“It seems the information leaked from the king’s side, and the fiancée story seems to have been manipulated by the queen.”

“The fact that my father didn’t stop it means…”

Actually, not engaging with the princess of Pethontora would have been better for the queen. Why this whole charade was baffling.

“Maybe someone wants you to hurry and bring her. Otherwise, the queen might find her first.”

Aaron shrugged, looking nonchalantly at Cheston, who was deep in thought.

“Even so, I didn’t expect her to send a letter so quickly. Reacting this way to a mere contractual engagement might give rise to other thoughts.”

“I think there’s another intention too. To secure her position as head of the family, she could have clung to Prince Carl instead.”

Aaron seemed to have a different intention in mind, but Cheston just nodded, pretending to agree.

“Right.”

He then gestured Aaron to continue. Aaron’s eyes sparkled as he elaborated his thoughts.

“But if she insisted on a meeting, there must be a reason. Some other unspoken reason. But surely she wouldn’t harbor feelings for you.”

“…”

“Perhaps she’s trying to impress the king and gain something. Being backed by the Rubenar family, she might be using this opportunity to improve relations.”

“So you mean she couldn’t have feelings for me.”

“Of course. You’ve drawn up a clean contract to avoid getting entangled, so it’d be strange if she had feelings.”

Aaron continued his chatter, oblivious to Cheston’s increasingly rigid expression.

“But why did you refuse? If it were me, I would have accepted the engagement with the princess of Pethontora.”

“I can’t betray the trust of a contract.”

“Is she worth that much? Marrying a princess from another country would strengthen your foundation. Maybe even the queen couldn’t easily meddle then.”
“Aaron, do you think just because I’m given a sword, I can fight? Even if they can’t touch me, my mother will persistently torment me.”

The princess of Pethontora will come here, see my position, and realize she made a wrong choice, one that won’t bring her happiness here. She might even send a letter back to Pethontora, demanding a divorce. Making up a reason for fault would be easy, and the king, not wanting to escalate matters, would accept the divorce.

Even as his favored son, I’m not more important than state affairs.

“But it’s still too early to make a move. For now, I’ll go meet the lady.”

“Understood. But please return quickly.”

Cheston nodded and draped his cloak over himself. As he left the room, his steps quickened.

Whitney waited anxiously for Cheston. It was the first time she had sent a letter asking to meet him.

‘Will he respond?’

The conditions for breaking the engagement were simpler than she thought. Paying ten times the agreed-upon alimony, erasing all information about the agreement, and having no further involvement with each other. Even if they crossed paths, they would act as strangers.

Since her priority was to help Cheston, she didn’t even ask for the return of the Rubenia seeds she gave him.

So, essentially, verifying the rumor was just a procedural step to avoid wasting time. There were benefits to being engaged to him, but if a better position was offered to Cheston, Whitney was willing to graciously step aside for his sake.

She sipped water, trying to calm her racing heart. She had no intention of resenting him if he didn’t come. She just wanted him to clearly express his intentions to her.

She was tired of being manipulated by others. Being betrayed by someone she trusted, or being the butt of jokes unknowingly, was something she resolved not to endure anymore.

“I didn’t expect you to be the one to ask to meet.”

Whitney slowly turned her head at the sound of the low voice behind her. The same impassive expression and unchanged gaze brought her an inexplicable sense of relief.

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.

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