" We hadn’t spoken for years; it had been too dangerous, too risky to her safety. But it didn’t mean she didn’t still own my dark heart. The bitch had it. would be the only one who ever did. Without her I was dead inside, had been for two years without her. Two long fucking years without having her in my arms. Two years without contact. Wondering if she was still mine. But knowing, with every new day that passed, that I was no good for her.
She didn’t need me in her life.
We were at war.
She was beautiful, and she deserved someone who could give her more.
But even knowing that, I couldn’t walk away from her. "

― Tillie Cole , Darkness Embraced (Hades Hangmen, #7)