The Queen They Buried

Chapter 560

Before she got married, Josephine’s family was the perfect example of what a mess looks like. She had a gambling–addicted dad, a little brother who was the golden boy, a mother who played favorites, and her–the daughter who was always left hurt and picking up the pieces.

She was once a straight–A student. Her teachers were sure she’d be the one to make it out of Mistrere and into a good university, but she never got the chance. Her middle school teachers knew all about her family situation and tried to help her stay in school. They even went to her parents, telling them that if she earned a college degree, her value would increase.

That way, when she got married, she could fetch a higher bride price.

But all that effort was wasted. After just one year of high school, her parents somehow got it into their heads that too much schooling would make a girl wild, that she’d get ideas and wouldn’t listen to them anymore. And right around then, there was a girl in the village who was making a huge scene–threatening to do something drastic–because her parents wouldn’t let her keep studying.

Her parents forced her back home and kept her there, and she ended up stuck until her little brother was old enough to start chasing girls.

After that, she was treated like nothing more than goods to be sold–the one who offered the most got to take her, and it didn’t matter who they were. As long as someone could cough up a good bride price, they could marry her.

back on her life, she couldn’t help but feel

the best she’d ever had. Her husband never cared whether she worked or not as

too well that after her husband passed away, the village was full of rumors about her. She’d tried to explain that she always had new clothes was because online shops would

nobody cared

The villagers just needed something to liven up their dull lives, and her

the village kids bullying her son- calling him a bastard, taunting him about how no one even knew who his biological father was, and saying her husband had been so unfortunate that he had died

bit older, she’d take him and leave Ridgehaven Town for good. She wanted

week ago, that dream

she headed into town to pick up her packages. That’s when she bumped into Samuel, the village chief’s son, who worked as an accountant at

he was a real straight arrow. But Josephine knew the truth. Every time she ran into him, he had that same look in his

didn’t think much of him. He was already engaged, and honestly, he wasn’t so much honest as just a bit of