if you're reading this) I got your e-mail with your lovely banner, unfortunately, I couldn't add it without the whole chapter turning into one long link. I was also unable to respond to your mail. I'll keep working on it though. Thank you!

91. 91 by Pet [Reviews - 11] Liked (1813 words)
I found out that this story has been recommended at The Readers Have Chosen. I have no idea who recommended it but to whoever did - thank you so much! :)

92. 92 by Pet [Reviews - 13] Liked (1607 words)
There will probably be 4 more chapters after this one, including the epilogue. That's it. For those of you who're reading 'Betrayal': I'll try to have next chapter up tomorrow or the day after. When both these stories are complete, I plan on picking up where I left off on 'Lies', if I have any readers left on that one.

93. 93 by Pet [Reviews - 9] Liked (1818 words)

94. 94 by Pet [Reviews - 15] Liked (1805 words)
Sometimes I wonder if there are still people out there who care enough for this story to be finished. This is not me begging for reviews, this is just me starting to doubt my ability to keep my readers interested in such a long story. I feel sad about losing so many readers when we're this close to the end. Because there will most likely only be 2 more chapters after this one, the epilogue included. Right now, I just wanna get it over with. To those faithful readers (and you know who you are) who keep leaving your lovely comments; if it wasn't for you, I would probably have given up a long time ago. Thank you for your support!

95. 95 by Pet [Reviews - 17] Liked (2148 words)
Thanks to those of you who left me a review for the last chapter to let me know you're with me still. The story is almost over now, it makes me feel both sad and relieved at the same time.

96. 96 by Pet [Reviews - 39] Liked (2080 words)
Wow. Words can't express how I feel right now. I've been writing this story for more than a year, and now it's over. There's so much I'd like to say, but right now, my mind is completely blank. So, I'll just say - to each and everyone of you who have read this story, to all of you who have taken your time to leave me a comment, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I never would've been able to finish this without your support. Love you all!