He wanted to wake up every morning to her. Go to sleep with his body wrapped tightly around hers. He wanted her to have his child—his children. He knew he wanted to live out the rest of his life with her by his side and when he died, he wanted to die in her arms.

Then you're mine," she said in desperation. "Then you belong to me."

"With everything I am

Maybe love was a woman feeding him pancakes. Maybe it was someone sitting across from him sipping orange juice just to please him.

And maybe that was love. Being so vulnerable and allowing someone else in so far they could hurt you, but they also give you everything.

I just want some time, Mikhail, to think things through. It’s frightening, the way I am about you. I think about you every minute; I want to touch you, just to know I can, to feel you beneath my fingers. It’s as if you crawled into my head and my heart, even my body, and I can’t get you out.

Life gives us choices. You either grab on with both hands and just go for it, or you sit on the sidelines.