Prologue
“Calm down for now.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the solid physique approaching me as I stepped back.
“Ettrisha.”
Like a predator cornering its prey, Edmond slowly approached and enveloped me in his embrace. Soon, my back was pressed against a hard wall.
As I inadvertently looked back, a broad shadow loomed over me like a canopy.
I lifted my head slightly and sighed languidly at the scene resembling a painting.
His eyes flickered with a hot golden glow, his silver hair damp, and his lips, from which a chilling voice emanated, were firm. Coupled with his half-undressed gown, he radiated a dangerous aura.
A droplet of water precariously hanging from his jaw dropped sharply.
“You are not my younger brother. Do you understand that?”
“Of course, I’m aware.”
Startled, I nodded hastily in agreement, hoping it might free me from this awkward situation. Yet, despite my compliant response, he frowned.
“You haven’t understood a thing.”
Confused about what I was supposed to comprehend, the situation left me feeling cornered.
I raised my hands to push against Edmond’s chest but recoiled at the blatant muscularity, instead diverting to push against his robust shoulders.
The brief contact felt scorching, as if burned.
“Younger brother, let’s step back and talk .”
“Please.”
Edmond closed his eyes and sighed, cutting me off. He then slowly opened them, speaking in a restrained tone.
“Stop calling me that younger brother.”
“…”
“You are not my sister.”
Edmond gently placed his clenched fist near my face. Our gazes locked, his slightly distorted golden eyes blazing intensely.
“If you were my sister, I wouldn’t harbor such desire.”
I swallowed hard in disbelief.
‘Desire…?’
Did he just say… desire?
That outrageous statement seemed impossible coming from him, especially him, who seemed unaffected by numerous women’s advances, almost like a monk.
Instinctively, I let my gaze drop slowly.
I knew he meant desire in a different context, not in this situation. It’s not like he was an animal to act this way here.
But…
Curiosity led my eyes downward, but I couldn’t bring myself to look any further, feeling my face burn. His presence closed in as if warning me not to escape, and I bit my lip.
Yes, I had an inkling. I knew, but…
‘Since when…?’
I rapidly sifted through my confused thoughts.
I’ve entered a melodramatic novel. As the protagonist, no less.
Sigh.
I stopped at the stairwell, gripping the railing and looking down into the hall.
Just thinking about the person I was about to meet made my head throb.
In the central hall, with servants lined up in rows, a woman lounged leisurely on a couch.
She appeared to be in her mid-forties.
Wearing a soft fox fur shawl that seemed to flutter with the slightest breeze, the woman was evidently irritated about something.
Staring at a grandfather clock, she snapped, “When is Ettrisha coming down?”
“She seems to be delayed due to a cough. She’ll be down shortly.”
“Tsk, so slow. It’s frustrating.”
The woman crossed her legs irritably.
For the record, I hadn’t invited her.
Moreover, the hall, a common area in the mansion, was not suited for a lone couch.
‘Normally, guests use the drawing room.’
Her disordered behavior and the way she rebuked the host even without being invited revealed her audaciousness.
I sighed quietly.
‘Let’s just deal with her and send her off.’
Having finished my thoughts, as I descended the remaining stairs, the woman lazily rose and crossed her arms.
“So, you’ve finally arrived? Even a turtle would be faster than you.”
“…….”
I stared at the woman expressionlessly, not bothering with a common greeting, let alone eye contact. I had no desire to greet a woman who barged in like an outlaw and acted like she owned the place.
Even if she was my mother-in-law, the Countess Antara Dien.
As I met her gaze silently, Antara chuckled in disbelief.
“Ha, not even a proper greeting for a mother-in-law who’s come to visit. Such cheap manners befitting a nouveau riche family, Ettrisha.”
With a heavy sigh, I rolled my eyes. Uninvited and unannounced, she wasn’t in a position to complain.
However, my current goal was to send this woman away.
Swallowing the words rising in my throat, I lazily greeted her, clutching the hem of my dress.
“You must’ve had a hard time coming here, mother.”
At this, Antara’s eyebrows shot up like mountains.
“There’s no joy in your greeting, is there?”
“Isn’t it more strange to welcome an uninvited guest?”
“So you find my visit displeasing?”
“One might interpret it that way.”
As I calmly countered her every word, Antara bit her lip, speechless.
‘She must be furious. Until now, I’ve only ever responded with yes, like a parrot.’
I blinked lazily, glancing around.
The lavishly gold-plated interior walls, the dazzling diamond chandelier, and the densely packed artworks on the wallpaper.
‘So much money splashed out.’
My money.
Grinding my teeth, I closed my eyes tightly.
It was just another typical possession.
No, from the moment I woke up here, I lived as Ettrisha, so it was more of a reincarnation.
Intoxicated, I dived down the stairs, losing consciousness.
And then I remembered my past life.
In a distant dream, I was an orphan who died in a plane crash while returning from studies abroad.
The sharp ringing in my ears, the cries of people.
‘Gasp!’
I gasped for air, waking up with a start.
My nightgown and hair were soaked in cold sweat.
My eyes wildly scanned the bedroom. Everywhere I looked was familiar.
That’s when it hit me.
I had been living as the protagonist of a melodramatic novel I read on the plane before the crash. In the novel, the protagonist, tormented by her husband’s infidelity and manipulation, eventually hires a hitman to kill his mistress but is murdered by the mistress’s brother.
[ “Are you the one? The woman who killed my sister.” ]A sword flying toward me, blood splattering.
Rather than avenging, I ended up killed by the drunk brother of the woman I had hired to kill. A truly lamentable ending despised by readers.
Recounting the timeline, I realized it was the day after I drunkenly hired the hitman and fell down the stairs.
The only thing left was a gruesome ending.
After my death, Antara would bring in a daughter-in-law to her liking, securing a privileged position in society, while Devon would continue his affairs in luxury. All while enjoying everything that Count Beuel had built.
‘Don’t make me laugh. Am I supposed to just accept all this and die, leaving everything to those damned people?’
Even in death, it was an infuriating situation.
I clenched the hem of my skirt tightly, grinding my teeth with determination.
‘I will definitely chase those two out without giving them even a single Ogrant.’
Definitely.
“Ettrisha.”
“…….”
“Ettrisha!”
I was jolted back to reality by the sharp intrusion into my thoughts.
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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