In response to Odette saying, “Valtter, some water… I’m thirsty,” Valtter chose to tilt the cup over Odette’s mouth instead of pouring water into her mouth.
Even that, Valtter wouldn’t feed obediently, and halfway through, he ended up spilling water on his lips. Eventually, after Odette coaxed and pressed him like a whining child, she properly fed him water.
“…Well, it still seems like he’s naughty after all.”
Odette, who had briefly adjusted Valtter’s previously positive evaluation, found his face, which had seemed somewhat gentle just a moment ago, now starting to look insolent.
Odette gazed intently at her sleeping husband’s face, her lips pursed inward.
“Now he looks quiet, but if he opens his eyes, those eyebrows might pierce the sky.”
What about those insolent jade-colored eyes? If they were looking at everything as if it were beneath them with a cynical gaze, her title as a noblewoman seemed insignificant.
“Moreover, the distance between his eyebrows and eyes is narrow, making his expression look worse.”
As if that wasn’t enough, he would frown at the slightest provocation.
There was no better example of someone freely using an arrogant face.
If some artist wanted to draw a devil, Odette was willing to offer Valtter as a model.
“…But sometimes when he smiles, he looks a bit cute.”
His eyes didn’t soften easily, but the way his lips twisted was cute.
Odette gently extended her hand and poked Valtter’s cheek.
And with a little courage, she even slightly pulled up the corner of his mouth.
“If the corners of his mouth go up like this…”
Surprisingly, that stern expression softened in an instant.
“……!”
And at that moment, Odette stiffened.
The eyelids of Valtter, who she thought was deeply asleep, rose, and the jade-colored eyes she had recently evaluated as arrogant turned towards Odette.
When had he been awake, the loosely raised jade-colored eyes seemed to say that he knew all the various thoughts Odette had inside.
The slow blink reminiscent of a predator and the eye contact from a distance where their lips could touch at any moment paralyzed Odette’s entire mind.
At first, it was due to surprise, but this time, it wasn’t for that reason.
“…Again.”
Again, her heart raced.
Valtter, who clasped Odette’s stiffened hand, lightly kissed it and whispered.
“You should know by now that a person’s face is not a toy, right?…”
Because it hadn’t been long since he woke up, the slightly husky voice tantalized Odette’s ears more sensually than usual.
“Or perhaps my princess wanted to play a prank on her husband from the morning? Hm?”
“I-I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“I suppose so. You always try to escape when I’m asleep, don’t you…”
As if not completely out of the daze, Valtter, who lazily stretched out the tail of his words, pulled Odette towards him and embraced her in his arms. The wrestling match was over, and she seemed to grow even smaller.
The warmth accumulated overnight and the familiar scent enveloped Odette, and the vigorous beating of Odette’s heart began to accelerate even more.
Afraid that only her heartbeat sound would burst out instead of her voice, Odette couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth. Stiffened in Valtter’s embrace like that, she thought, “This seems like… something is seriously wrong.”
No matter how much she thought about it, the problem seemed to be the dream. During the midday hours when Valtter went out, leaving the mansion quiet, Odette sat alone in her room, lost in thought.
“What on earth is this dream?”
That was her dilemma. At first, she had thoughtlessly dismissed both the dream and this strange phenomenon. However, as time passed, the phenomenon of emotions merging became increasingly severe.
“Even this morning was like that.”
At any other time, even if such a thing were to happen, her heart wouldn’t have raced like that. It might have been just a warm thought.
Reflecting on the cause, it ultimately led back to that peculiar dream. The dream where she loved Valtter.
“It’s too specific to be just a delusion.”
Moreover, it all remained vividly in her mind without any ambiguous parts. What was most peculiar was that the content of the dream continued from the dream Odette had on the day she opened her eyes at Duke Ertmann’s residence.
“Sometimes dreams are said to continue, but can it be this realistic?”
While she couldn’t know the details of the dream, when summarizing the content, it was like this: Odette in the dream was in a state of contract marriage with Louis, and Cedric was somehow dead. Strangely, due to Cedric’s death, a peculiar friendship had developed between Valtter, who should have been emotionally distant, and Odette.
“And I… in the dream, I loved Valtter without any conscience, even though I was already married.”
Of course, what Odette did in her dream was not the usual fidelity expected in a conventional marriage but a contractual marriage. So strictly speaking, she hadn’t harbored feelings that were greatly against her conscience.
“The problem is that it affects reality.”
The emotion she felt when embraced by Valtter this morning. Strangely, that emotion didn’t feel unfamiliar. Perhaps it was only natural.
That emotion felt like what the dream Odette had towards Valtter.
The emotion felt when embraced by Valtter this morning.
Strangely, that emotion didn’t feel unfamiliar.
Perhaps it was only natural.
That’s because the emotion resembled what the Odette in the dream had towards Valtter.
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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