The Drowning Woman Quotes
"In sociological terms, they call it the fundamental attribution error. Basically, it means that when people see someone in a bad situation, they tend to believe that individual brought it on themselves."
"Each year, I donated to a local shelter that served Thanksgiving dinners. I occasionally tossed coins into hats or empty coffee cups, but I didn’t meet their eyes, I didn’t ask their names."
"Desperate people will commit desperate acts."
"It is late…and a false sense of peace descends."
"I’m capable of lots of things I never thought possible before."
"They say a restaurant is like a baby. It demands your constant attention, occupies your mind when you’re away from it, and even in the worst moments, when you want to cry with exhaustion and frustration, you wouldn’t trade it for the world."
"I have torched and burned every bridge behind me. My family hates me. I have no friends left."
"I kept moving, from city to town, ensuring that I never stayed in one place for too long."
"Murder might be a relief from my current state of misery. Kidding…Sort of."
"I should say no. I’m sick, and on medication that should not be mixed with alcohol."
"The potential of romance is startling in its power."
"I’ve attached sentimental value to the smooth bone carving."
"I’ve never been more okay with anything in my life."
"I’m happier than I’ve been since I came to Seattle."
"I’m tired tonight, and the drive to the beach stretches long ahead of me."
"My heart rate slows as endorphins flood through me. With him, I feel like I’m home."
"Fucking me up against my car in a parking lot, the scents of grease and garbage around us…it felt dirty. It felt demeaning."
"I have to leave," she says softly. "Before he kills me."
"I am just another woman getting pampered on a Thursday."
"I am at the apartment door when Jesse enters. He’s smiling. And holding my key ring."
"I’m not sure what she means, but I do know that her luxury vehicle is less likely to be towed away than my old Corolla."
"I cared for her for as long as I could, but we couldn’t afford the medications meant to slow the disease, so it progressed rapidly."
"I didn’t care that our relationship was a cliché."
"I chose to take it as a compliment, though it wasn’t one. Beauty and brains are not mutually exclusive."
"It’s spacious for a powder room, with a pedestal sink, a toilet, and a small velvet chaise longue that is completely decorative. Obviously, no one lounges in a bathroom, but I sit on it, run my hands over the deep garnet fabric, stimulated by the tactile surface."
"As I approach the entrance now, I look down, pretend to fumble with my keys."
"My husband would be enraged. It was the ultimate betrayal. The ultimate humiliation. And the ultimate loss of control."
"Fear and desperation can make you do terrible things. I should know."
"The ocean was black but for the lights of the mansions glimmering off the surface."
"No woman could resist a spa day—especially a woman in her situation."
"Sometimes I take a sleeping pill that would render me comatose."
"Maybe you could visit me someday? In Panama?"
"My husband knew I sometimes took a sleeping pill that would render me comatose."
"Because I am in danger. I walked into the scene of a crime, my lover’s murder. And I am probably on camera."
"Despite my racing thoughts, I realize I am exposed and vulnerable here on the beach."
"My mind grapples with the bloody scenario I encountered as I crash through the underbrush."
"Seattle is a big city, with hundreds of workout options. What are the odds that the two had met, had developed a relationship?"
"Don’t cry, I admonish myself. Don’t fall apart now. You’ve survived this long on your own."
"Suspicious thoughts swirl in my head, snaking their way through my grief."
"I had pitied her, tried to save her from a sick and toxic marriage."
"The thought of a new identity, enough money to live like a normal member of society had buoyed me."
"You have to go. Start over. Rebuild your life. Jesse is not who you think he is."
"Hazel’s plan has now become mine. She wants to be rid of me."
"I pray I don’t encounter anyone with an eye for such details."
"My weapon is gone. Hazel undoubtedly took it. Was Jesse stabbed with my knife?"
"The discovery doesn’t shock me. In fact, I feel nothing as I stare at my lover’s image."
"The internet café is dim, grimy, and familiar."
"Shaking my head to dislodge the swirling suspicions."
"I will become Kelly Wilcox. I will accept all the things I do not know, and I will let Jesse and Hazel go."
"The water pressure is good. I let it pummel my skull, hoping to wash away the anxiety and confusion."
"I know Carter Sumner is dead. But where is his brother, Sean? And what does he know?"
"I had come to Bellingham to find answers. I am leaving with more questions."
"I know that I’m in danger now. There’s no doubt."
"Because tomorrow, I hope to get some clarity. Because tomorrow, I am going to speak to Sean Sumner."
"I need to take the money and ID Hazel left for me, and get the hell out of Dodge."
"Traffic is already thickening, though I’m still ten miles from downtown Seattle."
"My voice is hoarse, barely recognizable, when I say her name. "Teresa…""
"I have done what I can, and now I need to go."
"But what I do with it will affect so many people, change their lives forever."
"You’re so stupid, thinking you could trust him."
"You were nothing but a means to an end, Hazel. Disposable. Like garbage."
"My mind drifts to Lee and I pray that she got away safely."
"I don’t need to cringe and cower. Because it doesn’t matter what Benjamin does to me now."
"My name is Hazel Laval, and I’m about to kill myself."
"My husband, Benjamin Laval, is cruel and abusive."
"I am completely alone. That’s how Benjamin wanted it."
"If Benjamin is behind bars, he can no longer hurt me. I’ll be safe. And I’ll be free."
"You don’t understand the kind of power Benjamin has over me."
"I know this is a lot to take in. But I couldn’t stand by and let Benjamin destroy you."
"You can’t talk to her because my sister died four years ago."
"Suicide, he says. But Benjamin Laval drove her to it."
"Benjamin Laval will never pay. Not in this life."
"My husband’s plan to murder me may have been intercepted, but he will find a way to destroy me."
"Relief runs down my back and shoulders like warm honey."
"I must rely on my wits and courage to survive."
"I know my mom’s life was short and difficult, but it was not without moments of beauty."
"But did you really think you could just walk away from me, Hazel?"
"I ended it with Carter. I'm not as stupid as you think I am."
"It's not about money, Hazel. It was never about money."
"Why do you want me dead, Benjamin? Why not just divorce me?"
"The light in that room snaps out, and with it my hope."
"When I’m grooming a woman to become my slave, it is imperative that she goes in blind."
"I had heard the doubt in Rachelle Graham’s voice when she called me. Did she think I was crazy? A con artist? All of the above?"
"But Hazel is dead now, gone. Soon she will be reinvented, reincarnated, risen like a phoenix. Because there is more than one way to play the game."
"I am not equipped to live my life on the run."
"My appearance is another issue to deal with. Everyone will be looking for a woman with short blond hair."
"It’s a panic attack; not my first one, but the first one while driving."
"I’m glad that you’ve built a new life. The Nest is fantastic."