Defy Me (Shatter Me, #5)

by Tahereh Mafi

You touch me, constantly, like I’m a child, like you’re trying to comfort me, like you have no idea that I’m a grown-ass man who might feel something when you put your hands on me like that.”

Thank you for appreciating my face. I’ve always thought I had an underappreciated face.”

She touches me in a proprietary way, like I already belong to her, and I don’t mind. I kind of love it.

And she smiles. Smiles at me and my heart shatters. “Trust me,” she says. “I’d remember you.”

You don’t know that Aaron has been in love with Ella for the better part of his entire life. They’ve known each other since childhood.”

The reason he had to keep wiping their memories was because it didn’t matter how many times he reset the story or remade the introductions— Aaron always fell in love with her. Every time.

Aaron Warner Anderson is the only emotional through line in my life that ever made sense. He’s the only constant. The only steady, reliable heartbeat I’ve ever had.

And I realize then, in a moment that terrifies me, that I want this, forever. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to build a future with her. I want to grow old with her. I want to marry her.

I don’t want any part of me to be off-limits to her.

I want to remember to celebrate more. I want to remember to experience more joy. I want to allow myself to be happy more frequently. I want to remember, forever, this look on Aaron’s face, as he’s bullied into blowing out his birthday candles for the very first time. This is, after all, what we’re fighting for, isn’t it? A second chance at joy.