The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2)

by Stephanie Garber

They live happily ever after, Evangeline usually proclaimed. Most characters, she believed, deserved it after all they’d been through. Her mother, however, felt differently. She believed most characters would stay happy for now, but not forever.

I think there’s a happy ending for everyone. But I don’t think these endings always follow the last page of a book, or that everyone is guaranteed to find their happily ever after.

Happy endings can be caught, but they are difficult to hold on to. They are dreams that want to escape the night. They are treasure with wings. They are wild, feral, reckless things that need to be constantly chased, or they will certainly run away.

Jacks flashed a smile that was far more wicked than welcoming. “Glad to know you’re thinking about me when you kiss your husband.”

“Unlock it,” Jacks ordered. Evangeline bristled. “You could at least say please.” “I could, but then you might think I’m being nice, and I would hate to confuse you.”

😭😂 this guy is a trip

She used to think love was like a house. Once it was built, a person got to live in it forever. But now she wondered if love was more like a war with new foes constantly appearing and battles creeping up. Winning at love was less about succeeding in a battle and more about continuing to fight, to choose the person you loved as the one you were willing to die for, over and over.

“I actually believe you would have done the North a tremendous favor by ridding it of your stepsister, but we can always fix that mistake later.”

AGREED

He flashed one of his dimples as his mouth formed a mocking smirk. Evangeline hadn’t missed this at all.

You can lie to yourself Ms, but you can’t lie to us lol

“Want me to kill any of them for you?” “No, they’re just gossiping.” “Then what if I merely give them the urge to cut out their own tongues?” he asked, flashing one of his dimples.

Such a silly little guy lol this Slaughterhouse manor shit is kinda scary tho . Someone gon die

“How’s your new wife, Merrick?” The young man blanched. “She passed last autumn.” “How tragic.” Jacks’s voice was all false surprise. “Didn’t your previous wife pass the autumn just before that one?” “She did. I’ve had quite bad luck,” Merrick bit out. “Well, then it’s probably best you not pass it on to Evangeline.” Jacks grabbed her arm.

😭😭😭😂😂 no subtlety

“Still think you know what I need?” He pressed in closer, lips nearly grazing her jaw and sending a shiver over her skin as he whispered, “I’m not a human, Evangeline. And I’m not your friend, or your husband, or your lover.”

Oh gawsh. These two. I need both parties to get over themselves and communicate . But seeing as this mf is a Fate & Evangeline is a little… mmm not all the way there ? Idk how this will end for them 😭😂

“I’m the person who’ll kill this Petra girl if she goes near you again. So you should stay away unless you want her dead.”

Now I wanna know who Petra is lol maybe she has one of the stonesss

“I was once like you … but now you’re … just … like me.”

“I know, love. I’m going to take you somewhere safe.”

aye.. AYE . Dont be calling her love after what tf you just said to Lala lol I’ll beat you ass Jacks

And she couldn’t believe the inexorable pull she felt was entirely one-sided. She looked up at his unreadable eyes as he lowered her into the bed. “Do you still think of me as just a tool?” Jacks frowned. “I try not to think of you at all.”

He’d already found the one girl who’d made his heart beat, and it wasn’t her. Evangeline wasn’t Jacks’s true love. But she found herself wishing that she were.

“Whatever it is, Jacks, you won’t feel the same in a minute.” He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw. “You have no idea what I’m feeling now.”

My heart! It hurts !

No matter how much she wanted to numb the heartache, living in a delusion was not the answer.