Evelyn, After Quotes

“She'd made those choices out of fear, and she wasn't afraid anymore. From now on, if something was important to her, she would demand it. Because the truth was that she belonged anywhere she wanted to be, and she was beautiful just for being brave.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Evelyn suspected there was never true equality in marriage. Someone always had stronger feelings, or held the purse strings, or was more persuasive, powerful, and pushy.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“They didn’t fight often. Didn’t hate each other. Things were peaceful, calm, steady. Steady. Like a rock. Or something dead.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“wasn’t just the past you walked away from in a divorce; you walked away from your future as well. Everything you’d expected from life was changed. She didn’t want to start over.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Love was temporary. So was lust. And happiness, confidence, trust. And marriage. Especially that”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Maybe. Or maybe you’re not lost at all. Maybe you’re wandering. Looking around. Taking stock. Isn’t that what a midlife crisis is?” Was that what she was doing?”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Because the truth was that she belonged anywhere she wanted to be, and she was beautiful just for being brave.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“in”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“It wasn’t just the past you walked away from in a divorce; you walked away from your future as well. Everything you’d expected from life was changed.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“She was her own person now. Her own being. Old and new selves together, all her strengths and weaknesses combined into someone she couldn’t wait to know.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“She didn’t have to be a victim forever. She could choose to be happy. Choose to let go of some of this awful fury.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“It was all up to her. Just her.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“she hadn’t been able to soak any comfort into her skin.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“She’d willingly traded herself for this life. Now it was all teetering on an abyss.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Her muscles ached with the sudden surge of power. Because this was power. The power to do exactly what she wanted and tell everyone else they could go to hell. She’d spent far too many years worrying about everyone else and not herself.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“But the bits of old Evelyn still tucked deep inside noticed only enough of the scene to know that new Evelyn did not give a damn.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Why had she ever cared?”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“The idea of being brave alone seemed nearly impossible. It was all up to her. Just her. It always had been.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“If she’d had any hint that a new man was going to see her naked this year, she would have put a little more effort into her New Year’s resolution to get in shape.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Her real purse was shoved under the passenger seat, stuffed full of receipts and Kleenex and hand sanitizer and Band-Aids and cough drops and an emergency flashlight and anything else that any person in the world might need from her while she was near. An eternal diaper bag for the eternal mother.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“We could do what we want, Noah. This doesn’t have to change anything. No one has to know.” The words tripped from her without will. She could hardly believe they were hers.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“I don’t regret it. I loved every second.” Her hands were shaking as she set the phone down on the bed. This wasn’t about Gary or Juliette anymore. It had nothing to do with anyone except Evelyn and Noah. He wanted her. She wanted him. And there was no one around to stop them.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Aren’t you worried?” “About what?” “You know what.” There was warmth in his words, as if he were remembering. “I doubt anyone would care,” she said honestly. If Gary caught her cheating he’d probably be thrilled. It’d be something for him to use against her. Leverage against the great weight of his crime.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“You never have?” “No,” he said immediately, but the silence that followed that decisive answer eroded the edges of it. “Are you sure?” “I . . . God, I’ve never told anyone this.” “What?” she pressed, half afraid that this was no longer special and half excited to hear his secrets.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“And what did you say to that?” she asked, just the question causing enough of a wound that it felt as if her heart were swelling inside her chest like a ruined, useless limb. She needed to know everything, but why? What difference could it make? Whatever he’d said, it wouldn’t change what had happened. He’d still had sex with another woman dozens of times. He’d still wanted and needed her more than he had Evelyn.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Life had a way of seeping into the seams of a marriage and slowly prying them open,”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“For that one moment, he sounded vulnerable. She’d caught him off guard, exposed, and those three startled syllables made him sound more like the boy she’d fallen in love with than he had in years.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“I told you. She was having car trouble. Or that’s what she said, anyway. I’m not sure I believed it, but she was near panic.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“Evelyn pressed a hand to her forehead. If only she hadn’t been so tired, so high, she would know. She would trust her instincts. But what kind of instincts made you think a ghost had walked from the forest?”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After

“No. I was having dinner with Dr. Christiansen. You knew that. A patient called, in crisis. She was panicked. Demanding to see me.” Evelyn frowned, some of her righteous anger slipping away. Could that be the truth? “You don’t see patients after hours. You haven’t for years.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Evelyn, After