1.
“Damn it.”
Her life, everything she had was on the verge of sinking with the Toulon. The wolf prow she once took pride in had already vanished beneath the waves, no longer visible.
At the sound of the snapping sail, her last shred of consciousness briefly slipped away, then snapped back like a flame reigniting. If she could just survive this crisis, she could always get another ship. Of course, there’d never be another vessel quite like Toulon…….
-Whiiiish, bang!
The bombardment, which had briefly paused as if catching its breath, resumed. Rosetta was grazed by flying debris, ribs struck, and tumbled across the deck.
A sharp metallic taste flooded her mouth. Coughing, she spat out phlegm and realized one ear felt muffled, as if submerged in water. Her eardrums must have burst from the cannon fire.
She tried to rise, but the sharply tilted bow sent her crashing to the deck once more.
“Helmsman! You damn bastard! Can’t you steer the bow straight?”
She screamed with her last ounce of fury. Thick, acrid smoke obscured everything—she couldn’t even tell if the helmsman still held the wheel. For all she knew, he might have already fled.
Rosetta dragged her trembling body into the captain’s cabin.
She staggered, tearing the nautical chart from the wall. Scratching at the thin wooden panel behind it with her fingernails, she pulled out a tightly rolled piece of parchment.
She reached in, slipped the parchment into a glass vial, and secured it firmly against her chest. Only then did she feel her breath ease slightly.
Now, all she had to do was wait until the shelling stopped, and once the ship sank, drift like floating debris.
If she was lucky, she’d be carried by the Liah Current toward a nearby coastline.
Damn it. But how the hell did those bastards catch our scent?
Today’s destination had been kept absolutely secret. She hadn’t told a soul about this deal. Not a single person…….
Wait, was that really true? But Nick—damn him—was as close as blood and flesh to her. If she couldn’t trust him, who could she trust? How long had they been together?
Two scoundrels who clawed their way up from the filthy docks, bound by the blood of pirates sacrificed by other pirates.
Thinking of the nights they’d shared, back-to-back, snatching sleep in shifts, she realized she shouldn’t have doubted Nick. It was human trust, plain and simple.
For the past fifteen years, she had been the dominant ruler, and he had lived contentedly under her protection. The thought made her immediately feel guilty toward Nick.
He must have absolutely nothing to do with this. Perhaps he’d only just heard the news and was rushing to save her somehow…….
“Rosetta.”
Damn it, you bastard. What are you doing here?
“You—worthless piece of shit—explain yourself. Now.”
“Just catch your breath first.”
Nick sounded oddly calm, so much so he seemed almost insane. Instinctively, Rosetta followed his gaze down to her own body—then instantly regretted it. A large wooden splinter was now embedded in her abdomen.
It seemed to have narrowly missed her internal organs, but she’d lost far too much blood. No wonder her vision had been flickering……. She exhaled a ragged breath mixed with coughs.
“You damn traitor…… How long…… has this been going on?”
“What does it matter? You’re going to die here anyway.”
He replied in a disturbingly gentle tone, so unlike him. Rosetta clenched her violently trembling fist.
I was going to give you your own ship once this deal was done. You’d finally live as a captain in your own right. How many times had they spoken of the future? There was no reason—none at all—for Nick to betray her now.
She burst into a savage laugh. Yeah, what did it matter now?
“What we wanted was freedom, Rosetta. I never thought you’d be stupid enough to hand the captains’ leashes over to the admiral.”
Her lips were now too numb to move. She’d bled this much before and still managed to grin defiantly, yet this time her body felt strangely heavy.
“I know, freedom. That’s what you always said. You wanted citizenship back for the pirates. But you didn’t even realize the nobles only toss us the leftover bones.”
Nick stepped closer, lifting her chin.
With her last strength, she spat in his filthy face.
“Oh, really…….”
He wiped it away calmly with his other hand, as if he’d expected it.
Damn. Taking spit to the face apparently didn’t even register as an insult to him. Nick kept smiling leisurely, stroking Rosetta’s cheek with his fingers.
“It was your idealism that angered the pirates, Rosetta.”
“…….”
“Seventeen pirate captains have placed a bounty on your head. They’ve already accepted the promise: hand you over, and everyone aboard the Toulon will be spared.”
“…….”
“I won’t say I had no choice. After all, every bit of information they have came from me.”
She gritted her teeth. Nick gently stroked her hair like a parent soothing a disobedient child.
“Yes, Rosetta. Your death is the only way your crew survives.”
Something poured into her open mouth. She tried to spit it out, but a large hand clamped over her nose and mouth. Half came out in a noisy cough, but half was swallowed. The sensation of the clear liquid sliding down her throat was chillingly grotesque. Through her chattering teeth, she barely managed a curse.
“Y-You bastard…… I’ll k-kill……”
“It’s the same thing you’ve eaten for the past week. I couldn’t possibly lose to you by force.”
Her breath came in ragged gasps.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
If only she had the strength just once, she could silence that filthy mouth forever. Her body and mind sagged, heavy as waterlogged cotton.
A bluish bruise spread across her peripheral vision, and a cold death crept slowly from her feet up to her throat. Her tongue stiffened, making even a single word nearly impossible.
What she saw now was almost hallucinatory.
‘Ro.’
Sunlit golden hair like the dawn on deck, bright blue eyes, a gentle smile—but a voice grown deep. The young retriever pup who was now unmistakably becoming a man.
Someone she’d usually ignored completely. Yet to appear in her final, final moments meant, strangely enough, she’d cared more than she’d admitted.
But now, nothing mattered anymore.
She giggled, hiding her lingering regret from the hated enemy.
Ah, you naive, stupid bastard. How will you live when I’m gone?
* * *
“Cough, guh, hack…….”
Air rushed back into her parched lungs. She’d nearly drowned at sea many times, but never had her lungs hurt this badly.
Still, she’d survived. Clearly, after poisoning her, they hadn’t even checked whether she was truly dead before tossing her into the sea. She gasped desperately for breath.
“N-Nick, guh, cough, you damn bastard……!”
Like someone suddenly hauled from the water, she flailed her arms wildly. But strangely, everything her hands touched was completely dry. Her vision flickered between pitch black and blinding white. Yet one thing was unmistakably clear—something was very wrong.
For one, the texture beneath her hands was soft and smooth.
That alone was deeply suspicious. Judging by her long experience as a pirate who’d plundered Imperial sea trade…… the silk under her body was undoubtedly outrageously expensive. What the hell was going on? She tried to open her eyes fully, but each movement triggered another spasm of coughing.
That was when it happened.
“……Miss?!”
A sharp female voice rang out, followed by the loud sound of something breaking. Moreover, what? Miss? Rosetta had never in her life—since she grew hair—been called anything so refined.
Damn it. Now she had a clue. She must have been fished out onto Ollivander’s ship—the one who thought himself a noble.
“Ah, Miss! Are you coming to?”
“Guh, khh…….”
Could they stop with the “Miss” crap already? Rosetta clenched her teeth and waved her hand dismissively, as if telling her to shut up. But immediately, the woman stepped forward and grasped her hand.
“You mustn’t force yourself to move, Miss Lea!”
……That’s not right.
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
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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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