Amanda

“When she looked at herself in her wedding photographs, Ammu felt the woman that looked back at her was someone else. A foolish jewelled bride. Her silk sunset-coloured sari shot with gold. Rings on every finger. White dots of sandalwood paste over her arched eye-brows. Looking at herself like this, Ammu's soft mouth would twist into a small, bitter smile at the memory - not of the wedding itself so much as the fact that she had permitted herself to be so painstakingly decorated before being led to the gallows. It seemed so absurd. So futile.
Like polishing firewood.”
― Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

“And she wondered if it were possible to love someone enough to die from it. If it were possible to love someone enough that time and distance and death were of no concern.”
― Sarah J. Maas, Empire of Storms

“Sometimes there won’t be a right choice, just the best of several bad options.”
― Sarah J. Maas, Queen of Shadows

“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”
― Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility