The Sweetest Oblivion

“I swear to God, Elena, if I find out you’ve let some man touch you, I will deliver his hands to you in a box.” I swallowed. “And I do not. Fucking. Bluff.”

“There are three sides to every story. Mine, yours and the truth.” —Joe Massino”

“I hated when someone told me to smile, as if a smile of mine belonged to them and not to me.”

“He was comfort, security, and need, all in one. It had a name. Home.”

“True love stories never have endings.”

“I said I’ll never hurt you, Elena, but if I find out you’ve touched another man, there is nothing in this world that could save him.”

“I would make this girl want me, need me, love me, because fuck if I was going it alone.”

“There’s nowhere you could go that I couldn’t find you.”

“Why are you staring at me?”One heartbeat. Two.His voice was rough and his gaze was steady when he said, “Maybe I want to.”

“I wanted to fuck her and ruin her for anyone else. I wanted to crush her wings and then put them back together again so she’d become dependent on me. I wanted her to need me. That dark, possessive, and dangerous feeling crawled through me every time she crossed my path.Elena Abelli was my vice, and fuck if I’d let it kill me.”

“Without hope, there’s nothing to lose. With it, we’re nothing but dominos waiting to fall.”

“For the first time in my life, I felt free to be me. To curse if I wanted, to keep my smiles for who deserved them, to be bad at something, to fall in love.Nico didn’t treat me like glass. He shattered the reflection of an empty life staring back at me.He taught me how to soar.”

“You can’t blame gravity for falling in love.” —Albert Einstein”

“You don’t know,” he growled. “I can’t stay away from you for more than a fucking day and you can run off without a second thought.” I shook my head, but his grip slid to my chin and stopped me. “You. Don’t. Know.”

“I wanted to be the best thing he’d ever had. To make him burn as much as he made me. I wanted him to want only me with a raw ache.”

“Elena Abelli was my vice, and fuck if I’d let it kill me.”

“Maybe my roots were too deep, or maybe love gave a woman a reason to let her dark colors shine, because I suddenly knew I would lie, cheat, and steal for this man. I would burn the world for him. He was King of the Cosa Nostra. And he was all mine.”

“I swallowed. “I don’t want to do this if there are going to be other women, Nico. I can’t.” He watched me for two tense seconds. “You’re enough for me.”

“You can only sink or swim.You can’t swim in the underworld, but I’d always heard drowning was the best way to go.”

“You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars. -Gary Allan”

“Hit a woman in front of me and you won’t be alive to do it again,” Nico growled.”

“This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine.”

“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” —Cesare Pavese”

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” —Marilyn Monroe”

“Whiskey and flame. Sleepless nights. Tattooed skin, white t-shirts, and rough hands. Love and lust and happiness. He was everything.”

“I don’t need to keep you a secret, Elena,” he said, going to tend to his pan on the stove. “I just don’t have the patience to listen to what people think I should do with what’s mine.” Mine.”

“She was mine. And I’d kill anyone who told me otherwise.”

“What do you mean, like do I carry a membership card that says 'Mafia' on it?”

“But the truth was, I didn’t think there was another person in this world who could make me feel safer.”

“For thinking I’m a psychopath, you don’t seem to fear being alone with me.” “I can scream. Loudly.” He glanced at me, like my words had an entirely different meaning— like he might like to hear me scream. My breathing became shallow.”