Bonita’s question visibly startled her mother. Her mother’s complexion turned worryingly pale, visible to anyone.
“What do you mean?”
“Am I right?” Bonita asked again, her mother – no, Aria – reacting in such a way.
“You’re not Aria. Mommy doesn’t talk like that.”
Aria gasped in shock, her voice trembling. She had thought that someone might realize that she wasn’t really ‘Aria,’ but she had never imagined Bonita to be that someone.
She had considered several possibilities – Luke, Dylan, Catherine, possibly her father, or even her close friend, the wife of the Hyacinth Duke. But Bonita was never part of those scenarios.
Of course, it made sense. Bonita had never met Elodie.
However, what she had overlooked was that Bonita had observed the real Aria longer than anyone else. To Bonita, Aria was everything in this world.
Thus, she was the first to notice the changes in Aria. She could distinguish between the ‘Aria of the past’ and the ‘Aria of now.’ She simply lacked the courage and certainty to confront her about it directly.
“I see.”
Realizing her assumption was correct, Bonita murmured while still touching Aria’s cheek.
“So, it was like that.”
Aria’s eyelashes fluttered with a different kind of emotion than before – fear.
She was terrified.
Terrified that Bonita, realizing she wasn’t the ‘real’ Aria, would start to dislike her. That she would no longer be allowed to stay by Bonita’s side.
That they might never see each other again.
Surely, Luke would make it so. He was relentlessly thorough in protecting his loved ones.
Once, she was one of those precious people to Luke. But now…
“Bo, Bonita. Wait, it’s not that I tried to deceive you. I am your…”
“It’s okay.”
Bonita interrupted in a low, calm voice.
“I love you, Mommy.”
It was the same line Aria had said to Bonita earlier.
Aria stopped speaking.
Despite Bonita’s youthful face, Aria felt as if their roles had reversed.
Bonita’s eyes held an overwhelming affection and love.
That’s when Aria realized.
“I love you, Mommy.”
Often, a child is said to be an irreplaceable treasure for a parent, showered with unconditional love.
No matter how naughty or troublesome a child may be, they are loved because they are precious.
But what about to a child?
To a child, a parent is their world.
No matter what the parent does, the child loves them unconditionally. They look up to their parent with pure, innocent eyes, offering love and trust enough to drown in.
Even if this love is returned with cold cruelty, the child can’t let go. Because that’s their world.
They can’t give up on the world just because they dislike it.
Until the parent is no longer their world, and they move on to the cold reality of independence, they keep seeking affection and attention, no matter the treatment.
Aria bit her lip so hard it might bleed, trembling at her own foolishness.
Why hadn’t she understood this simple thing?
She couldn’t even try to stop her tears this time. Droplets drummed on the carriage seat.
‘I shouldn’t be crying.’
It’s the day to attend the social gathering.
Crying like this would ruin the carefully done makeup and crumple the dress.
She should stop crying, tell Bonita she loves her too, and go back to eating cookies and laughing together.
That would be the right thing to do.
But…
“Bonita.”
Aria tightly embraced Bonita, feeling the child’s distinctively warm body temperature.
‘How could I have thought of giving up on her?’
If she couldn’t be a mother, she was content to remain as a governess. She had planned to compromise with reality, knowing Luke wouldn’t marry anyone other than Elodie.
Her only wish was to raise Bonita well until she grew up, hoping she would look back at her with affection from her childhood.
Aria chuckled at herself.
‘It’s impossible.’
She realized she could never give up on Bonita like that.
Bonita might not need her when she grows up, but Aria would always need Bonita, desperately.
Tears dropped as she blinked. No more tears pooled in her eyes.
Aria sniffled.
‘They say the bond with a child is formed by raising them, not just by birth.’
It seems that’s not always the case.
“Mom.”
“…Yes, honey.”
“I can’t breathe…”
“Oops!”
Realizing she was hugging Bonita too tightly, Aria hastily released her. Checking if Bonita was alright, she asked worriedly.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Bonita exhaled deeply and nodded her little head.
Looking at Aria’s disheveled appearance, Bonita said, “But Mom doesn’t seem okay.”
“That’s… uh-oh.”
Seeing her reflection in the mirror, Aria clammed up. She was in a sorry state.
Fortunately, there was still time before the social gathering. In a dress shop near the capital, Aria was able to change her clothes and get her ruined makeup fixed by the talented madam.
“We arrived early at the capital, thank heavens…”
Exhausted before the event even started, Aria slumped on the sofa in the shop, massaging her neck. Her eyes drifted to the invitation in her hand.
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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