AT Demeter

“Erik was certain of one thing: the devastation of losing Christine had nearly driven him insane with rage and despair; to lose Melodie would be a sentence to death, for the next time insanity lured him to the edge, there would be no one to stop him from tumbling into the abyss.”
― Shirley Yoshinaka, Deception: A Phantom Of The Opera Novel: A Phantom of the Opera Novel

“Since the time he’d been born, he’d been set on a course into darkness. In various fleeting moments, he’d glimpsed the occasional flicker of light and hope. Those moments, however, had been too brief to dispel the shadows. Only now did he see a new path before him, bright with a constant, unwavering glow - a path of love.”
― Shirley Yoshinaka, Deception: A Phantom Of The Opera Novel: A Phantom of the Opera Novel

“Erik was filled with contentment and joy, yet a part of him wondered how Mellie could look upon his face and still love him. Months ago, when he had first unburdened his soul to her, she had not fled in fear. Her acceptance of him, despite his murderous past, never failed to astound him.
Whenever plagued with these doubts, Erik had only to gather her in his arms and kiss her. She always responded with ardour; within the limpid depths of her eyes, he could see the love shining back at him.
Though uncertain whether he deserved such devotion, Erik grabbed at it with both hands. And like a spoiled child, he held it with fierce possessiveness, for she was his and his alone.”
― Shirley Yoshinaka, Deception: A Phantom Of The Opera Novel: A Phantom of the Opera Novel

“Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves