“His darkness bled into me, inch by torturous inch, consuming me from the inside out. It made me feel powerful.It made me feel free.It made the next words that flew from my mouth a plea that he neve...”

“I wanted to break you. I never expected you to like it.”

“He kissed my tears away and whispered sweet words into my ears. Words that he was too afraid to say out loud. He told me I was beautiful. That I was perfect in every way. And that, unconditionally,...”

“A smart woman would have walked away then. She would have lit a match and set fire to the entire clusterfuck that was this situation. But I was never a smart woman, and if you didnt believe me, all...”

“This was worse than a coke binge. Worse than black tar or the thrill of E. This was the devil himself snaking his way inside of my heart and bending me to his will. This was addiction, quickly morp...”

“It wasnt desire, it was biology. My body was adapting to the situation. Doing what it needed to survive. That, I was certain of. Because if I had liked it, liked the hands of this monster, that wou...”

“Wars fought over a face like this, he murmured like he was talking to himself, my heart stopped beating and his thumbs moved lightly across my cheeks. A man would work himself into the ground for i...”

“Okay, first of all, I didnt sleep with you to make amends. I slept with you because I wanted to.He still didnt say anything, and she pointed at him again. And you know what? It was your own damn fa...”

“And I wake up happy, baby, because I possess beauty and I own that beauty in all the forms it can take and the least important of those are physical.”

“But because of you, I learned to love and not fear. Because of you, I can be loved and not be tormented. Because of you, I feel like a woman and not a victim.”

“Scusi mia bella*, but it runs in the blood of all Italians to be skillful lovers. So you have to get used to this.”

“You can't push me away, mio cuore. You can't!”

“A gentleman holds my hand.A man pulls my hair.A soulmate will do both.”

“You want to be free. You also want to be mine. You can't be both.”

“Refusing dominance over others by using money is a clear sign of wisdom.”