He was from a different class, too poor, and they would never approve if their daughter became serious with someone like him.

You were spying on us?" "It was kind of hard not to. You were right there by the workshop with Will. it looked like he was practically squishing you to death." "He wasn't," Ronnie assured him. "I'm just saying how it looked." She smiled. You'll understand when you're a little older.

and there had been times when he wished he'd been born into a different family.

He always apologized, and sometimes he would even cry because of the bruises he'd made on her arms or legs or her back. He would say that he hated what he'd done, but in the next breath tell her she'd deserved it. That if she'd been more careful, it wouldn't have happened. That if she'd been paying attention or hadn't been so stupid, he wouldn't have lost his temper.

I fell in love with her when we were together, then fell deeper in love with her in the years we were apart.

In a nutshell, loving someone is about giving, not receiving.

Trust me on this: no one is better off alone.