“Stand by my side…?” I cautiously questioned.
It seemed to me that what he meant by the ‘side’ was not merely the position of a butler, judging by my intuition.
Adrian’s gaze, looking at me, deepened even further.
“If it were me, I would never leave Lady Bianca alone.”
“Adrian…”
“I am confident that I can make you so happy that you won’t even remember the failed marriage.”
Around that point, Adrian’s emotions seemed a bit shaken as he lowered his head.
After taking a deep breath, he looked at me again and spoke firmly.
“…I am willing to risk everything.”
Adrian’s confession was undeniably gentle, refined, and very much like him.
In his violet eyes, staring at me, I could feel a sincere depth.
We remained silent for a while, locking eyes.
Finally, lowering my gaze and slowly raising my head again, I saw a subtle, bittersweet smile on Adrian’s lips.
“…I see.”
He uttered, as if reading a poem, and his lips parted slowly once again.
“May I ask why?”
After Adrian was sent away first,
I, left alone, stared blankly at the pond.
The words Adrian left behind continued to echo in my ears.
As it continued, numerous question marks popped up in my mind only to disappear repeatedly.
Had Adrian been harboring feelings for me all this time?
I thought it was just affection towards the master, but when did it become this much?
Was it because of my guilt about the divorce?
While answers to most of these questions were unclear, one thing was certain.
He no longer wished to be just a butler but someone by my side as a lover.
“…”
For me, who would leave this castle and live alone in an unfamiliar world, Adrian’s proposal was undoubtedly something to be grateful for.
Moreover, Adrian was an overwhelmingly good man.
He was charming and incredibly kind to me.
Perhaps Adrian didn’t know that he might be the only one healing the scars from my past betrayal.
But why did I reject Adrian?
‘Not just Adrian, but whoever the other person is, for a while… I don’t want to seriously consider anyone but myself.’
As I answered that to myself, I unknowingly raised my head.
While hearing Adrian’s confession, imagining a future with him, and even when rejecting his proposal…
Ridiculously, Cedric’s face kept appearing in my mind.
If Cedric were to witness the current situation, what expression would he make? I couldn’t help but wonder.
Would he feel some meaningless guilt as my ex-husband only in name?
I laughed at myself.
‘Cedric probably wouldn’t care whoever I become a lover with.’
He was the one who used to disdain Rebecca so much.
Certainly, after deciding on a divorce and putting on a show as the Showindow couple, Cedric did become more lenient towards me than before.
However, that was merely a courtesy for the mistress to a certain extent.
I didn’t want to distort things by having unnecessary expectations from Cedric’s kindness.
‘Let’s not get caught up in baseless sentiments. What’s most important to me is surviving in this world.’
Repeating that in my mind, I immediately turned away and left the pond.
While heading from the sponsor area to the garden, I resolved to consider Adrian’s proposal positively.
It would be much better than harboring lingering feelings for my ex-husband, who was waving the whip at me.
‘Adrian also asked for some time to reconsider…’
My thoughts began to get complicated once again, and I continued to walk with a slightly troubled expression.
I happened to be walking on a small path next to the Dark Mansion, and the path leading from the backyard to the garden was seldom frequented, making it a good place to enjoy solitude.
As I paused for a moment, listening to the songs of the birds perched on the trees, I felt a shadow cast over my dress.
‘…Who could it be?’
Casually raising my head to confirm the person, my face was instantly distorted.
“Why are you… here?”
“This is… a long time no see, Rebecca.”
A sinister smile appeared on Duke Bold’s lips.
“After making my insides burn to a crisp…”
“…”
“You were leisurely enjoying a stroll around here?”
A nauseating feeling passed through the corners of Duke Bold’s twisted eyes.
From him, a strong scent of alcohol emanated.
As I frowned, Duke Bold blew air into his palms, rubbing them together before chuckling.
“Here, have a sip. It seems the smell of alcohol vibrates even more from your mouth.”
“…”
“I had some on the way. Meeting the great heiress made me quite nervous, you see.”
Looking at his venomous smile, I snickered softly.
“It’s decent.”
“…”
“And it suits you very well. As if you’ve lived in the back alleys all your life.”
In response to my words, Duke Bold’s eyes became even more menacing.
He stared at me with eyes full of hostility for a while.
Soon, he burst into a hollow laughter.
“When you were clinging to my coattails and whimpering, and now, becoming the great lady of a prestigious family, you mock my background.”
“What I learned from my father was only that.”
“…”
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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