How to Get My Husband on My Side

“I’ve finally found a worthy groom for you, darling,” announced Father, as he wiped off his lips with a napkin.

Laying on the knees of my oldest brother Cesare, I felt the urge to run back to my bedroom and throw up all the food I’d just eaten.

My second brother Enzo, who had been busily chowing down on an awfully smelly quenelle, slammed his fork down and cried out in protest.

“Not again! Father, how many times has it been already?”

“Enzo.”

“It hasn’t even been three months since her last engagement was called off! Regardless of what our family would gain from this marriage, shouldn’t you at least try to consider her feelings?”

“What a surprise to see you side with your little sister. Then would you rather battle the barbarians yourself instead of accepting Britannia’s support?”

“What are you talking about? Those savage barbarians up north wouldn’t stand a chance against the likes of me, the greatest, most noble soldier to ha—”

“Shut your trap, boy.”

The great noble soldier took the rest of the quenelle on his plate and shoved it into his mouth, aggressively chewing in protest.

The marriage proposal wasn’t any surprise to me though. I knew that it would come sooner or later.

“Who is it, Father?”, I asked cheerfully.

My father, who had been staring disapprovingly at Enzo, looked back my way and smiled.

“He’s Britannia’s hero. The king’s beloved nephew and famous knight of the South. He’s very handsome, I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“What! Father, do you know how bad his reputation is?!”

“Boy, was I talking to you?”

Enzo became quiet again.

idea that this handsome knight would one day massacre their entire family. Oh poor, wretched creatures of this

“Ruby?”

Cesare, who had been stroking my head, called for me again. This time his long fingers groped the

my head and locked eyes with Cesare. After glancing at his eerie azure eyes, I shifted my gaze to Enzo who was frowning

grateful that I can at least be of some

a rare gentle smile and pressed them up against the top

as always, our sweet

really wanted to

than throwing up. After all, the handsome knight of the South was out to kill me

***

in the Renaissance Era, and as a character in

this novel, couldn’t I have

“Ugh!”

up silently that I

eating disorder. Before I became Rudbeckia de Borgia—I mean before I died—I was an adopted daughter

born. Like my adoptive siblings, I attended a prestigious private school in Madrid and lived a life full of ballet classes, tennis club, horseback riding,

think the first time I felt different than the kids around me was sometime around 4th grade, when a boy in my class laughed at me while pulling back his eyes. At first I didn’t understand what it meant, so I just laughed along with the rest of the kids in my class. I thought

at school, but as for my life at home, despite the sophisticated, welcoming

was publicly exposed for his promiscuous private life and drug addiction. The only one in my adoptive family who would sometimes treat me nicely was my older sister, and she committed suicide at age twenty-one. As for my oldest brother, I quickly learned

bit of shame to my family or offended them in the slightest, there was hell to pay. And when I woke

before l passed away. But when I looked in the mirror, instead of seeing my face, there was a beautiful western girl staring

Borgia, a character in the fantasy novel Sodom and

Ressanaince Era and revolved around the tale of a vile, corrupt pope who abused his power to subjugate others. It was a story about the countries of the North and the clergy bravely rising up and banding together to overthrow the wicked

to the people of the northern Romagna region of Italy, and ‘Holy Grail’ was a metaphor for the holy site of the Vatican City. And as for

die no less

on marrying off Rudbeckia, and after three unsuccessful engagements and another last minute cancellation,

as Izek would lose his mind and decide to murder his wife’s entire family after only being married for six months, it was Rudbeckia who made

love that made him lose his mind, it was hatred—hatred of Rudbeckia, who’d poisoned his little sister. Cesare had miscalculated the severity of

Rudbeckia killing his little sister, it seems like Izek just got fed up with his backstabbing b*tch of a wife and ended