Fated to Love You Quotes

“That night as I slept, I dreamed of brown eyes that re- minded me of the cusp of autumn, with flecks of deep brown mixed with lighter hues.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“I want you to know I have never loved anyone like I love you. More than Darcy loved Elizabeth or Heathcliff loved Cathy. I just don’t want to make you a widow.”

“I never really understood why Brontë is considered to be a romance writer. We were required to read Wuthering Heights in high school and I always believed that her novel showcased the bleakest aspects of human nature. The story provided readers with a small yet unforgettable glimpse into the depths of human cruelty. Personally, I never considered the story romantic because the love shared between Cathy and Heathcliff was fatal, not just for themselves but for those around them. Their souls were incompatible, and they were a toxic pairing. Despite their love, passion, jealousy, and desire for connection, they were unable to recognize this fact.”

“I was never a fan of Victorian romance novels.”

“It was never one of my favorites. It’s often viewed as one of the great romance novels of all time, but I think it represents something darker: the fatal, selfish side of love, obsession, and abuse. To this day, I have not encountered a more accurate depiction of how love can become selfish.”

“Why do you say that?” Xuan asked.

“Because I think you have to love someone in the way that I love you to truly understand what love means... and to understand how wrong the story is. My soul and yours are the same in a way that Catherine and Heathcliff’s could never be. Widow or not, I will never stop loving you, Xuan. You have mesmerized me. My very soul has been entangled completely by you over these past three years. If Brontë or Austen could write the greatest love story of all time they’d write our story. And whether you marry me or not, how I feel about you will never change.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Sometimes people rise above their past, sometimes not. And sometimes the people you least expect it from—like Raylan and my father—have a way of surprising you in the end.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“To the skeptics, perhaps the events that are to follow were just a coincidence and nothing more than a series of random accidents that led me to where I am today. But to the lovers and poets and dreamers, perhaps you might agree that the story about to unfold is something more. You might even agree that there are times when coincidences are so powerful that they don’t really seem like coincidences anymore. Times when you come across events that seem too strange, or too strong, to be anything other than Fate—a grand design that incorporates everything from the career paths we take, the friends we meet along the way, and the partners we choose to spend our lives with. Times like these make you question that maybe nothing in this world happens by accident. Maybe everything really does happen for a reason, as some prewritten destiny slowly takes shape and shoves you down a path—or in my case, a mountain side.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Xuan and I had decided to take a trip together in honor of our one-thousand-day anniversary. We ate Korean barbecue, shared a decadent cake, and then drove three and a half hours to Yosemite. I’d never heard of such an occasion. But in Seoul, where Ji-Hoon was born and raised, there was almost a monthly holiday devoted to romance. We wore similar out- fits, which Xuan said was common for couples in Asian countries. Three years was a big deal, especially when we didn’t know how many more we’d have.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“When I dream, it’s always of you.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Sometimes people rise above their past, sometimes not. And sometimes the people you least expect it from—like Raylan and my father—
have a way of surprising you in the end.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“I looked at his hand clasping mine. Three years ago, on October 15, 2016, the brilliant blue blaze of the comet had crossed the vastness of our world in Colombia. I could see it, almost as if we were back there, standing on the roof of the dorms as we looked over the city together. We didn’t know it then, but our life together was just beginning.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“People don’t have anniversaries for the day they fall in love.”
“They should. I remember every day and every moment that was special with you. Love is fragile... a gift. And when you love someone, you should be the caretaker of their heart.”
“Loving you has been the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. You know that, right?”
Xuan nodded and then pulled me close to him as if to reply. The feel of his lips on my neck was like an electric shock, making the little hairs stand.
“Stay still or I’ll ruin your makeup,” he whispered in my ear.
“I don’t mind being fashionably late,” I suggested.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Cassie, if you’d known back then that this is where our paths would lead us... that I would get sick... would you have still chosen to be with me?”
Did he seriously not know the answer? How much I loved him? “Xuan, I do choose this path, every night, in my dreams. I cannot imagine my life any differently.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“We continued dancing as a swift gale wheeled through the hills of Santa Cruz. Xuan leaned down to whisper into my ear, his lips lightly brushing the helix. “Once upon a time there was a boy, and he loved a girl very much. He was sad because he didn’t think the girl noticed him. Until one day the uni- verse intervened and a beautiful comet brought them together after a tragic accident occurred that day. The boy and the girl found comfort and friendship in each other that night. And something new and extraordinary began to blossom under the heavens, something that would burn with such bright- ness that all the stars would be in awe. And the boy fell madly in love with the girl and promised to always find her, in this life and the next.”
“That’s my favorite story.”
Xuan smiled. “It’s the best one I’ve ever told, Ms. Steel.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“The answer to why the equation of 1 + 1 + 1 = 0 was that Raylan didn’t want the real me. He only thought he did, and therefore the solution to the problem ended up being a simple subtraction equation. And now Raylan wants me to marry him? Holy Saints, what was he thinking? After all, I knew I certainly wasn’t marriage- able material. And deep down he had to know that too if he decided to sleep with someone else.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Ethanol plus carbon dioxide was like a demon spawn pounding against the frontal lobes of my head from the previous night at the bar.
Somewhere in the city there was a church bell ringing, and—oh, not a bell. That was my phone.
My head pounded and I felt dizzy, like I was spinning in circles on a Tilt-A-Whirl ride. Slowly, I opened an eye to try and find my cell phone. I groaned as I reached for the blue- and-silver-plated device on my nightstand. The spins from al- cohol sucked.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“The next day, I’d be going home. Little did I know that, as I slept, the universe was already conspiring, like a table full of gossiping women, to help nudge me in the right direction to- ward my fate... or to my death.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“My name is Cassandra Temperance Steel, I said to the beautiful imaginary Death Angel, as if my name wasn’t already on her Santa Claus-like list of souls to collect that evening. Spare me.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“The first time I looked into a microscope at seaweed and pond water micro- organisms, there was something inside me that shifted—like the way people describe falling in love. And if I hadn’t been given the opportunity to cut into a cow’s eyeball at the age of fifteen, maybe I would have never majored in science, or gone on the semester study abroad trip to Colombia with the UC Santa Cruz biology department. So yes, I blamed seaweed and pond water microorganisms, a cow’s eyeball, and my teachers, the real culprits, for starting me down this path. Just like accident investigators put together a timeline, I call this the causation analysis of my love life.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“The spinner of my story set me on a collision course that began the night I walked into the Red Iguana, and it was sealed after escaping death’s clutches the day of the comet, but none of those fateful events would have happened if I hadn’t fallen in love with science. Just like in the movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I believe a series of events resulted in leading me to find my soulmate.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“It’s the anniversary of the first day I realized I was madly
in love with you. That night, we went to your friend’s Halloween party. I remember the black dress you wore. You had feathery black angel wings attached to your back and glitter all over your body like you were a fairy from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“I dressed as a fallen angel that year.”
“You were my angel. The most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“A woman bathed in gold came out and took a seat at a piano keyboard. Behind her a second woman, dressed in similar fashion, came to sit nearby with her violin. The pianist’s fingers began to dance across the keyboard, giving it a voice. Her hands were a work of art, speaking a language that predated words.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Xuan’s movements were fluid and effortless, and I followed his lead with ease. The world around us faded away, and for a few precious moments, it was just the two of us, lost in the music in a peaceful quiet. I prayed that God would look down on us and see the beauty of our existence, and the trueness of our love. I prayed that He would decide to spare Xuan and leave us alone for many years. I prayed for a miracle.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“You’re mine.” His hand slid up the plane of my torso while he lowered himself over me, his hips nestling against mine.

Yes, I thought. I had been his since Colombia, and he had been mine from the start. I gasped a little at the touch, as his body fit across mine. My breathing was ragged and savage as he leaned down to kiss me, waiting for me to respond. “I love you. I’m yours,” I said.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“As we stood there, the world around us faded into insignificance, as if it were melting away. It was just the two of us, locked in an embrace, with the distant barks of sea lions below serving as our only witnesses. The taste of him on my tongue was like a potent elixir, intoxicating me and anchoring me to the present moment. His breath, warm and gentle, caressed my skin, and I could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat reverberating against my chest.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Treatment was not what Xuan wanted, and his answer only made me feel small and guilty. His words should have comforted me. That he would try, for me. But they didn’t. Xuan did love me enough to get treatment. But maybe I should have loved him enough to respect and accept his decision.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Cassie, if I do treatment, I’m most likely going to be too sick to want to do any of those things. It may only prolong my life for a short time. And leaving my parents with an enormous amount of debt because of medical bills is not what I want. How can I do that to them?”

“They love you, Xuan. There’s no price tag on your life.”

“What would you do if you were me?”

“I would fight!” I shouted.

“I’ve been trying to accept my fate, and I think you need to as well.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“As I pondered the dynamics of love, Newton’s laws and equations came to mind. It was an unusual connection, but suddenly the concept of love made sense through the lens of physics.
It occurred to me that when two people connect, their interactions are subject to the same fundamental laws that govern physical objects. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, as described by Newton’s Third Law of Motion. This was the basis of physics, and human behavior seemed to follow the same pattern. If one person makes a choice, the other will respond with an equal and opposite reaction.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“In that instant, I even forgot my own name, until I heard it being whispered from his lips.

“Cassie,” he said, pulling away.

I wanted this—dreamed of it, but now that it was happen- ing, I didn’t know how I’d ever want anything else. I wanted more. I wanted him. As he held my gaze, I realized that I had never felt more alive. And I knew, deep down, that this was only the beginning of our journey together.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“The ion and dust tails seemed to be pointing away from the crackling fire of the sun. Looking more closely, one tail was gray mixed with yellow and white and the second was blue fading into teal. The color change was softer than melting wax. A bright green coma glowed around the center. I felt as though I was seeing magic for the first time as the warmth from our great star heated up the comet, causing it to spew dust and gasses into a giant glowing head larger than most planets.

The comet’s magnificence and grandeur stirred me, much like a transcendent piece of music that envelops one’s soul. “I’ve never seen a comet before,” I confessed, my voice filled with a mix of wonder and emotion.

I could feel a tear form in my eye. I blinked it away. Bello, pulchram, bela, hermoso, yafah, ómorfi, Meilì. I could express the concept of beauty in numerous languages, but none of them truly captured the essence of my feelings as I gazed at the comet. It was a sight of indescribable beauty, as if musical notes had been sketched across the canvas of the night sky. I would never forget the comet—similar to Xuan, exciting, rare, and stunning.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Xuan whispered.

I looked at Xuan, but instead of looking at the sky, Xuan was staring at me. He stood, his hands jammed into his pockets, as he quickly turned his gaze to wander over the peaceful metropolis.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Cassie, you need to understand that he only agreed to undergo treatment because of you. He made this choice solely for you, and no one else. Despite being aware of the limited time he has left and the financial burden the treatment will impose on his family, he chose to stay by your side.”
I knew, had known the moment he’d agree to undergo the treatment. I hated myself for being the cause of his pain.
He continued to push. “Xuan is doing the cancer therapy stuff even though he didn’t want to. He loves you that much. And because you asked him to do this, he is. And one day, because of love, you will stand by Xuan until the end and you’ll have to watch him die. And because he loved you, you will eventually have to let him go, because that’s what he would want.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“Amanda handed me a full shot glass.
“Amanda, Cassie’s had a lot to drink already tonight, don’t you think?” Xuan was like a protective lion, slightly reminding me of my favorite vampire character.
“Don’t worry, Cassie’s fine!”
“No, she isn’t.”
“Just one more,” pushed Amanda.
Xuan took the shot meant for me and tipped it back before
picking up his own and finishing it. “Amanda, that’s it. No more. Cassie already looks like she’s going to be sick.”
Was he upset... on my behalf?”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You

“The mean-spirited, unpredictable cancer beast had changed all of our lives. There were unspoken details of our life before cancer. Now, only the stark reality of life after cancer remained. I was acutely aware that, regardless of the treatment’s outcome, we were bound in a race against time. A relentless clock, damnably ticking away, measured the fleeting seconds of Xuan’s life. Its insistent rhythm served as a re- minder of our finite journey. Though it may have momentarily paused, the clock would invariably resume its steady wind down toward zero.”
― Kayla Cunningham, Fated to Love You