Love does not last forever, then?" "He asked me the same thing this morning," she said. "No, it does not - not love that has been betrayed. One realizes that one has loved a mirage, someone who never really existed. Not that love dies immediately or soon, even then. But it does die and cannot be revived.
Mary BaloghEvery moment is a moment of decision, and every moment turns us inexorably in the direction of the rest of our lives.
Mary BaloghI would be consumed by you,' she said, and blinked her eyes furiously when she felt them fill with tears. 'You would sap all the energy and all the joy from me. You would put out all the fire of my vitality.' 'Give me a chance to fan the flames of that fire,' he said, 'and to nurture your joy.
Mary BaloghHe wished someone in the course of history had thought of striking that word and all its derivatives from the English Language - happy, happier, happiest, happiness. What the devil did the words really mean anyway? Why not just the word pleasure, which was far more... well, pleasant.
Mary BaloghThere had to be a reason why they were not going to marry. They had both been so adamant about it. What the devil was the reason?
Mary BaloghThe real meaning of things lies deep down and the real meaning of things is always beautiful because it is simply love.
Mary BaloghA sunrise or sunset can be ablaze with brilliance and arouse all the passion, all the yearning, in the soul of the beholder.
Mary BaloghThe suffering of a loved one was in many ways worse than one's one suffering because it left one feeling so very helpless.
Mary BaloghNothing is permanently perfect. But there are perfect moments and the will to choose what will bring about more perfect moments.
Mary BaloghThere is something infinitely better than happily-ever-after. There is happiness. Happiness is a living, dynamic thing, Eve, and has to be worked on every moment for the rest of our lives. It is a far more exciting prospect than that silly static idea of a happily-ever-after. Would you not agree?" - Aidan Bedwyn
Mary BaloghI know it is something of a cliche to say that love makes all things possible, but I believe it does. It is not a magic wand that can be waved over life to make it all sweet and lovely and trouble free, but it can give the energy to fight the odds and win.
Mary BaloghLove did not have to make sense. It did not have to be worthy. It did not have to be earned. It did not have to woo. It just simply was.
Mary BaloghYour sense of guilt will linger. It will always be part of you. but sharing it, allowing people to love you anyway, will do you the world of good. Secrets need an outlet if they are not to fester and become an unbearable burden.
Mary BaloghMy happiness has to come from within myself or it is too fragile a thing to be of any use to me and too much of a burden to benefit any of my loved ones.
Mary BaloghDid she ever feel nostalgia for any of her girlhood dreams? But life was made up of a succession of dreams, some few to be realized, most to be set aside as time went on, one or two to persist for a lifetime. It was knowing when to abandon a dream, perhaps, that mattered and distinguished the successful people in life from the sad, embittered persons who never moved on from the first of life's great disappointments. Or from the airy dreamers who never really lived life at all.
Mary BaloghHe gazed up at the blue sky and knew that heaven—at least in this life—was neither a time nor a place to be grasped and made into a possession. It came in fleeting moments and then went away again to leave one nostalgic and yearning and on the verge of tears. Very much on the verge of tears. And very frightened.
Mary BaloghIt was so much more comfortable to be able to divide people into heroes and villains and expect them to play their allotted part.
Mary Balogh