My father, the Duke, was executed, his estate seized. I, a lady of noble birth, was sold to a brothel. In my desperate struggle, I clawed at the worn leather breeches of a passing hunter. “Please,” I begged, “buy me!” The man looked down, his gaze steady and intense. “I am a poor man. My brothers and I have no coin for wives. If I buy you, you must be a wife to all three of us. Do you consent?” My eyes widened in shock. But before the darkness claimed me, I nodded. I expected a life of endless toil and childbirth. I never imagined that they would look past my disfigured face and cherish me with all their hearts. The only hardship was their age. All three were in the prime of their virile youth. On the bed, each was like a wolf. It reached a point where I began to fear the sunset. Because when night fell, I knew I would be claimed by one of the three brothers, devoured and left too weak to even leave the bed. 1. When I awoke from the blackness, several voices echoed around me. “Brother, when will our wife awaken?” “She’s been asleep so long. Isn’t she hungry?” I blinked my eyes open, disoriented, and met a pair of dark, fathomless eyes. It was him. The hunter I had begged to buy me. Before I could speak, he reached out, his strong hands helping me sit up from the rough wooden pallet. “You’re awake. You should eat something.” Only then did I take in my surroundings. I was in a small, dilapidated hovel with a thatched roof. Three towering, powerfully built men stood in the cramped space, their gazes fixed on me. The tiny hut felt completely filled by their presence. Remembering the terms of my purchase, my breath hitched, and a wave of shame washed over me. I clenched my fists. These three brothers… they were to be my husbands? It is said that a good woman does not take a second husband. And here I was, taking three at once. If my mother and father could see me from the afterlife, they would surely curse the day they bore such a shameless daughter. But after trying to end my own life once, I found I did not have the courage to try a second time. It was the only reason I still clung to this wretched existence. I closed my eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Rosalba, I told myself, it could be worse. You could have been sold to the filthiest whorehouse in the city. To be a wife to three brothers… this is a blessing by comparison. Besides, though my first glance had been brief, I’d seen their faces. They lacked the refined grace of the gentlemen in the Capital, but each was ruggedly handsome in his own right, with a strong, tall build. If not for their crushing poverty, men who looked like them would have had no trouble finding wives. I should be grateful they were the ones who had bought me. But still… looking at their formidable physiques, could my body truly endure being a wife to all three? As I worried, the hunter who had bought me spoke to his brothers. “Caelan, go fetch her a bowl of porridge.” “Owen, go heat some water for a bath.” The two younger brothers nodded at their elder’s command and immediately left the hut. Once they were gone, the man’s deep gaze settled on me again. I nervously clutched the rough fabric of my tunic. He simply tucked the worn blanket around me. “My name is Rhys. I am the eldest. Owen is the second, and Caelan is the youngest. You’ve seen our situation.” “There are just the three of us. We have no land, only this hut. No father would give his daughter to a house like this.” “The silver I earned a few days ago selling a deer hide… I was going to use it to pay the apprentice fee for Caelan to learn carpentry.” “But you begged me to buy you, and we are in need of a woman in the house. So I made the choice to buy you as our wife.” “From now on, the three of us will treat you well. As long as we have food in our mouths, you will not starve. But I expect you to fulfill your duties as a wife.” My voice was a raw whisper. “I understand.” In truth, I had grabbed Rhys’s leg as a last, desperate gamble. I never imagined he would buy me for such a purpose. After all, I had a large, gruesome scar on my forehead from where I’d slammed my head against a stone wall in my suicide attempt. After the brothel madam sold me to a slaver for a pittance, he had paraded me through town, trying to offload me, but no one was willing to buy a disfigured woman. 2. Soon, Caelan returned, carefully carrying a bowl of steaming porridge. His eyes, when they met mine, held no disgust. Instead, they shone with a bright, almost pleading light. “Wife, you must be starving. Here, eat.” The porridge was thick and rich with shreds of meat, cooked until it was soft. I hadn’t eaten a proper meal since being dragged north by the slaver. My stomach let out an embarrassing, loud growl. My face flushed with humiliation, and I couldn’t help but look down. Rhys turned to Caelan. “She has been hungry for a long time. Feed her slowly. I’m going into the mountains to see if I can hunt a pheasant to help her regain her strength.” He took his bow from the wall and strode out. Caelan nodded eagerly. “Don’t worry, Brother! I’ll take good care of our wife.” He scooped up a spoonful of porridge and held it to my lips, his face alight with anticipation. My hunger won out over my shame. I opened my mouth and swallowed greedily. The porridge was seasoned with coarse, bitter salt, but to me, it tasted sweeter than any honeyed cake from my past life. Seeing how ravenously I ate, Caelan’s face softened with pity. “Slow down, wife. There’s more in the pot.” Just as I finished the bowl, Owen returned with the hot water. He hauled in a wooden tub, large enough for a man to sit in, and placed it in the center of the hut, grinning at me with a flash of white teeth. “Wife, the water is hot. I’ll go fetch more to fill it. Just a moment!” I thought of how I hadn't properly bathed in half a year, how I had intentionally smeared mud in my hair and on my skin to make myself repulsive in the brothel. I gave Owen a small nod. “Thank you… husband.” Hearing the word, Owen’s gaze burned into me, his grin threatening to split his face. “Of course, of course.” Caelan, not to be outdone, stared at me intently. “Wife, I want to hear you call me husband, too.” Heat crept up my neck, and I felt a fresh wave of unease. But remembering Rhys’s words, I whispered it. “Husband.” Both brothers beamed, their faces alight with pure joy, and then they bustled out, filled with a newfound energy to fetch more water. 3. Soon, the tub was full of steaming water. Seeing the two brothers standing there, staring at me expectantly, I felt a fresh wave of embarrassment. “Husbands… could you… could you please step outside for a moment?” They finally seemed to realize, their faces flushing. “Right! We’ll be just outside. Call if you need anything!” they stammered, backing out of the hut with obvious reluctance. Once the door was shut, I let out a long breath. I looked down at the still surface of the water. The reflection that stared back was a stranger: a woman with filthy, matted hair, a face grey with grime, and a terrifyingly ugly scar marring her forehead. The sight of it made even my own stomach churn. And yet, looking at this monstrous reflection, the brothers had smiled. There hadn't been a trace of disgust or revulsion on their faces. For a moment, I felt a profound sense of confusion. In my old life, men like them would not have been worthy to tie my slippers. Now, it was clear that I was not worthy of them. But from their actions, it seemed they didn’t care how frightening my face was. Perhaps… perhaps I could truly build a life here. 4. I shed my ragged clothes and, using a small stool, carefully stepped into the tub. I knew they were poor, that every piece of furniture was likely hard-won. I was careful not to slip, terrified of breaking the tub. As my body sank into the water, the clear liquid quickly turned murky. My skin, beneath the layers of dirt, began to reveal its original pale fairness. Seeing the filth clouding the water around me, I stood up, wrapped the tattered rags around myself, and called out, my voice thick with embarrassment, “Husbands… would you mind helping me change the water?” The two of them answered immediately from outside. “Coming!” 5. A moment later, the door creaked open. As the brothers entered, their eyes immediately fixed on the bare skin of my arms. “Wife… you’re so pale,” Caelan breathed, his voice filled with awe. I clutched the rags tighter, unable to meet their intense gazes. Owen nudged him. “Caelan, help me with the tub! We can’t let our wife get cold.” Caelan snapped back to reality. Together, they lifted the heavy tub of dirty water, carried it outside to dump it, and quickly brought in a fresh one. After a second bath, I finally felt clean. I changed into a set of their old clothes, patched and worn but clean. After they’d disposed of the second tub of water, Caelan rushed back in, his eyes shining as he looked at me. “Wife, let me help you dry your hair.” I looked at my dripping hair and gave a hesitant nod. Caelan excitedly took the cotton cloth and gently began to squeeze the water from my long locks. His fingers, as they worked at the nape of my neck, would occasionally brush against my skin, sending a jolt of heat through my entire body, making me tense. Once my hair was mostly dry, the sun was high and warm. The brothers moved a stool into the small yard for me, so I could sit in the sun and let my hair dry completely. Their constant, attentive care was so thorough that for a fleeting moment, I felt as if I had returned to my old life of ease and comfort. Of course, it would have been better if their eyes didn't gleam with such raw hunger. It made me feel like a lamb being watched by a pack of starving wolves.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "393314", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel