Page 178 of Sincerely, Butterfly

I loosen the grip I have on her hair, letting her fall face-first onto the cemetery ground.

A serene calm settles over me as I turn my attention to the three men kneeling on the ground. They’re watching me with a variation of emotions: bewilderment, fascination, and raw, unfiltered hunger.

“You are the very monsters that walk this earth, something dark and depraved, twisted minds no one can dare try to understand.” I break the silence as I step back, needing to do this now, to finally claim what's mine.

“For years, you allowed yourself to believe that I’m some innocent, naive girl you need to protect at all costs. That if you gave in to your corrupt and immoral desire for me, you would tarnish my soul, blah, blah, blah.”

A laugh bubbles free, sounding slightly unhinged. But shouldn’tthey notice by now that's exactly what I am. They make me this way. I am who I am because of them.

“Don’t you see you were wrong this whole time? There is no need to protect me from yourselves when my madness matches yours. We’re a perfect mix of darkness. I did all of this for you. So that you can, without a doubt, see with your own eyes that I’m not that girl. That not everything is as it might seem. I realize I’ve never given you any evidence to show you otherwise, and without a glimpse into my mind, there was no way you could have known.”

My hand slips into the pocket of my dress, fingers wrapping around the piece of paper inside as I take a step forward. I grab the hem, pulling it over my head, baring myself to the three souls that have always owned mine, even if they were never aware of it.

The way they take me in, their feral looks of hunger, sends a wave of pride through me. Jasper’s gaze gets stuck to the scar on my thigh, a perplexed look in his eyes, making his brow furrow.

My fingers brush the scar, the one left by them, and a satisfied smile curves onto my lips. “I did this for us. Do you see me now, see the true colors of my soul? There’s no hint of white in sight. You need to know that you are mine and no one else's. I made sure of that. Every single life I took was an act of my devotion and dedication to the life we’ll build together.” Unfolding the piece of paper, I present it to Jasper.

“Here’s my list, my résumé of sorts, if you will.” I give them a cheeky smile. “It’s the names of every life I took. Every soul I removed from this earth. What better way to prove to the men you love than to remove any obstacle that might be in the way of our being together.” I shake my head, knowing that word doesn’t even come close to how I feel about them.

“I don’t think love is the word I’d use to describe the feelings you invoke in me. It’s a soul-consuming obsession. There has never been another option for me. It was always the plan to make the three of you mine. I just needed to find a way for you to see that I’m yours. That my place is at your side, to stand by you in anything that comes your way. No matter how dark and twisted that might be. I’m yours to use in any way you see fit. To love me in whatever capacity you're able to. You are mine, and I am yours. There are no other options.”

There. I laid out my heart and soul to them. They know everything.

Now, it’s their move. Let’s just hope they make the right one.

CHAPTER

THIRTY

WESLEY

“What the fuckdid you do to the weed?” I swing my gaze to Sylas, slowly blinking as I try to clear my head.

He gapes at me, eyes wide. “Nothing!” he shouts.

“Clearly, you laced it with something, because we’re tripping really fucking hard right now,” I growl.

“Sylas!” Jasper snaps. “I fucking told you not to fuck with us anymore!”

“I didn’t!” he argues. “We smoked regular fucking weed. I didn’t do anything to it.”

“Someone must have laced our drinks, then.” Jasper scrubs his face, letting out a frustrated growl.

“No one laced your drinks.” Nola’s voice snaps all our attention forward.

I rub at my eyes, trying to clear my vision, to make this hallucination disappear, but when I blink again, she’s still standing there, naked, her pale skin on display.

“Fuck. Me,” I whisper, my heart starting to race, my cock thickening to the point it’s nearly painful. She is really here.

My eyes fall to the body on the ground, brows pulling together. I look at the girl with her neck sliced open, blood pooling around her head.

“You killed her,” I state, lifting my eyes back up to Nola.

“I did.” The smile she gives me is full of pure pride and accomplishment.

“Why?” Sylas asks.

Her happy expression melts off her face as confusion takes its place. “Did you not listen to anything I just said?” she questions. “I gave this big, long, profound speech professing my love and devotion to the three of you, and none of it clicked?”