Watching me seriously criticize, Cedric finally let out a chuckle.
Seeing Cedric laugh in front of me was surprising.
I gazed at him, astonished.
‘When a handsome man laughs like that, it feels like the whole world lights up.’
Perhaps knowing the human side of the seemingly perfect Cedric, or seeing his bright smile, made the time spent with him feel comfortably pleasant for the first time.
“You seem to be disposing of art pieces these days.”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“I saw art pieces wrapped in white cloth continuously leaving the mansion of darkness. Just a guess.”
Cedric blinked slowly, his head bowed a bit.
“If it’s because of a lack of alimony…”
“No, it’s not that.”
I flatly denied it.
The alimony that would eventually be taken by Duke Bold.
It was as good as nonexistent.
Cedric looked at me, his expression filled with complex thoughts.
“We might be divorced, but we’re still living together… I could renegotiate the alimony contract.”
“…”
“You can ask me for help.”
“You’re offering to help me?”
Thankfulness followed by an offer of help.
Taken aback by Cedric’s seemingly indifferent yet kind attitude, I found it hard to continue speaking.
Cedric watched me silently for a while, then his lips softly curved up.
“Of course, we failed as a couple. You were overbearing, and I was cold.”
“…”
“But that doesn’t mean,”
Cedric paused and his soft gaze met mine.
“We have to fail as friends too.”
His eyes were as clear as the azure sea.
For the first time, a slight warmth could be felt in his gaze, which had always been filled with sarcasm and chill.
Seeing him like this, I momentarily lost my words.
But then, I slowly smiled.
“Friends, I like the sound of that.”
Satisfied with my answer, a light smile also spread across Cedric’s beautiful face.
Simultaneously feeling a faint flutter in my heart, I coughed awkwardly.
“Uh… It might be better that way, especially since we’re still pretending to be a couple.”
“…”
“Honestly, the fact that we’re separated will be known soon, but if you continue to treat me like you have, no one will suspect our breakup.”
“…That might be a good idea. I’ll try.”
Cedric nodded seriously.
“Then, as a celebration of our newfound friendship, how about you tell me? If it’s not about the shortage of alimony, why are you disposing of all the art pieces?”
“Ah, that’s because…”
“…?”
“…I don’t think a single penny of the divorce alimony will come to me.”
“What do you mean? It doesn’t make sense for Duke Bold to do that.”
Cedric’s brow furrowed deeply.
“I thought you had a special relationship with Duke Bold… Was I mistaken?”
Special relationship, my foot.
I immediately shook my head.
“Not at all. It might seem so on the surface, but my father never genuinely cared for me. Neither did my mother, for that matter.”
Though the backstory of Duke Bold’s family wasn’t detailed in the original work, I could guess enough from it.
Moreover, after meeting Duke Bold in person, that speculation had nearly become a certainty.
“It can’t be…”
Cedric murmured softly, his face swept with shock.
“Is it that surprising that I’m not on good terms with my biological father?”
At my question, Cedric seemed to come back to his senses and raised his head.
I smiled slightly at him.
“That’s why I plan to increase my personal assets as much as possible before the divorce becomes public.”
“…?”
“No matter how much he is the head of my family, he can’t touch the personal assets I had before the divorce.”
Lost in thought, Cedric slowly parted his lips.
“If that’s the reason, I could transfer the alimony to your personal assets in advance.”
“I’ll pass on that.”
My firm refusal caused Cedric’s eyebrows to arch in surprise.
While I appreciated Cedric’s offer, if Duke Bold found out about it later, it would inevitably complicate Cedric’s situation.
In the Empire of the West, the head of each family was an absolute authority.
Hence, even high-ranking noble families refrained from infringing on the rights of another family’s head, an unspoken rule in noble society.
‘That old fox would use it to create a negative public opinion in the aristocratic society, trying to gain more from Cedric.’
I didn’t want to be such a burden on my way out.
After thinking it over, I shook my head.
“If you really want to help, reduce the alimony to the minimum or shorten the payment period. It would at least ease my conscience.”
However, Cedric frowned, regretting his inability to help.
“Can’t be helped then. We’ll deal with that matter later… But how do you plan to increase your personal assets without my help?”
“I’m going to invest in the demonic commodity futures market.”
“The futures market?”
Cedric couldn’t hide his surprise and asked back.
“I didn’t know you were interested in economics. I thought I knew almost everything about you…”
Cedric mumbled to himself.
I smiled at him slightly.
“You’ll get used to it soon. Mina and Adrian were often surprised at first, but now they seem a bit more accustomed.”
For some reason, Cedric’s expression darkened subtly.
“Adrian… are you talking about the one living with you in the mansion of darkness?”
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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