The Monster and the Butterfly
- Reads 291
- Votes 25
- Parts 9
Whitechapel, London 1894. Sophie Wickes and her family struggle to survive, melancholy eats away at her father more and more with each passing day, and her passion for cultivating flowers brings no income. She must swallow her pride and set aside her hatred for England's aristocracy when she's offered a chance of employment by the reclusive Lord Edgar Cushing to tend the gardens of his Rosenthorne Hall. However, the estate, its gardens, and their master is nothing what Sophie expected.
The house? Rotting, dilapidated, hideous.
The gardens? The husk of something alive, whimsical, beautiful.
The master? Faceless, nothing more than a voice from the shadows.
Though her heart is filled with fear and anger, Sophie becomes enthralled by the garden's mystic, untainted beauty and she develops a close friendship with the Lord Cushing, despite him being nothing but a mere whisper of darkness.
However, whatever enchantment the gardens and Lord Cushing's voice bring her shatters as she begins to receive nightly visitations from a crooked-jawed phantom and butterflies who's wings whisper of a bloody past and the truth behind the faceless Lord Cushing's gentlemanly masquerade.
~~~
2nd Draft!! Will Update EVERY SUNDAY!!
All Rights Reserved
#100
retelling
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
A crown of Secrets and Fire
I grew up safe, protected, adored, certain of the life that awaited me. A grand estate, a devoted father... a wedding to the perfect man. But the altar crumbled beneath me, my world ripped apart in a heartbeat. The silk turned to ruin, vows to ash, and in one heartbeat, everything I knew was gone. I find myself trapped in a fortress in the mountains, under the gaze of a man whose heart did not hesitate to shatter mine years ago.... Whose hands promise protection... and claim. He doesn't ask for my trust, he takes it, drags me into a world of lies, bold betrayals, and secrets I wasn't prepared to see. And the truth? I can't tell if he's my salvation... or the most delicious kind of trap I've ever known. I am Genevieve. My life was safe, my choices clear. But now, nothing is as it seems. And the man in the shadows... he is the storm I can't outrun. ⚠️ Content Disclaimer ⚠️ This work contains mature themes and potentially triggering content, including but not limited to: violence, death, emotional abuse, manipulation, trauma, sexual tension, and morally complex relationships. The story does not aim to glorify or romanticize harmful behavior. These elements are included as part of the fictional narrative to reflect the darker realities of the world and to challenge the characters' journeys. This book is recommended for mature audiences (18+). Copyright Disclaimer © MaryRose 2025 This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and settings are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental. No part of this story may be copied, reproduced, or distributed in any form without the author's signed authorization.Complete
DESIRE AFTER THE RAIN
Two hearts that never sought love somehow found themselves in its crossfire. Desire had always been hungry not for a hand to hold, not for whispered promises, but for success that would make her name matter. Every choice she made, every risk she took, was fueled by that relentless fire burning inside her. Love was a luxury she couldn't afford. Rowan, meanwhile, lived tethered to a ghost. His heart belonged to someone who had walked out of his life but never left his memory. He wasn't looking for another; he was only surviving, counting the days in quiet solitude, haunted by what once was. And then Desire appeared a spark he didn't expect, a force he didn't know he needed. They collided, brushed against each other's edges, and for a moment, it seemed like something could bloom. But they both knew better. Desire could not pause for love, and Rowan could not unchain his past. while Rowan thought he had lost Desire to ambition, and Desire believed Rowan was lost to memory, neither realized that in their fleeting connection, they had already changed each other. Desire's fire had awakened a part of Rowan he thought was buried forever, and Rowan's quiet depth had given Desire a glimpse of something more than hunger. Did Desire ever find a reason to love, or was success always enough to fill the emptiness inside her? Did Rowan finally let go of the ghost of his past, or did it follow him quietly, like a shadow he could never shake?![The Hushing [#ONC2022]](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/300348881-256-k402488.jpg)
The Hushing [#ONC2022]
**A Snow White Dark Fairytale Retelling** - - - - - - - - - - - Marion Price wished something exciting would happen during the long, hot, sluggish summer vacation spent at her grandmother's house. Instead, she is tasked with cleaning out her grandmother's musty old attic full of junk. But when Marion stumbles upon the antique mirror with a liquid surface, she finds herself plunged into a cold, cruel world known as The Hushing. With ash-laden fields and shadowy forests of black apple trees, Marion quickly learns nothing living can survive this place for long. The wraiths who govern this realm hunt her for the warm soul harbored within her body. And the only way to stay alive is through the protection of Lady Ingrid. But Lady Ingrid is just like everything else in this kingdom - a dark and twisted thing. She wields her power with an unforgiving hand and destroys anyone who dares to defy her. It's only a matter of time before Lady Ingrid turns against Marion. And when Marion no longer has the Lady's favor to shield her, she faces a grim execution. Can she find her way back through the mirror to return home before it's too late? Or will she be stuck in The Hushing forever? *** 5.11.2022: #1 in Gothic RomanceComplete
Pretty Things Die Here
Six names. One prophecy. A lake that never forgets. Welcome to Saint Hallowmere. The lake took her once. It's hungry again. In the chapel, the nuns speak in tongues. In the hallways, the rich kids wear masks. But Isolde isn't here to pray. She's here to uncover the truth - even if it means becoming a monster herself. The Hallowmere Trinity Six has begun. Pretty things die here. They said she came to be saved. They didn't ask what she wanted saving from. At St. Hallowmere Academy, the girls are porcelain-perfect. The boys are blood-slicked blades. The chapel smells like sin, and the lake still remembers the girl it drowned. Beneath velvet uniforms and cathedral ceilings, six students are marked. A curse older than the school is starting to breathe again - in locker doors that slam shut on their own, in prayers scratched into desks, in lipstick-stained teeth and broken rules. One will betray. One will be sacrificed. One will never be found. But before that... There will be secrets exchanged in dark corners. Mouths on mouths in confession booths. Girls kissing in graveyards. Cigarettes still burning after the body disappears. And when the storm comes... the pretty ones will die first. A Saint's Blood novel. Welcome to the Hallowmere Trinity Six. Pray you're not one of them.
Bridgerton - The Lost Royal
Sophia Badger always envied those born as elites, attending balls and wearing fancy dresses. She's spent her life trying to get there; from falsifying legal documents to get into finishing school to learning how to sew her own dresses. Still, without any guardian to watch over her, she is now stealing and thieving to stay upright. One particular night, Sophia finds herself chased by the cops, and ends up in the Bridgerton's garden, where she runs headfirst into a green-eyed gentleman. To her surprise, he is more than happy to help her out and bring some action into his own unfulfilled life. In the weeks following their meeting, secrets unravel themselves and relationships form. Both Benedict and Sophia have one goal; to find out who they really are, and as it seems, they might just find each other in that process too.Complete
The boy beyond the Mirror
Elora never believed in ghosts. But when her job as a bank auctioneer sends her to the mist-veiled halls of Windsor Castle - abandoned for three decades and rumored to be cursed - she doesn't expect to find a mirror that reflects the impossible. In its glass stares a boy who isn't from her time. His name is St. George's Chapel III. He is charming, forgotten by history, and trapped behind the silence of centuries. She came to appraise the ruins of a life once royal. Instead, she begins to unravel a love story that never had an ending. But the deeper she walks into the past, the more the castle stirs. And some ghosts don't want to be forgotten. A romantic, magical mystery of time-crossed souls, haunted memories, and a girl who dared to see the light in someone long gone.Complete
The Medium
Seventeen year-old spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn't a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there's the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father's death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her. Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death several months ago. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld's administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there's nothing simple when a live girl and a dead boy fall in love. THE MEDIUM is the first book in the Emily Chambers Spirit Medium trilogy. Yes, that's *trilogy* - meaning not everything will be wrapped up nicely at the end of The Medium. There are 2 more books after it, both of which are published. Check out my website for details.Complete
Bridgerton - A Girl To Remember
Olivia Borough (17) is Lady Bridgerton's niece who got abandoned after her mother passed away. Now that her father has died too, there is no other option than to move in with the Bridgertons and take her place in society. Yet, Olivia has secrets to hide and stories she cannot tell, a true prince arrives in London and things get difficult. She will have to choose, will she stay true to herself and break the bonds she's made or shall she pretend forever?Complete
I grew up safe, protected, adored, certain of the life that awaited me. A grand estate, a devoted father... a wedding to the perfect man. But the altar crumbled beneath me, my world ripped apart in a heartbeat. The silk turned to ruin, vows to ash, and in one heartbeat, everything I knew was gone. I find myself trapped in a fortress in the mountains, under the gaze of a man whose heart did not hesitate to shatter mine years ago.... Whose hands promise protection... and claim. He doesn't ask for my trust, he takes it, drags me into a world of lies, bold betrayals, and secrets I wasn't prepared to see. And the truth? I can't tell if he's my salvation... or the most delicious kind of trap I've ever known. I am Genevieve. My life was safe, my choices clear. But now, nothing is as it seems. And the man in the shadows... he is the storm I can't outrun. ⚠️ Content Disclaimer ⚠️ This work contains mature themes and potentially triggering content, including but not limited to: violence, death, emotional abuse, manipulation, trauma, sexual tension, and morally complex relationships. The story does not aim to glorify or romanticize harmful behavior. These elements are included as part of the fictional narrative to reflect the darker realities of the world and to challenge the characters' journeys. This book is recommended for mature audiences (18+). Copyright Disclaimer © MaryRose 2025 This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and settings are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental. No part of this story may be copied, reproduced, or distributed in any form without the author's signed authorization.
More detailsContent Guidelines