" I would. I could stand on my feet without you.” “And the tide would still go out without my pushing it. The spring will still melt the snow without my warm breath nagging it. You’re a person, all on your own, with hopes and thoughts and dreams completely separate from mine. Do you think I want a woman who needs to lean on me to be complete? I don’t, dearling, I want only you, as whole and self-sufficient and tender as you are. I want to know that if I die tomorrow, you can support my father’s grief and raise my son to manhood. "

― Christina Dodd , Candle in the Window (Medieval, #1)