Honest Conversations Quotes

“I have thought and thought since you were gone, and there is something I wish to say.' Cardan's face is serious, almost grave, in a way that he seldom allows himself to be. 'When my father sent me away, at first I tried to prove that I was nothing like he thought me. But when that didn't work, I tried to be exactly what he believed I was instead. If he thought I was bad, I would be worse. If he thought I was cruel, I would be horrifying. I would live down to his every expectation. If I couldn't have his favour, then I would have his wrath.

'Balekin did not know what to do with me. He made me attend his debauches, made me serve wine and food to show off his tame little prince. When I grew older and more ill-tempered, he grew to like having someone to discipline. His disappointments were my lashing, his insecurities my flaws. And yet, he was the first person who saw something in me he liked- himself. He encouraged all my cruelty, inflamed all my rage. And I got worse.

'I wasn't kind, Jude. Not to many people. Not to you. I wasn't sure if I wanted you or if I wanted you gone from my sight so that I would stop feeling as I did, which made me even more unkind. But when you were gone- truly gone beneath the waves- I hated myself as I never have before.'

I am so surprised by his words that I keep trying to find the tick in them. He can't truly mean what he's saying.

'Perhaps I am foolish, but I am not a fool. You like something about me,' he says, mischief lighting his face, making its planes more familiar. 'The challenge? My pretty eyes? No matter, because there is more you do not like and I know it. I can't trust you. Still, when you were gone I had to make a great many decisions, and so much of what I did right was imagining you beside me, Jude, giving me a bunch of ridiculous orders I nonetheless obeyed.'

I am robbed of speech.

He laughs, his warm hand going to my shoulder. 'Either I've surprised you or you are as ill as Madoc claimed.”
― Holly Black, The Wicked King

“Some people value wealth, land, and prosperity. I value my family. They are all I have, and one thing I’ve learned is that family is something we must hold on to.”
― Beck Michaels, Divine Blood

“Almost everything can be resolved through honest conversations, and when something is staying unresolved, it is just the way it is meant to be. In such situations, you let go while remaining patient and through leaning on prayer.”
― AVIS Viswanathan