Rigged to Miss, Won by a Prince

House Ashbourne had a rule for marrying off its daughters: a suitor had to shoot down the ceremonial orb hung high in the family chapel, blindfolded, before he could come to claim his bride. I'd been foretold at birth to become queen. My parents didn't want me to suffer in the palace, so they promised me as a child to the heir of House Hawthorne. But Cedric Hawthorne, an archer who never missed and was hailed as the army's rising star, failed to hit the orb for five straight years after I came of age. I went from the most envied girl in the capital to its laughingstock. When word reached the palace, the Crown Prince came to our house himself and said he'd like to try. I hurried to my father's study, only to hear Cedric's voice, low and hushed. "Next month Rosamund leaves to marry far away in the south. I don't want to spend the little time we have left as nothing more than her sister's fiance." My sister threw herself into his arms, her voice thick with tears. "If only you weren't Evelina's fiance." Even my parents, who'd always doted on me, sighed and went along with it. "He's already missed five times. What's the harm in making Evelina wait one more year?" My heart lurched as it finally hit me: every hurt I'd suffered these five years had come from the people closest to me. Fighting back the sting of tears, I turned to the man who'd followed me there. "Then, Your Highness, I'd ask you to come to the family chapel and try." Chapter 1 The Crown Prince nocked an arrow and drew. Two breaths later, the wedding orb that had hung outside the family chapel with my name tied to it for five long years dropped cleanly into his arms. "In that case, I'll return tomorrow with a royal marriage decree to ask for Lady Evelina's hand." It wasn't until Lord Aldous, the head of our family, placed the betrothal token in Crown Prince Lucien's hands that the tears finally came. So the orb I'd waited on year after year, only to be let down every time, could be brought down that easily by anyone who actually cared to try. It made those five years of waiting look like nothing but one long, pathetic joke. I walked back to the manor in a daze, and ran straight into my older brother, Edmund Ashbourne, carrying a bow and arrows. "Get rid of these," he told a servant. "Make sure Evelina doesn't see them." When he turned and saw me, panic flickered across his face. He tried to hide the bow, but I stopped him. The string hung slack. The arrows were battered and split. This was the bow Edmund had sworn to me about that very morning. "This year I'm picking out the finest bow and arrows myself. If that Cedric finds one more excuse to miss and hurt you again, Evelina, I'll make him pay!" I heard my own voice shake. "So you knew about Rosamund and Cedric all along. You helped them lie to me, just like Mother and Father did." I wanted him to shake his head and tell me it wasn't true. I wanted him to tell me that in this whole enormous house, there was at least one person who'd always been on my side. Instead, he shook off my hand impatiently. "You and Cedric are getting married sooner or later anyway. What does it matter if it's a few years late? "But Rosamund's different. She's willing to marry far away in the south just so she won't come between you two. "We owe her that. Do you really have to be so petty about it? Why can't you be sweet and obedient like Rosamund? No wonder Cedric likes her better than you." I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "What about me? Where does that leave me? "Cedric is my fiance. Rosamund falling for her own sister's fiance is shameful enough as it is. Why should I be the one who owes her—" Smack! "Evelina, how dare you talk about Rosamund like that!" I stared at my brother's raised hand in disbelief. Clutching my face, I staggered and nearly lost my footing. This wasn't the brother I remembered. He'd promised he would always protect me and never let anyone bully his only sister. When our parents adopted Rosamund, he'd promised that no matter what happened, he'd always stand by me. And now, for her sake, he'd slapped me across the face with his own hand. The rest of the household came running at the noise and froze when they saw me. But my parents didn't ask about my injury. Instead, they shielded Rosamund behind them and glared at me with open displeasure. "Evelina, what kind of scene are you making? Your marriage to Cedric is already set in stone. Why put on this pitiful act? What's one more year?" What's one more year? The first year Cedric missed the orb, everyone joked that even the army's rising star could get nervous and slip. The second year he missed, everyone's eyes quietly settled on me, standing there pale. By the third and fourth years, the whole capital was saying that Evelina, eldest daughter of House Ashbourne, was a curse, and that Lord Cedric missing every year was heaven warning him not to bring a woman like that into his house. Today, when Cedric missed the target entirely, those looks of disgust and contempt weren't even hidden anymore. A few shameless men had even pushed their way through the crowd toward me, their filthy words pouring into my ears. "Five years and Lady Evelina still can't get married off. Why not let me take a shot at that orb?" "Even if she's the death of me, one night with a fine lady like her would make my whole life worth it! Ha!" Countless leering hands had reached for me. My parents and my fiance had seen it all. They'd simply turned away and hurried Rosamund home, shielding her the whole way. And left me standing there alone. Chapter 2 With a helpless sigh, Cedric pulled a jade hairpin from his sleeve and pressed it into my hand as an apology. "All right, stop crying. Next year I'll hit the orb and bring you home as my wife. Just wait one more year." The same old line. I used to believe it. But I'd waited from fifteen to twenty, and he hadn't kept that promise even once. I looked down at the hairpin, the one left over after Rosamund had picked through the rest. Then, while everyone stared in shock, I wiped away my tears and smashed it against the floor. "Don't bother, Cedric. From now on, I'm not waiting for you anymore." And not just the hairpin. I untied the blessing charm from my waist, slid the jade bracelet off my wrist, and took the letter breaking off our engagement, which I'd written long ago, out of my sleeve. I threw all of it down in front of him. The next second, Cedric gripped my hand hard. "Evelina, I walked barefoot up the mountain to the abbey to get that charm for you the year you came of age! And that bracelet was our betrothal token! How dare you throw them away?" He tore up the letter and stared at me in disbelief. "We're getting married sooner or later anyway. Just because I missed the orb this time, you have to throw a tantrum and upset both our houses?" Rosamund hurried over, took my arm, and nodded along. "He's right, Evelina. After all these years, why fight with Cedric now?" Even my parents frowned at me in disapproval. "We really have spoiled you all these years if you think breaking off an engagement is some kind of game. "Evelina, apologize to Cedric right now, and we'll pretend today never happened." They said it with such righteous conviction, as if I'd always be the unreasonable one, and they, the ones who'd started all of it, would always be innocent. Seeing Edmund guiltily avoid my eyes, I found the whole thing laughable. I yanked my arm out of Rosamund's grip and looked Cedric calmly in the eye. "I'm not throwing a tantrum, Cedric. I don't want these things anymore, and I don't want you either. "If you and Rosamund are in love, just say so. Why keep up this fake act of wanting to marry me?" The moment the words left my mouth, the whole room fell silent. My parents looked mortified. Cedric's fists clenched, his face twisted with the anger of someone whose secret had just been exposed. "What nonsense are you talking? Rosamund's like a little sister to me. "We grew up together. Don't you know how I feel about you by now? Slandering me like this—Evelina, do you even have a heart?" It was true. Cedric and I had grown up together. He'd known since we were little that I was his future wife. So whenever someone picked on me during lessons, he'd step in without a second thought, shielding me behind him even if he got shoved around and came out of it looking like a mess. Every year at the spring flower festival, countless girls in the capital tossed handkerchiefs and favors at him. But he only ever held my hand and led me through the sea of people, and beneath the lanterns, he made a sweeping, heartfelt vow. "I, Cedric, want only to grow old with Evelina, for as long as I live. "As God is my witness, if I ever break this vow, may He strike me down!" But the earnest, devoted boy from back then had changed completely from the moment Rosamund was adopted into our family. He used to stay by my side every minute of the day. After that, every other word out of his mouth was Rosamund. Whatever gifts he sent—gold and silver jewelry, dresses, bolts of fabric—Rosamund got first pick of every single one. Only the leftovers ever made it to my room. And now, just so he could openly stay by Rosamund's side, he'd missed for five whole years and put off the wedding he once couldn't wait for. I swept my gaze over their faces, each wearing a different expression, and let out a mocking laugh. "Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you all know perfectly well. "And I'm not treating this broken engagement like a game, either." While they stared in disbelief, I pulled the orb with my name tied to it out of my sleeve. "Cedric, the orb you missed for five years? Someone else hit it." Chapter 3 By family rule, before any daughter of House Ashbourne could marry, the groom had to shoot down, with his own hand, the orb hung high above the family chapel. My parents' faces changed instantly. Edmund lunged forward and took the orb from me. After a long pause, he nodded and murmured, "It's real. It isn't fake." Cedric went pale. He was about to say something when Rosamund cut him off with a startled cry. "Evelina, do you really have to go this far to force Cedric to marry you? Claiming someone else shot down the orb when you actually just took it down yourself?" She looked utterly exasperated and shook her head at me in disapproval. "If you're going to lie to us, you could at least come up with a better excuse. Everyone in the capital knows you're Cedric's fiancee. Who would dare cross House Hawthorne and steal away its future daughter-in-law?" Cedric let out a breath of relief. When he looked at me again, there was nothing in his eyes but disappointment and disgust. "Evelina, can you really not live without a man? Are you that desperate to get married? "I said I'd marry you, and I'll keep my word. Do you really need to pull a cheap, disgraceful stunt like this to fool us? It's absolutely ridiculous!" My parents snorted coldly and turned away. "How did our house ever produce a daughter this foolish? If only Rosamund were our own flesh and blood." Edmund laughed and tossed the orb at my feet, his lips curling in scorn. "Evelina, if you had even an ounce of a proper lady's dignity—honestly, what makes you any different from some brothel girl who'd rather die than go a second without a man?" My head snapped up. I couldn't believe my own brother would describe me in words that vicious. My nails dug into my palms until they bled. Swallowing the ache in my chest, I shook my head and tried to explain, but Cedric cut me off with a cold laugh. "Fine. Since you claim someone shot down the orb, I'd love to see who on earth would marry a woman who's past her prime and whom the whole capital calls a curse!" Without a second's hesitation, he took Rosamund's hand and turned to leave, his eyes full of mockery. "Let's see how you manage a wedding all by yourself without a groom." So he'd known all along. For all five years he'd missed the orb, he'd known exactly what kind of rumors and humiliation I was facing outside. But for Rosamund's sake, he'd acted as if nothing was happening and let me endure all that baseless abuse and ridicule alone. The tears slid to the corners of my mouth, and their bitterness seemed to seep all the way into my heart. I watched their backs as they left together, as if they were the real family, and laughed silently through my tears. "But I didn't lie to you. Someone is coming. I'm not some girl nobody wants." I just never imagined that early the next morning, my parents would storm into my courtyard, their faces dark with rage. Before I could even ask what had happened, the long family whip, studded with barbs, had already come down on me. "You wretched girl! How dare you use such a low trick to drug Rosamund and try to ruin her virtue! If Cedric hadn't saved her, do you have any idea what would've happened to her?" Behind them, Cedric held Rosamund in his arms. Her clothes were in disarray and her eyes were red from crying. He looked at me with bottomless disappointment and disgust. "Lord Ashbourne, Lady Ashbourne, don't worry. Rosamund is mine now, and I'll take responsibility for her. "As for my engagement to Evelina, I don't think the future mistress of House Hawthorne should be a woman with such poor character and such a wicked heart. She can be my mistress instead." Rosamund wept prettily, but the look she gave me was full of smug triumph and provocation. "Evelina, I never wanted to take Cedric from you. Why would you be so cruel to me?" Edmund rushed in, his voice like ice. "Evelina, I never thought the kind little sister I knew could do something this vicious and disgusting. You've disappointed me more than I can say! "But it didn't go the way you planned. From now on, Rosamund will be Cedric's wife, and you'll be his mistress. I wonder if you ever thought it would end like this when you tried to hurt her." Chapter 4 A few words were all it took for me to understand exactly why they'd come to tell me off. I saw the fury in my parents' eyes, and the disgust and icy coldness on Cedric's and Edmund's faces. Clutching the bloody welts on my arm, I gave a bitter laugh. "I never did any of the things you're talking about..." Before I could finish, the whip came down again, tearing open the skin on my back. Edmund kicked me to the ground, his eyes blazing with a rage he couldn't hold back anymore. "Still making excuses? Cedric already said he'd marry you. Why let jealousy drive you to hurt Rosamund? "Get on your knees and beg Rosamund's forgiveness right now, or Father will give you the full family punishment today—all forty-nine lashes." Cedric, still shielding Rosamund, spoke in an unnaturally cold voice. "Evelina, you make me sick!" In the end, the tears fell anyway. The calm I'd been forcing onto my face finally gave way. "I told you I didn't do anything to hurt Rosamund. Why won't you believe me? Why is it that the second she cries, you believe every single word she says?" I'd long since gotten used to how they favored her. But even so, my numb heart still hurt so badly that my whole body trembled. With every last ounce of strength I had, I took out the token the Crown Prince had given me. My voice shook, every word wrung out with pain. "I told you, the engagement is off. I'm not marrying Cedric! "Crown Prince Lucien shot down the orb yesterday. Once the royal marriage decree comes down, he'll come here to ask for my hand. "I want nothing more to do with Cedric. Why would I go to all that trouble to hurt Rosamund?" The moment I said it, everyone froze where they stood. Then Rosamund glanced dismissively at the token in my hand. A second later, her eyes reddened and she shook her head, choking back sobs. "His Highness may not be married yet, but how could he ever want someone like you, Evelina—past your prime and already promised to another man? "Let it go, Cedric. If she's willing to tell a lie this ridiculous just to get out of trouble, let's not make things harder for her." My father's face had already turned thunderous. Unable to contain his anger any longer, he swung the whip down hard. "You ungrateful girl! You dare spin lies about the Crown Prince? Get down and apologize to Rosamund this instant, then come with me to House Hawthorne and tell them you've agreed to become Cedric's mistress!" Edmund snorted, his face full of disgust. "The Crown Prince shot down your orb? If he'd come to the house looking for you, how would none of us know about it? Evelina, even now you won't repent. You'll tell any lie to dodge the blame!" Cedric stared down at me coldly. His large hand clamped around the back of my neck and forced my forehead to the floor. "Evelina, you think lying and threatening me with the Crown Prince is going to work? I said apologize to Rosamund." My mother opened her mouth as if something had just occurred to her. But the moment she heard Rosamund crying, she turned and pulled her into her arms, her eyes red, and looked away from me in disappointment. The whip tore my skin open, and blood soaked the front of my dress. I was shaking so hard from the pain that I couldn't speak anymore. All I could do was let Cedric slam my head to the floor in front of Rosamund, over and over again. My forehead was soon slick with blood. Rosamund stood in front of me, smiling with smug, taunting triumph. And the family I'd once loved with my whole heart watched coldly as I was tortured, treating the very person behind all of it like their most precious treasure. "I'm not lying..." My whole body convulsed with pain, and blood kept trickling from the corner of my mouth. But Edmund still wouldn't let up. He grabbed me by the hair and hauled me upright. "Enough. Still being stubborn? Take a look at yourself. You think you're fit to be Crown Princess? "Get up and clean yourself up. You're coming with us to House Hawthorne to settle this. Just the thought of having a sister who's someone's mistress is humiliating enough." I didn't answer. I only looked past him at the figure in royal gold who'd appeared outside the courtyard, his face full of fury. At last, I let go of every defense I had left and collapsed into a pool of blood. Cedric instinctively reached out to catch me. In the next moment, the sharp voice of a royal chamberlain rang through the entire Ashbourne manor. "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"