Finally Mine (Benevolence, #2)

by Lucy Score

She wondered if her freedom was already a bigger inconvenience than her abuse had ever been.

Glenn won’t make bail. His mama’s got nothing to put up for him, and the judge wasn’t feeling very friendly towards him on account of him calling her a stupid bitch at his arraignment.

When did I decide that my worth came from how someone else sees me? Does that happen when a girl grows up without a father to tell her she’s smart and kind and pretty and worth so much more than the scraps of attention users will throw her way? Or was I born hungry for someone else’s opinions?

how do I become my own hero? Because I’m ready. I’m done being damaged and fragile and careful and scared. I’m done.

“I don’t want you to have to fight any more battles, Gloria.” “That’s funny because I’m thinking the only way I’m going to grow is by fighting a few of my own battles.”

“Safety doesn’t come from being physically secure, Aldo. I’ll feel safe with a man that I can count on to respect me.”

The legal system isn’t designed to protect victims. It’s there to punish criminals.”

“Silence keeps it too powerful,” she recited. “Or at least, that’s what my therapist says. Keeping it a secret that no one else knows gives it this unholy strength. But talking about it? It’s ugly and hard, but it takes the power away.”

It was always hard coming back. To shift gears from life and death and monotony of a war zone to pushing papers and dealing with the whims of an aggressively creative architect or wading into the murkiness of township ordinances. Always hard. Always surreal. But this was the first time he’d sat down at his desk in his office with only one leg. The scars were on the outside this time.

“When you try to fix things for other people, you’re basically saying you don’t believe in their ability to fix it themselves. You’re telling them you don’t believe in them. Respect them. Trust them.”