Divorce was easy.
“According to the agreement of both parties, I hereby announce the divorce judgment for case number 2020.”
As the words of divorce judgment came out of the judge’s mouth, I tightly closed my eyes.
The divorce that had been binding me painfully ended in just a few minutes, so hollow.
The meaningless married life. My five years of effort condensed into a single document.
‘It’s really over now…’
I lifted my eyelids. I saw a man looking at me blankly.
He had been my husband for the past five years and now became a stranger.
‘Seo Ji Han.’
As I clenched my fist, my nails dug deep into my skin.
ads
At the end of the long fight with him, I was left with nothing.
I had lost my entire family.
The only family that sustained me had shattered, and I became penniless. And it was all because of that man who used to be my husband.
“Why don’t you let me take care of the family business? I’m your husband.”
“Lean on me, Yeo Jin. Let me help you.”
Although it was a strategic marriage arranged by our families, I trusted him.
But the man who betrayed my trust whispered love to my closest junior for five years.
“Let’s get a divorce. If you back down now, I’ll give you the shares of Ho Jin I have.”
“You can’t protect the W Group with your abilities anyway. That’s why you left it to me, right?”
“Why are you being so pathetic? You’re the one who trusted me. This is all I can do for you.”
ads
He pressured me to divorce, using the few shares as an excuse.
He told me to be grateful that I could take at least this much after he swallowed up my family’s business.
‘I really trusted you.’
Betrayal by the two people I trusted the most. If only I hadn’t introduced Chae Seo Rin to my husband.
If I hadn’t, the marriage wouldn’t have ended so miserably.
‘No, there’s no use regretting it now…’
I was walking quickly to get out of the suffocating courtroom.
By the time I reached the crosswalk in front of the court, someone grabbed my wrist tightly.
It was Ji Han, panting as if he had run after me.
“Wait, let’s talk.”
ads
“What’s there to talk about? It seems like we said everything we had to say in front of the judge.”
As if he had never demanded a cold divorce.
He looked at me, frowning at my sharp remark.
When I glanced at my grabbed wrist, he seemed to realize his mistake and finally let go of my hand.
“Yoon Yeo Jin.”
As I faced him, who was now my exhusband, he called my name in a low voice.
“Oppa.”
I slowly turned my body at the sound of a sweet female voice coming from behind.
As I suspected, it was Chae Seo Rin.
‘Did he bring her to the divorce court?’
ads
“I’ve been waiting outside for a while.”
She seemed to scan me, then threw herself into his arms.
Ji Han tried to say something to me, but when he saw her, he closed his mouth again.
“Let’s go inside.”
“I wanted to greet you when you came out.”
As she answered affectionately, Seo Rin glanced at me.
She nestled closer to him as if to show off, seemingly provoking me. I swallowed a bitter laugh.
‘Chae Seo Rin, you’re not even human.’
Seeing Seo Rin laughing in the arms of the man who used to be my husband made my insides twist and burn.
I didn’t want to face them anymore, out of my mind, and turned around.
ads
“Unni.”
I turned at the sound of the awkward nickname.
“We’re getting married soon. We’ve decided to start with registering our marriage. Because a baby is coming.”
“Stop it. What’s the point of talking about that?”
Ji Han grabbed Seo Rin’s clothes and hung his head.
At that sight, I remembered the voice of Seo Rin, who had once told me she was pregnant.
“I’m pregnant. With your husband’s child.”
She was so bold, claiming to be carrying my husband’s child.
I clenched my trembling lips, trying to block out the resurfacing nightmarish memory.
“I’m grateful to you, Unni.”
ads
“What?”
I was speechless at her words of gratitude.
“Thanks to you, I could meet Oppa like this. I’ll live my life being really grateful to you.”
At that moment, Ji Han, who had been holding Seo Rin, released her hand and approached me.
“Take care. I’ll see you when we sort out the paperwork.”
How shameless could he be to tell me to take care? You, of all people.
“I hope you don’t take care.”
Please, I hope your marriage is unhappy. Just like mine.
I left my last words and turned around. I tried my best to walk away as if nothing had happened.
The further I got from Ji Han, the clearer the memories of our past became.
ads
In the big house, all I could do was wait for that man.
He was an incredibly indifferent husband, but he was also the last family I had left.
I was desperate to protect our married life.
But the price of that faith was the betrayal of the two people I cherished the most…
I stopped in front of the crosswalk, my tears pouring down.
People were crossing the street in sync with the green light, but I couldn’t move.
“Ha… huk…”
The resentment, hatred, and sense of betrayal towards the two people grew as uncontrollably as the deep trust I once had for them.
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]