Code Name Butterfly

by Embassie Susberry

“Treat him as though you’ve been waiting to speak to him your whole

Yes, that was it. “Love is self-sacrificing. It’s a willingness to put the other person’s needs and desires above your own. You cannot boil it down to mere touch and affection.”

“A man who believed that human nature is fundamentally corrupt. He believed that people were greedy and selfish and their motivation is ruled by their self-centeredness.” “Wow,”

“It is precisely because of my faith that I believe that. Born sinners, saved by grace. I think it’s much more natural for people to be evil and selfish than to be kind. All you need to do is look at a homogenous society. Even they will find reasons to separate and demonize the ‘other’.” “I

“Listen, the first rule of thumb is, you can’t count on anybody but yourself.” “That’s … not what I thought you’d say at all.” “Men are disappointing.” “I mean, some of them are, yes. But some aren’t,”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this life it’s that try as hard as you might, you can’t control anybody. You can only control yourself.”

“So when you look back on your life, the only thing you can possibly regret is what you did and didn’t do. The rest is out of your hands. Do you know what you did do? You tried.” Elly looked up. Jo’s eyes were soft and understanding. “You tried, Elodie. And you’ll never have to wonder what would have happened if you had only tried. And sure it hurts now, but one day you’ll look back on this moment with pride. Because you will have no regrets. You saw something you wanted—a life with Grant Monterey—and you did all you could to make that happen. So lift your chin and hold your head up. You took a risk. It failed. But you still did your part.” Jo