Redemption Quotes

“Yes, you see, there’s no such thing as coincidence. There are no accidents in life. Everything that happens is the result of a calculated move that leads us to where we are.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“You’re not asking me to choose you. There’s no choice about it. It’s always been you. Your father once told me that we always have a choice, but I think he was wrong. I think sometimes things choose us. It’s like with breathing. It’s natural. It’s a part of us. It just happens. We can hold our breath and try not to breathe anymore, and it’ll work for a few minutes, but we’ll eventually pass out and nature takes over. We can’t just not breathe, just like I can’t just not love you.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“The first time you asked me to marry you was three years ago. You told me it didn’t have to be that day, or the next day, or even that year. You just wanted me to swear I would when I was ready. I said yes, of course, and I meant it with everything in me. We were young and maybe we were naïve, thinking we had it all figured out, but one thing I never doubted was that we were meant to be. “

Haven paused to wipe her cheeks as more tears spilled from her eyes. “When I first met you I wasn’t sure what to think. You were nothing like anyone I’d ever met before. The things you made me feel were scary, and I wanted nothing more than to stay away from you, but I couldn’t. I was drawn to you. You gave me hope. You believed in me and helped me, and most of all, you loved me. Me. Out of all he people in the world, you picked me. I was used to being overlooked, used to being invisible, but you saw me. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you. I love you, Carmine Marcello DeMarco, and I want you to know I’m ready now. I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Sempre,” he whispered, choking on the word.

“Sempre.” Haven meant it with every fiber of her being. He was hers forever.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Sometimes I lose perspective, but it helps to stop and look around. I may not have it all, but I have more than enough. And enough, it seems, is more than most have...”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Out of curiosity, would you be willing to take a lie detector test?”

“I’m afraid not,” he said. “It goes against my religion.”

His brow furrowed. “How?”

“Only God can judge me. I certainly don’t trust a machine to do it.”

“You only have to worry if you’re untruthful. Do you plan to lie?”

“No, I prefer to sit, thank you.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“We die the day we lose the will to go on. We die the day we stop caring about life.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“This boy--this stubborn, selfless, stupid boy--had given himself to the Mafia. He had handed control of his future over to the men they hated most in exchange for her life. For her safety. And he had done it so easily, so quickly, like he didn’t have to think about it at all…like sacrificing for her came just as naturally as breathing.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“He was Carmine Marcello DeMarco…and even broken, he was beautiful.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“….I thought we’d be okay apart, but I was sorely mistaken. I don’t need much, Haven, but I do need you.”

“I need you, too, you know,” she said. “You make me feel safe.”
Despite everything, she trusted him. She believed in him. She loved him.

And he loved her . . . more than anything in the world. She had given herself to him again, every barrier between them broken down. All of those unanswered questions, all of the worry, every single bit of it had been resolved the moment they came back together.

“Haven,” he said. “If I could have anything, I know what I’d ask for now.”

She pulled back from their hug to look at him with genuine curiosity. “What?”

Carmine took a step back, reaching around his neck to pull off the gold chain. He unfastened it, removing the small ring, and eyed it in his palm momentarily before dropping to his knee.

“If I could have anything in the world, it would be for you to marry me.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Everyone falls sometimes, son, even me, but the trick is to get right back up. They’ll always target the ones who appear vulnerable, so you need to be strong. Fake it until you make it.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Time heals all wounds. Il tempo guarisce tutti i mali. It’s been said time and time again, but what they don’t talk about are the jagged scars left behind. What they don’t tell you is that sometimes, when ignored, the wounds fester”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“None of us really know what we’re doing,” Dia replied. “We just go out there and do it and have faith it’ll turn out okay.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“I’m sure you remember our first encounter, the morning in the kitchen in North Carolina, and what a disaster it turned out to be,” Carmine said.

“What you don’t know, though, is that as we sat like idiots in that puddle of juice, all I could think about was how beautiful you were. How beautiful you are. You were scared and confused, and I know I wasn’t helping that, but underneath it all you were just beautiful, Haven. You had me the very first time I laid eyes on you. I remember thinking later that morning you were going to complicate my life.” He paused as he laughed to himself. “And complicate it you did. Everything I knew, everything I believed . . . all of it went out the window. You turned me upside down and made me feel again. You saved my life, even though I didn’t realize it needed to be saved. I thought I was fine, that I didn’t need anyone else, but I was wrong, because I do. I need you. Christ, I—”

He grasped her chin gently and leaned forward, her eyes drifting closed as their lips came together. His kiss was sweet but there was passion behind it . . . passion she looked forward to feeling for the rest of her life.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Fake it until you make it.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Bellissima, I'd stop time for you. I'd give you the moon and the stars; I'd learn to defy gravity. There's nothing I wouldn't do, nobody I wouldn't kill, if you asked me to. If you needed me to”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Would you be willing to take a lie detector test?"
"I’m afraid not," he said. "It goes against my religion."
His brow furrowed. "How?"
"Only God can judge me...”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“He was her home. He always had been.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“But you should never jump unless you know you can fly, or at least float. Nobody wants to fall. That’s how you end up hurt.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“She was free, she realized, and freedom terrified her.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Do you still feel that?" he asked, nipping at the skin near her collarbone. "The electricity between us? Please tell me you feel it."

"I feel it," she whispered.

"I need you, Haven," he said, his voice cracking as the words caught in his throat.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Your heart," she whispered. "It's racing."

"You feel it?" he asked. "You hear it?"

"Yes."

"What's it saying?"

She smiled, her eyes fluttering closed. "It's saying you love me."

"I do," he said. "No matter what. Sempre”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“I don't need much Haven, but I do need you.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“You still love her?" he asked curiously.

Carmine nodded. "I think I always will. Regardless of all this bullshit, she'll always be my hummingbird.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“I Just want people to see me," she said. "I want to walk into a room and have them know I'm there. I just don't want to be invisible anymore."

"I see you, hummingbird”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Part of him was missing, a gaping hole where his heart had once been. It was the part he had left behind with her, the part she carried with her wherever she went.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“He fought back tears again, still unable to get himself under control. Life overwhelmed him, tugging him in opposite directions while he stood stagnant, trying to remain whole. He was surrounded by violence and death, the ugliness eating away at him, but then, on the other side, there was her. She was peace, and hope, and pure fucking beauty. She was the good that he hoped would overpower the bad.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“Voting’s important,” Corrado said, pausing at the cellar door. “People like to feel like they actually have a say in what happens, even if it’s just an illusion.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“one thing my own marriage taught me is that relationships are like football in a lot of ways. It’s a team sport and you have to work together to be successful. There are highs and lows, good plays and bad calls, and if you’re going to step out on the field, you need to be ready to play the game. Big mistakes get you benched, and, depending on how bad you screwed up, they can cost you a fortune before you’re allowed back on the playing field. There will always be rivals, people trying to knock you out of the game, but if you’re lucky, you’ll end up with a nice ring to show for your hard work. But it’s not over there, you know. That’s when it really starts, because for the rest of your life you’ll be trying to prove to everyone that you, out of everyone, deserved to be given that ring.” He paused, snickering to himself. “That’s not the biggest way relationships are like football, though. No matter what you do, no matter what happens, the point of both is to score as much as you can. Without scoring, the entire thing is really just a waste of time.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“The first time you asked me to marry you was three years ago. You told me it didn’t have to be that day, or the next day, or even that year. You just wanted me to swear I would when I was ready. I said yes, of course, and I meant it with everything in me. We were young and maybe we were naïve, thinking we had it all figured out, but one thing I never doubted was that we were meant to be.” Haven paused to wipe her cheeks as more tears spilled from her eyes. “When I first met you I wasn’t sure what to think. You were nothing like anyone I’d ever met before. The things you made me feel were scary, and I wanted nothing more than to stay away from you, but I couldn’t. I was drawn to you. You gave me hope. You believed in me and helped me, and most of all, you loved me. Me. Out of all the people in the world, you picked me. I was used to being overlooked, used to being invisible, but you saw me. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you. I love you, Carmine Marcello DeMarco, and I want you to know I’m ready now. I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you.” “Sempre,” he whispered, choking on the word. He was trying to keep his composure, not wanting to crack in front of so many people. “Sempre.” Haven meant it with every fiber of her being. He was hers forever.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption

“She wasn't just his support system- his life vest as he drifted along a tumultuous river of turmoil- she was his everything. Without her, he would sink.”
― J.M. Darhower, Redemption