I don't want you to have to handle it. That's the horror of my past. But you...you're the reality of my present. You're the proof I survived. The prize in the cereal box.

Maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are, Mr. Stark."

"Nonsense. I'm fucking brilliant. Or haven't you heard?

Everyone breaks a little sometimes. That doesn't make you weak. It makes you wounded. And I will always be there to help you heal

You humble me, Nikki. Don't you see that? It must be clear from my expression that I do not, because he goes on. "If I do all those things for you--soothe you, center you, give you strength--then that is worth more to me than every penny I have earned building Stark International.

Never apologize for how you chose to survive.

When I deny the seriousness of my abuse I agree with my abuser and those who wouldn't acknowledge it. When I am in denial, I have the tendency to minimize my abuse, believe the lies others have said, as well as deny it ever happened. It is important for me to remember as much detail as I can so I can trust my own perceptions of what really happened and not depend on the validations from others.