Cass Quotes

Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.

True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.

I hope you find someone you can't live without.I really do. And I hope you never have to know what it's like to have to try and live without them.

The best people all have some kind of scar.

No, I’m not choosing him or you. I’m choosing me.

It's always the fear of looking stupid that stops you from being awesome.

It turns out I'm absolutely terrible at staying away from you. It's a very serious problem.

I'll love you until my very last breath. Every beat of my heart is yours. I don't want to die without you knowing that.

Love is beautiful fear

If you don’t want me to be in love with you, you’re going to have to stop looking so lovely. First thing tomorrow I’m having your maids sew some potato sacks together for you.

You’ve changed me forever. And I’ll never forget you.

America Singer, one day you will fall asleep in my arms every night. And you'll wake up to my kisses every morning.

This isn’t happily ever after. It’s so much more than that.

You get confused by crying women, I get confused by walks with princes.

You know that you’ve found something amazing, and you want to hold on to it forever; and every second after you have it, you fear the moment you might lose it.

Your Majesty— Tugging my ear. Whenever.

I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy season and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingertips on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you.

He stood and went to read my pin as I approached. “America, is it?” he said, a smile playing on his lips. “Yes, it is. And I know I’ve heard your name before, but could you remind me?

Maxon: “To be clear, no one agrees with you.” America: “To be clear, I don’t care.

I hit your thigh!” “Oh, please. A man doesn’t need that long to recover from a knee to the thigh.

Sometimes I feel like we're a knot, too tangled to be taken apart.

I can’t help it." I sighed. "One can never help being born into perfection.

I should have known that if any girl was going to disobey an order, it would be you.

It wasn’t like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn’t some explosion; it wasn’t fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out.

Maxon, some of those marks are on your back so they wouldn’t be on mine, and I love you for them.” He stopped breathing for a second. “What did you say?” I smiled. “I love you.” “One more time, please? I just—” I took his face in both of my hands. “Maxon Schreave, I love you. I love you.” “And I love you, America Singer. With all that I am, I love you.

I'm not sure anyone knows what they're looking for until they find it.

You fuck - you ate my cat!

Bravery hides in amazing places.

. . . It’s me?” “Of course it’s you.

Leave it to you to find beauty in something others would say ruins a day.

You are not the world, but you are everything that makes the world good.

Listen to me, kitten. Win or lose, you’ll always be a princess to me.

Yes, Maxon," I whispered. "It’s possible.

America, my love, you are sunlight falling through trees. You are laughter that breaks through sadness. You are the breeze on a too-war day. You are clarity in the midst of confusion. You are not the world, but you are everything that makes the world good. Without you, my life would still exist, but that's all it would manage to do. You said that to get things right one of us would have to take a leap of faith. I think I've discovered the canyon that must be leaped, and I hope to find you waiting for me on the other side. I love you, America. Yours forever, Maxon

Our scars don't point us in the direction were headed, Cass, they simply remind us of where we've been

You’re too beautiful for your own good. Once you leave, we’ll have to send some of the guards with you. You’ll never survive on your own, poor thing.

I only have one heart, and I'm saving it.

Just that. Your family must be very different from mine." "I’d say so." I laughed. "For one, no one wears their tiaras to breakfast." Maxon smiled. "More of a dinner thing at the Singer house?” “Of course.

You can be brave and still be feminine. You can lead and still love flowers. Most importantly, you can be queen and still be a bride.

Your eyes look like chocolate,” I mumbled. He smiled. “And yours look like the morning sky.

Is this a good time to pat your shoulder?

America, there’s no question that you’ve had my heart from the beginning. By now you have to know that

Mistakes mean it’s real.

Maxon lowered his lips to mine and gave me the faintest whisper of a kiss. Something about the tentativeness of it made me feel beautiful. Without a word, I could understand how excited he was to have this moment, but then afraid at the same time. And deeper than any of that, I sensed that he adored me. So this is what it felt like to be a lady.

Maybe it's not the first kisses that are supposed to be special. Maybe it's the last ones.

I should have proposed that night in your room." "I should have let you.

Need someone to talk to? I could tug my ear right now.

Oh, yes. She’s still here,” Maxon said, not letting his eyes wander from Gavril’s face. “And I plan on keeping her here for quite a while.

P.S. May, don’t these strawberry tarts just make you want to cry?

If this were a simpler matter, I'd have eliminated everyone else by now.

He must love you very much,' Gavril said once I had my footing. I couldn't look at him. 'What makes you say that?' Gavril sighed. 'I've known Maxon since he was a child. He's never stood up to his father like that.

America, you are full of nothing but bad ideas. Great intentions but awful ideas.

I’ve met nearly every woman in this room, and I can’t think of one who would make a better friend. I’d be glad to have you stay." My relief was inexpressible. "Do you think," Maxon asked, "That I could still call you ‘my dear’?" "Not a chance." I whispered.

I was nearly attacked. All because I missed your smell.

There are some things you don't learn about yourself until you let someone else into the most intimate places of your heart.

Darling, you’re perfect.

I love you beyond paint, beyond melodies, beyond words. And I hope you will always feel that, even when I'm not around to tell you so.

What am I supposed to call you?" "Your Royal Husbandness. It's required by law, I'm afraid.

I guessed princesses-in-training didn’t wear pants.

Try patting them on the back or shoulder and telling them everything is going to be fine. Lots of times when girls cry, they don't want you to fix the problem, they just want to be consoled.

In those seconds, I was mourning everything I'd lost. How I'd never get to see you walk down an aisle toward me, how I'd never get to see your face in our children, how I'd never get to see streaks of silver in your hair. But, at the same time, I couldn't be bothered. If me dying meant you living, how could that be anything but good?

It doesn't really matter how you feel about your character; it just matters what you do with it.

When you love someone, you sacrifice.

She smiled. “Not wanting the crown means you’re probably the best person to have it.

He sighed contentedly. “How are you feeling, my dear?” “I feel like punching you for calling me ‘my dear’ mostly.” I poked his bare stomach. Smiling, he crawled to sit over me. “Fine then. My darling? My pet? My love?” “Any of those would work, so long as you’ve reserved it solely for me,” I said, my hands mindlessly wandering his chest, his arms. “What am I supposed to call you?” “Your Royal Husbandness. It’s required by law, I’m afraid.

Books were a safe place, a world apart from my own. No matter what had happened that day, that year, there was always a story in which someone overcame their darkest hour. I wasn't alone.

He reached up and tugged his ear. And I did the same.

Do you think the ability to sleep in counts as a special skill?” I asked Dad, trying to sound torn over the decision. “Yes, list that. And don’t forget to write that you can eat an entire meal in under five minutes,” he replied. I laughed. It was true; I did tend to inhale my food. “Oh, the both of you! Why don’t you just write down that you’re an absolute heathen!” My mother went storming from the room.

A lot of things are yours, America

I’m smart and beautiful and strong. I don’t need to be rescued.

No wonder I’d never had any friends. I was shockingly bad at it.

The Selection was no longer something that was simply happening to me, but something I was actively a part of. I was an Elite.

This is a dandelion, " I told him. He shrugged. "I know. Some see a weed; some see a flower. Perspective.

History isn’t something you study. It’s something you should just know.

...I want it to be as easy as breathing for you to say yes.

And there we were, in the background of it all, holding on to one another. The Perfectionist, the Sweetheart, the Diva . . . and me.

You are not the world, but you are everything that makes the world good. Without you, my life would still exist, but that's all it would manage to do.

The picture of me just after I’d found out Aspen was saving up to marry me. I looked radiant, hopeful, beautiful. I looked like I was in love. And some idiot thought that love was for Prince Maxon.

Do you think, that I could still call you 'my dear'?

Live your life. Be happy as you can be, let go of the things that don't matter, and fight.

America: You didn't have to do that. Maxon: I know. But sometimes it's about what you want to do, not what you have to.

I'd spare your tears for the rest of your life if I could.

But even now I know this isn't a fairy tale. I know that we'll have hard times, confusing times. I know that things won't always happen the way we want them to and that we'll have to work to remember that we chose this. It won't be perfect, not all the time. This isn't happily ever after. It's so much more than that.

America Singer, you get back here." He ran in front of me, wrapping an arm around my waist as we stood, chest to chest. "Tell me," he whispered. I pinched my lips together. "Fine, then I shall have to rely on other means of communication." Without any warning, he kissed me.

I only really ever hug my mother. Is this okay?” he asked. I laughed. “It’s hard to get a hug wrong.

I couldn't joke about the person who'd saved me from facing absolute heartbreak at home, who fed my family boxes of sweets, who ran to me worried that i was hurt if I asked for him. A month ago, I had looked at the TV and seen a stiff, distant, boring person-someone I couldn't imagine anyone loving. And while he wasn't anything close to the person I did love, he was worthy of having someone to love in his life.

I was afraid I was wrong, that you would change your mind any second. I’ve been looking for a suitable alternative, but the truth is …”—Maxon looked me in the eyes again, unwavering—“there’s only you. Maybe I’m not really looking, maybe they aren’t right for me. It doesn’t matter. I just know I want you. And that terrifies me. I’ve been waiting for you to take back the words, to beg to leave.

Mom was bossy. Even in print I could hear her tone, smugly congratulating me on already earning the prince's affections and telling me firmly to keep up whatever I was doing. Yeah, Mom, I'll just keep telling the prince that he has absolutely no shot with me and offend him as often as I can. Great plan.

Lowering my gaze , I walked to my seat, settling in next to Kriss. "Seriously America?" she whispered. I tilted my head in her direction. "I'm sorry?" I replied, feigning confusion. She put her silverware down, and we stared at each other. "You look trashy." "Well, you look jealous.

What do you think my chances might be of finding a soul mate in the group of you? I'll be lucky if I can just find someone who'll be able to stand me for the rest of our lives. What if I've already sent her home because I was relying on some sort of spark I didn't feel? What if she's waiting to leave me at the first sign of adversity? What if I don't find anyone at all? What do I do then, America?

It's the most wonderful and terrible thing that can ever happen to you," she said simply. "You know that you've found something amazing, and you want to hold on to it forever; and every second after you have it, you fear the moment you might lose it." I sighed softly. She was absolutely right. Love was beautiful fear.

She couldn’t have been more than twelve years old. In her hands was a sign that said RED-HEADS RULE! with a little crown painted in the corner and tiny stars everywhere. I knew I was the only redhead in the competition, and I noticed that her hair and mine were very nearly the same shade.

I'd heard of Evergreen Care Center before. Cass and I had always made fun of the stupid ads they ran on TV, featuring some dragged-out woman with a limp perm and big, painted-on circles under her eyes, downing vodka and sobbing uncontrollably. "We can't heal you at Evergreen", the very somber voiceover said. "But we can help you to heal yourself." It had become our own running joke, applicable to almost anything. "Hey Cass, "I'd say, "hand me that toothpaste." "Caitlin," she'd say, her voice dark and serious. "I can't hand you the toothpaste. But I CAN help you hand the toothpaste to yourself.

I loved him. I couldn't pinpoint what made me so certain, but I knew it then, as surely as I knew my name or the color of the sky or any fact written in a book. Could he feel it, too? Maxon broke the kiss and looked at me. "You're so pretty when you are a mess." I laughed nervously. "Thank you. For that and for the rain and for not giving up." He ran his fingers along my cheek and nose and chin. "You're worth it. I don't think that you get that. You're worth it to me.

Celeste walked up, as strong as I’d ever seen her, and whispered something into Maxon’s ear. When she was done, he smiled. “I don’t think that will be necessary.” “Good.” She left, closing the door behind her, and I stood to take whatever was coming. “What was that about?” I asked, nodding toward the door. “Oh, Celeste was making it clear that if I hurt you, she’d make me cry,” he said with a smile. I laughed. “I’ve been on the receiving end of those nails, so be careful there.” “Yes, ma’am.

I sighed. "Actually, Mom, we argue pretty regularly." "What?" She gaped at me. "Well, stop it!" "Oh, and I kneed him in the groin once." There was a split second of silence before May barked a laugh. She covered her mouth and tried to stop it, but it kept coming out in awkward, squeaky sounds. Dad's lips were pressed together, but I could tell he was on the verge of losing it himself. Mom was paler then snow. "America, tell me you're joking. Tell me you didn't assault the prince." I don't know why, but the word assault pushed us all on the edge; and May, Dad, and I bent over laughing as Mom stared at us. "Sorry, Mom," I managed. "Oh, good lord." She suddenly seemed very excited in meeting Marlee's parents, and I didn't stop her from going.

We rich nations, for that is what we are, have an obligation not only to the poor nations, but to all the grandchildren of the world, rich and poor. We have not inherited this earth from our parents to do with it what we will. We have borrowed it from our children and we must be careful to use it in their interests as well as our own. Anyone who fails to recognise the basic validity of the proposition put in different ways by increasing numbers of writers, from Malthus to The Club of Rome, is either ignorant, a fool, or evil.

I nodded. “I’m sorry I let you down.” “No, no, dear,” she said, turning forward. “I see potential in you. I worked in a factory when I was your age. I was dirty and hungry, and sometimes I was angry. But I had an undying crush on the prince of Illéa, and when I got the chance to make him my own, I learned to check those feelings. There’s a lot to be done from here, but it might not happen the way you want it to. You need to learn to accept that, okay?” “Yes, Mom,” I joked. She looked back at me, her face like stone. “I mean, ma’am. Ma’am.” Her eyes started glistening, and she blinked a few times, turning forward again. “If it ends as I suspect it will, Mom will be just fine.

Close your eyes, Maxon." "What?" "Close your eyes. Somewhere in this palace, there is a woman who will be your wife. This girl? Imagine that she depends on you. She needs you to cherish her and make her feel like the Selection didn't even happen. Like if you were dropped in your own out in the middle of the country to wander around door to door, she's still the one you would have found. She was always the one you would have picked. She needs you to provide for her and protect her. And if it came to a point where there was absolutely nothing to eat, and you couldn't even fall asleep at night because the sound of her stomach growling kept you awake—" "Stop it!" "Sorry." "Is that really what it's like? Out there... does that happen? Are people hungry like that a lot?" "Maxon, I..." "Tell me the truth." "Yes. That happens. I know of families where people give up their share for their children or siblings. I know of a boy who was whipped in the town square for stealing food. Sometimes you do crazy things when you are desperate." "A boy? How old?" "Nine." "Have you ever been like that? Starving?...How bad?" "Maxon, it will only upset you more." "Probably, but I'm only starting to realize how much I don't know about my own country. Please." "We've been pretty bad. Most time if it gets to where we have to choose, we keep the food and lose electricity. The worst was when it happened near Christmas one year. May didn't understand why we couldn't exchange gifts. As a general rule, there are never any leftovers at my house. Someone always wants more. I know the checks we've gotten over the last few weeks have really helped, and my family is really smart about money. I'm sure they have already tucked it away so it will stretch out for a long time. You've done so much for us, Maxon." "Good God. When you said that you were only here for the food, you weren't kidding, were you?" "Really, Maxon, we've been doing pretty well lately. I—" "I'll see you at dinner.

December 27, 11:00 p.m. My Dear America, I’ve never written a love letter, so forgive me if I fail now. . . . The simple thing would be to say that I love you. But, in truth, it’s so much more than that. I want you, America. I need you. I’ve held back so much from you out of fear. I’m afraid that if I show you everything at once, it will overwhelm you, and you’ll run away. I’m afraid that somewhere in the back of your heart is a love for someone else that will never die. I’m afraid that I will make a mistake again, something so huge that you retreat into that silent world of yours. No scolding from a tutor, no lashing from my father, no isolation in my youth has ever hurt me so much as you separating yourself from me. I keep thinking that it’s there, waiting to come back and strike me. So I’ve held on to all my options, fearing that the moment I wipe them away, you will be standing there with your arms closed, happy to be my friend but unable to be my equal, my queen, my wife. And for you to be my wife is all I want in the world. I love you. I was afraid to admit it for a long time, but I know it now. I would never rejoice in the loss of your father, the sadness you’ve felt since he passed, or the emptiness I’ve experienced since you left. But I’m so grateful that you had to go. I’m not sure how long it would have taken for me to figure this out if I hadn’t had to start trying to imagine a life without you. I know now, with absolute certainty, that is nothing I want. I wish I was as true an artist as you so that I could find a way to tell you what you’ve become to me. America, my love, you are sunlight falling through trees. You are laughter that breaks through sadness. You are the breeze on a too-warm day. You are clarity in the midst of confusion. You are not the world, but you are everything that makes the world good. Without you, my life would still exist, but that’s all it would manage to do. You said that to get things right one of us would have to take a leap of faith. I think I’ve discovered the canyon that must be leaped, and I hope to find you waiting for me on the other side. I love you, America. Yours forever, Maxon