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41 " I was mortified by the idea of beauty. It was powerful yet slippery. A beautifully wrapped gift I was bound to lose one day. I didn’t want to open it or ravish in its perks. It would only make parting ways with it more difficult. "
― L.J. Shen , The Kiss Thief
42 " Humans, as a concept, were not among my ten favorite things in the world. "
43 " I am air. Invisible and insignificant, but vital all the same. "
44 " You’re a collected debt, a retaliation, and, quite frankly, pretty decent arm candy. Good night, Miss Rossi. "
45 " Falling in love was so tragic. "
46 " Wretchedly gorgeous. Wickedly innocent. Irrevocably mine. Our hearts were tarnished. Stained. And guilty.Unpredictable to a fault.And bound to break. "
47 " The only person I needed was me. "
48 " They say that all great love stories have a happy ending. I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter. "
49 " I never planned on falling for him. It just happened. But that’s the thing about love, isn’t it? It’s like death. You know it will happen one day. You just don’t know how or why or when. "
50 " We were entwined and entangled, connected with invisible strings, each of us trying to pull away, only to create more knots that made us closer. "
51 " God, Nemesis, I wanted to fuck you out of my life for good—but there could never be anyone else. It is you that I love. It is you whom I want. It is you whom makes living a spectacular thing I want to experience, rather than participate in reluctantly, every day. "
52 " Failure is not an option, "
53 " nothing is good if it doesn’t have the power to feel bad, too. It’s all about the quantities, "
54 " This is the last time you raise your voice to my fiancée, not to mention throw things around like a poorly trained circus monkey. Nobody—and I do mean no person on this planet—talks to the future Mrs. Keaton like this. Any wrath she is to endure is mine. The only person she answers to is me. The only man to put her in her place—if and when needed—would. Be. Me. You will be respectful, agreeable, and polite to her. Tell me if I’m not understood, and I’ll make sure to make my point by destroying everything you care about. "
55 " He tipped his head forward, molding our mouths together, our lips meeting like they already knew each other. I realized—and not to my discomfort—that they did. It was a discreet, bolstering kiss. For long minutes, we explored each other with cautious strokes. The only audible noise was our lips and tongue, licking wounds more than skin-deep. When we disconnected, my heart twisted in my chest. I was afraid he was going to leave the room angrily like he did the last time we’d kissed. But he just brushed his thumb over my cheek and scanned my face with a dark frown. “Have you had enough of your father for the week, Nem?” I took a shuddering breath. “I think I’ve had my fill for the year.” “Good. Because I’m beginning to think I haven’t had enough of my fiancée, and I’d like to rectify that. "
56 " You know how I knew you weren’t Angelo when we kissed? Not because of your height or your scent. It was because you tasted like ash. Like betrayal. You, Senator Keaton, taste bitter and cold, like poison. You taste like a villain. "
57 " I had a sense that people enjoyed what they saw when they looked at me, but I was mortified by the idea of beauty. It was powerful yet slippery. A beautifully wrapped gift I was bound to lose one day. "
58 " Would you like the secret to disarming Wolfe Keaton, my dear girl?”(…) “Yes,” I heard myself say.“Love him. He will be defenseless against your love. "
59 " I pressed my eyes shut, determined not to see what was on his face as I stripped off my dignity for him. Mama used to say that pride was the most exquisite jewelry a woman could wear even when you’re naked. But Wolfe had just ripped it from my neck, every pearl of confidence rolling on the floor. "
60 " Real men don’t shit bricks when their wives gain higher education and the basic power to survive without them, pardon my language. "