Chapter 1

My husband caught the princess's attention, and worried I'd mess up his shot at a fancy match, he had someone sell me off to the freezing wasteland of Westmarch.

Westmarch was so poor that the family who bought me could only afford one wife.

The family that bought me had three brothers, and they let me pick which one I wanted.

Maybe I looked too delicate, because all three brothers treated me like I was made of glass.

The oldest of the three, Stephen Wallaker, would always say, "Be careful with her. She looks so precious and fragile."

So, to my surprise, my life here wasn't half bad.

I still didn't have to lift a finger for anything. Someone was always there to take care of me.

The only hard part was deciding which of them I wanted to marry.

*****

The Wallaker brothers bought me for two reasons: I was cheap, and, well, did I mention cheap?

The bandits who'd tied me up and hauled me all the way to Westmarch just wanted to get rid of me as fast as possible and rush back to the Capital for their reward.

They slapped a sign on me with a price of one silver, like I was livestock.

That kind of money would usually only get you an old man to guard the gate.

I was barely nineteen, and even though I'd been married before, families this poor didn't care about that.

Any woman who could have kids would go for at least five silvers.

The Wallaker brothers had just sold their catch and only had one silver left in their pockets.

They were planning to use that silver to make their New Year a little better.

But when they passed by the stall where I was being sold, they just couldn't help but stop.

After months of traveling and being roughed up by bandits, I was so thin I barely had any flesh left on me. My eyes were hollow, my skin was yellowish, and you'd never guess I used to be a proper lady from the Capital.

But even so, the three brothers were still curious about me.

"Stephen, look at her; her eyes are huge."

"Nah, Eden, it's just that her mouth's so small it makes her eyes look even bigger."

Stephen just looked me over, thinking hard.

"So, are you guys spending your silver on new clothes and meat for the New Year, or are you getting yourselves a wife and some kids?" he asked.

Hearing them talk about me, I couldn't help but look up and check them out.

Folks from Westmarch were tall and skinny, with deep-set features and just a touch of the exotic.

The three brothers looked a lot alike, but each had his own vibe.

Stephen had a scar slashed across his nose, giving him a cold, dangerous edge.

Anthony looked sharp and clever, while Eden had that wide-eyed, clueless look.

Their clothes were so ragged, it was like they were wearing old sacks.

As I thought about being bought by a family like this, my heart just turned to ice.

But really, I shouldn't have been surprised. My ex-husband, Sebastian Fox, was always the careful type. He only kept me alive because my family took him in when he had nowhere else to go.

If it weren't for that, I'd have been six feet under outside the Capital the second Princess Danielle Cannon noticed him.

He had those bandits drag me out of the Capital, haul me around for months, and finally dump me here in Westmarch to be sold off.

He must've told them to sell me to some dirt-poor family, just to make sure I'd never get back to the Capital and ruin his shot at a good life.

He really knew how to bite the hand that fed him.

He spared my life, but made sure I'd rather be dead.

My grandpa served three Kings, and my dad was a top official. If it hadn't been for that plague that wiped out my whole family, leaving only Sebastian and me, I never would've ended up like this.

"Stephen, I want a wife!" Eden blurted out.

"Me too!" Anthony jumped in.

"Alright, looks like today's the day we get ourselves a woman," Stephen said.

He pulled out his last silver and bought me from the bandits.

The bandits took the silver, copped a few feels, and then strolled off without a care.

Shoulder to shoulder, they wandered into town, laughing and ready to blow it all on booze and snacks.

Stephen shot them a frosty glare, then passed me off to his brothers.

"You two take her home. I'll go pick up some booze and something to eat. Be back soon," he said.

Eden scratched his head. "Stephen, you still got any silver left? Didn't the buyer only give us one silver for the game?"

Anthony gave him a hard knock on the forehead. "Just go home already. Quit asking so much."

With that, he scooped me up and headed straight for the mountains.

I curled up in his arms, sneaking a glance at Stephen, who was gripping the knife at his waist, leisurely following after the bandits as they wandered off.