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𝙨𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣.

𝙨𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 | 𝘈 𝘛𝘈𝘓𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘚𝘜𝘕𝘚𝘌𝘛𝘚 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘙𝘚

｡･:*:･ﾟ✧ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

ANNABEL LEE HEARD A SHOUT OF HER NAME, and decided against ignoring her sister's insistence.

"Alright, Pippa. Time for your aunt to face whatever music Mama has in store." She told her one year old niece, daughter of her sister Emma and husband Harold. The little girl just giggled and untangled her arms from her aunt's.

Emma and Harold Fitzgerald lived in the Fitzgerald's London townhouse, a lovely place for the upper class pair that the couple was. Annabel headed down the majestic staircase while humming an upbeat jazz under her breath as she practically ran down the stairs to meet Emma.

The sight that met her made her roll her eyes, and race back up the stairs, until the new voice stopped her.

"Red, please. It's Polly." Pol. Annabel whipped around so hard one could of thought she had dislocated something. Slowly, she descended the stairs, and took her place next to Emma Fitzgerald, nee Keats, and turned cold.

"What is it, Ada?"

Emma led the women to the drawing room and excused herself to give them privacy. After a moment of silence, Ada Thorne, nee Shelby, spoke.

"Listen to me, okay, Anna? All the way through. I'm not happier at this then you are."

Annabel nodded, and Ada explained how in between tearing apart Birmingham to looking for Annabel, to which the lady rolled her eyes to, Thomas Shelby had visited the adopted family of a born Michael Gray. He had found Polly's son. Annabel almost burst with happiness, but Ada's demeanour told her there was more to the story.

Indeed, he had refused to give to Polly the exact location of her boy, because he was still underage, and if she went to him she would never have to possibility of being a mother to him. He had to come to her, which was completely understandable, yet heartbreaking.

"I don't understand where we fit into this, Ades."

Ada smiled shyly at the nickname. It proved to her that despite everything, they still had a bond. They always will. She shook her head lightly. "Tommy has requested my presence, as well as yours, as he knows I know where you are, to the Garrison's grand reopening, in order to speak to Polly and try to reel her back in. Apparently, she has gone absolutely bonkers. He needs our help. For her."

Annabel stood up, and breathed sharply. This was for Polly. Her mother, basically. A real one. She should do it. However, the thought of seeing Thomas Shelby again almost brought tears to her eyes, ones she swallowed. Ada stood up after her and made her way to the young woman, taking her hand into her own. "Anna, I know that seeing Tommy, and specially at his request, is the last thing you want to do. But this is for Polly." Annabel nodded. "Plus, you can't hide from it forever, Annabel."

Annabel yanked her hand out of Ada's gentle grip. "Hide? I am not hiding. I made a choice, for myself, for my life. And the Shelby family doesn't fit into that choice."

"All because of a mistake?"

"A mistake?" Annabel scoffed. "A betrayal. I know Tommy and I never established a formal relationship, but common sense would've shown that we were exclusive to each other. Two years, Ada. For two years, I waited for him. I held out for him. Hell, I didn't even have to hold back, because there was no one else that could ever compare. But, he on the other hand, found someone to compare to me. Found a way to forget me. And that's a wound I don't think I can recover from."