“Please become my fiancée.”
The clear and refreshing voice of Whitney echoed softly in the verdant courtyard in front of the pavilion.
The man’s gaze shifted to the small, white hand extended towards him. Petals carried by the breeze swirled around the two of them.
With his prominent nose and a face that seemed delicately crafted by an artisan, along with the sharp lines of his suit and long legs, he looked unchanged to Whitney. At least, that’s how she remembered him.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re here to spy for the Queen, and I can’t see why a lady of Orleans would make such an offer to me.”
Chester’s eyebrows twitched. He continued to smile gently as he gazed at her.
“I want to protect Your Highness.”
“It seems Lady Orleans thinks I’m a fool who can’t protect even my own life. The Queen really outdid herself with the rumors… That’s why these naive ones keep approaching me.”
His blue eyes sparkled. Despite the smile in his eyes, the aura he emitted was sharp. One wrong move and his sword might end her life. Chester had been a swordmaster since he was ten.
From a young age, Chester faced constant threats to his life from his half-brother Carl and the faction supporting him. Surviving in such circumstances, his reaction was only natural.
And his sharp words to her were not sincerely meant. She knew his true gentle nature.
‘Sharp words, expressions, all were a mask to protect himself.’ She knew his kind nature and was not deceived.
‘If I had let myself die, he could have lived.’
Swept up in the schemes of her treacherous half-brother, it was because of her that Chester died. He couldn’t bring himself to ignore another’s death, much less harm her.
‘This time, I won’t let it go that way.’
Whitney closed her eyes tightly, then opened them and moved closer to Chester. She then firmly grasped his hand.
“What about your mother? Would it change if there was a way to save her?”
His ever-smiling face suddenly hardened. The look in his eyes changed, filled with a new intensity.
“How can I believe that? You say you can cure my mother’s illness, which no one else could?”
“Yes, I can. If it’s a lie, I’m willing to accept the consequences for insulting the royal family.”
“It sounds like you don’t care if you die.”
Whitney nodded slowly, not avoiding his gaze. He looked intently at his hand, now tightly held by her.
“Please take care of this then, Lady Orleans.”
“And you as well, Your Highness.”
She was determined to save him this time.
Whitney Bell Orleans, the cherished daughter of the Duke of Orleans. After her father’s death, her stepmother and sister Melissa banished her to the attic.
Without proper clothes, she was also burdened with menial tasks in the ducal household.
In the Duke’s mansion, Whitney had no allies. Even the position of the family head was not passed on to her due to the absurd excuse that she was inadequate, made by her stepmother.
The only time Whitney could be seen as a person in front of others was at the balls. Yet, even that was often cut short, unable to withstand the gaze of her stepmother.
This was no different at the royal ball. Her pinched arm throbbed with pain, but she had grown accustomed to it and it didn’t bother her anymore.
The long-sleeve dress she wore on a hot summer day was a cunning ploy by her stepmother to hide her bruised arms from others.
‘Does it matter? There’s no one who cares about me anyway.’
No one wondered why she wore long sleeves in the middle of summer or why she attended in an outdated dress. Nobody was curious about her, who hadn’t even properly debuted.
The warm breeze carried her soft, wheat-colored hair. Despite her vibrant green eyes and lively appearance, her face was expressionless.
Whitney sat on a rock, gazing at the blue sea, waiting for the banquet to end.
Suddenly, splash!
The sound of someone falling into the sea diverted her gaze towards the high cliffs. Foam scattered across the blue waters, repeatedly dispersing before the waves cast a man onto the shore.
‘It’s a person!’
Whitney immediately ran towards the beach. Recognizing the man with golden hair, she covered her mouth in shock.
The Queen’s only son, Carl de Cliffton.
It was definitely him.
Quickly checking if he was breathing, Whitney’s hands trembled, but she had to save him. She took emergency measures to help him spit out the water.
“Thank goodness he’s breathing…! But I need to move him quickly.”
She looked around for help. Moving an unconscious man by herself was going to be difficult.
Clutching the hem of her dress, Whitney ran towards the banquet hall.
Her sister, Melissa, was the first to see her disheveled, soaked state. Melissa gasped and pulled her outside the hall.
“Are you staging a protest now?!”
“No, it’s not that. Sister, on the beach…!”
“Things are already chaotic, why are you like this? Are you crazy?!”
Whitney cringed at Melissa’s sharp tone but urgently pulled her hand.
“Prince Carl fell into the sea. I don’t know what happened, but I’ve done some first aid. We need to move him quickly.”
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
