Belle

“Love is a soft thing. It smells like woodsmoke and sounds like rain. It tastes like sugared apples. It costs nothing to give yet is more precious than a sea of diamonds.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Poisoned

“If I must be a villain, I will be one of my own making.”
― Gina Chen, Violet Made of Thorns

“You were the only person who ever made me feel like I was the one worth protecting.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn

“In the dungeon, I used to like making you angry,” Parvaneh said. She reached down to scoop up one of the moths and held it up to her face, brushing its wing against her cheek with a tenderness that only worsened the fluttering in Soraya’s stomach. Parvaneh let the moth fly away and looked Soraya in the eye. “But I think I like making you laugh even more.”
“Why did you like making me angry?” Soraya asked in mock offense.
Parvaneh grinned and swept aside Soraya’s hair, her fingers brushing Soraya’s cheekbone. “To see your veins, of course,” she said. Her hand moved down to trace the full claw mark on Soraya’s collar bone with her fingertips. “I always thought you . . . I thought they were beautiful.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn