Marrying the Scoundrel's Brother

The Story

Seraphina Ashford wakes up on the day of her engagement at nineteen, carrying the trauma of a brutal first life. She had previously abandoned the crown prince Aldric for the king’s illegitimate son Castor, only to face the slaughter of her clan and her own death in a burning tower. Now, she rejects Castor’s white roses in public and chooses Aldric, sparking a relentless campaign of sabotage from the rejected pair. Castor and his jealous half-sister Evelyne poison her wine, frame her, and attempt to kill her mother. Seraphina anticipates every move, dismantling their traps and exposing their affair to the household. The king forces the two into a hostile marriage, yet they continue plotting in secret. To secure her position, Seraphina alerts her uncle Rowan, the northern border commander, about a traitor in his army. The man is arrested and executed after a staged trap, while Castor stages a fake assassination to win the late king’s trust and clear his name of treason charges.