Embarrassed to have her shallowness mistaken for kindness, Annette awkwardly diverted her eyes before suddenly speaking up.
“Then, the woman who gave birth to you…”
About to ask how it all happened, Annette caught sight of Cardin’s slightly widened blue pupils and abruptly closed her mouth, soon quietly apologizing.
“That was rude of me. I’m sorry.”
“No, no,” Cardin hastily waved his hand. “I was just surprised that you would show interest in my birth mother. I hadn’t given it much thought since I first learned of it.”
“Um, that woman was promised a comfortable life with wealth and a new identity in exchange for giving birth to me. She spent her pregnancy comfortably in the palace. But I heard she died immediately after my birth.”
Annette paused upon hearing Cardin’s matter-of-fact explanation. Despite their different circumstances, she felt an odd kinship due to a shared sense of pain.
“Perhaps the late Emperor took preemptive action fearing repercussions.”
However, Cardin, deep in thought with his eyelids lowered, spoke coldly.
“It was foolish. To conceive, to reveal it, and to believe that just giving birth would set her free.”
Annette’s expression slightly contorted.
“Isn’t it a bit hasty to conclude that? Maybe she had no choice, maybe it was the best she could do under the circumstances…”
She then realized she had overstepped her bounds. Annette had never had such intimate conversations with anyone, not even with Franz, her blood relative. So suddenly crossing that line was unexpected.
Moreover, it wasn’t out of sympathy or belief that Cardin’s mother had her reasons that she spoke. Rather, it was the barely concealed resentment in Cardin’s tone about his birth mother that made her speak out of turn.
“I apologize. I spoke out of line again.”
Yet even so, Annette hoped Cardin didn’t harbor hatred for the woman who gave birth to him. It was an awkward and clumsy attempt at consolation.
Cardin knew her sincerity.
“You’re too kind, Princess.”
He quietly smiled behind his mask.
“If I may be so bold…”
“…”
“Do you really think your mother didn’t love you? She must have been heartbroken not to see you grow up. If she were with you, she would have been the happiest, proudest of anyone.”
Annette shuddered.
Cardin’s words seemed to pierce right through her.
The Duke might indeed know her better than she thought. Otherwise, he wouldn’t talk as if he knew of her usual belief that the late Queen hated her.
Frozen by his words, Annette watched as Cardin wryly laughed behind his mask before changing the subject.
“Does this help you understand why I believe you’re much nobler than me, and why someone like me, a bastard, is unworthy of you?”
His playful tone jolted Annette back to reality, and she looked at him strangely.
She couldn’t understand why the Duke would reveal his vulnerability so openly.
“He doesn’t even seem to consider his illegitimacy as particularly damaging.”
Though it’s undoubtedly a secret that must never be revealed to others, he seemed to share it to ease her mind.
“Why would he belittle himself like that… Ah.”
Annette’s eyes narrowed.
“Surely, you’re not disappointed that I’m a bastard?”
At that moment, Cardin spoke up with a puzzled voice towards Annette, who hadn’t responded.
He asked jokingly, but a subtle unease was detectable.
Annette then confirmed the thought she had just had.
This man wants to close the distance with her, to become closer, and surprisingly, it seemed he was doing so out of genuine kindness.
‘But why?’
The question followed naturally, but there was no time to ponder deeply.
She needed to answer his question.
“Disappointed? Not at all.”
Did she have the right to be?
Annette was born a being that made her husband suspect his wife’s fidelity.
Though the king corrected the rumors about the late queen later, he showed through his actions that he didn’t consider Annette as his child.
Having such a fatal flaw in her lineage, discussions of noble bloodlines or illegitimacy meant nothing to her.
But she didn’t explain at length.
If he truly knew her as he claimed, he wouldn’t be unaware of her situation or the rumors surrounding her.
And Annette had no intention of acknowledging and verbalizing the treatment she received from the world, even if everyone knew.
“Then that’s a relief. Let’s leave it at that for today.”
Unlike the Duke, who had just opened up about his vulnerabilities.
“Next time, I’ll tell you another secret when we’re in the duchy. Just remember, I may lie but I’m not a fraud.”
Cardin grinned at Annette, who looked puzzled by their differences. He continued:
“By the way, don’t worry about your body not returning to its original state. Of course, the wedding might have to be postponed a bit…”
Ah, thinking about it, that was a bit regrettable.
He wanted to welcome Annette as his wife as soon as possible and give her a real family, but realizing his plan was off track, he hesitated.
Yet he decided to bear this brief disappointment for the unexpected joy he had gained. Being engaged was enough for now.
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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