even if he never got to hold her , to kiss her and swear his undying devotion , and to hear her whisper that she loved him , it made him so gloriously happy just to be at her side that the dim , wistful hope for her lovehowever distant and impossibledid not rage in his chest with writhing , piercing agony as it had when he had been forced to speak to her through the mirror in the guise of an angel .