Shatter-Me-PDF-Shatter-Me-Series-Shatter-Me-Shatter-Me-1-Tahereh-Mafi (1)

“The world is disgusted by you,” he says, his lips twitching
with humor. “Everyone you’ve ever known has hated you.
Run from you. Abandoned you. Your own parents gave up on
you and volunteered your existence to be given up to the
authorities. They were so desperate to get rid of you, to
make you someone else’s problem, to convince themselves
the abomination they raised was not, in fact, their child.”
My face has been slapped by a hundred hands.
“And yet—” He laughs openly now. “You insist on making
me the bad guy.” He meets my eyes. “I am trying to help
you. I’m giving you an opportunity no one would ever offer
you. I’m willing to treat you as an equal. I’m willing to give
you everything you could ever want, and above all else, I
can put power in your hands. I can make them suffer for
what they did to you.” He leans in just enough. “I can
change your world.”
He’s wrong he’s so wrong he’s more wrong than an upsidedown
rainbow.
But everything he said is right.
“Don’t dare to hate me so quickly,” he continues. “You
might find yourself enjoying this situation a lot more than
you anticipated. Lucky for you, I’m willing to be patient.” He
grins. Leans back. “Though it certainly doesn’t hurt that
you’re so alarmingly beautiful.”
I’m dripping red paint on the carpet.
He’s a liar and a horrible, horrible, horrible human being
and I don’t know if I care because he’s right, or because it’s
so wrong, or because I’m so desperate for some semblance
of recognition in this world. No one has ever said anything
like that to me before.
It makes me want to look in the mirror.
“You and I are not as different as you might hope.” His grin
is so cocky I want to twist it with my fist.
“You and I are not as similar as you might hope.”
He smiles so wide I’m not sure how to react. “I’m nineteen,
by the way.”