The Striker (Gods of the Game, #1)

by Ana Huang

I preferred to sort my emotions into separate boxes—black and white, good and bad, alphabetized and color-coded. But when I looked at him, I was a muddled canvas of gray.

“I was in the area and thought I’d drop by.” “For?” “No reason. Just felt like it.” “You’re telling me the Asher Donovan has nothing better to do with his time than drop by a ballet academy?” A shadow flickered in those crystalline green eyes. “I have other things I could do,” he said. “I wouldn’t say they’re better.”

It was funny how a life-changing moment for one person was nothing more than a blip on the news for someone else.

What happened to facing your fears and overcoming them?” “I never said I would do that. I’m perfectly happy locking my fears in the closet and pretending they don’t exist.” “Ah, denial. The best way to go through life.”

If her smile was a burglar, her laugh was a fucking thief because I was pretty sure she just stole a piece of my heart from right out under me.

“I think you’re capable of more than you give yourself credit for,” I said. “But at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself what you’d regret more—trying and failing, or not trying at all?”

I wasn’t a violent person, but when it came to Scarlett being hurt, my values unraveled.

“If it makes you feel better,” I said. “I prefer Asher to Asher Donovan.” The former was a person; the latter was a brand. I was indifferent about the brand, but I liked the person. A lot. More than I should.

So instead of living his dream, he let me live it for him.”

I’d believed anyone could do anything if they tried hard enough, but I was tired of having to try so hard.

I’ll always have your back. Always. No matter what happens, there’s nothing in this world that I won’t do for you.

I didn’t just love him; I was in love with him. I was so in love with him that the thought of him dying made me want to die.

No matter how many promises he broke, there would never be a version of me that didn’t care whether he lived or died.

We all have ugly feelings sometimes. It’s a part of human nature. But it’s what we do with them that counts.

When life throws you obstacles, you either obliterate them or you find a way around them. You don’t bloody wait for the universe to haul them out of the way for you.