As soon as Ariadne saw the ruby of marquise cut, she signaled to Sancha, who was standing in the doorway of Isabella’s room. Sancha, understanding what her lady wanted, ran to Ariadne’s study in a heartbeat.
“What is this now?”
It was a question akin to Cardinal de Mare’s exclamation upon discovering the red ruby. It was a voice halfgiven up to which household title would be mentioned next. But this time, it wasn’t Isabella who answered that question, but Ariadne.
“In the social circle, there’s a rumor that the red ruby missing from the Duke of Campa’s bracelet is with Isabella de Mare.”
Cardinal de Mare was shocked and immediately looked at Isabella’s face.
He had heard about his eldest daughter being rumored as the mistress of the Duke of Campa, but he had not heard this latest detail. My goodness. The evidence has surfaced.
This time, Isabella glared at the red ruby with a distorted face, unable to manage her expression.
She immediately blamed Arabela.
“Hey! Why are you touching other people’s things indiscriminately!”
Isabella rushed to the dressing table and scolded Arabela.
“Ouch!”
“Why are you rummaging through other people’s things! Huh?!”
Arabela, who had been harshly hit on the shoulder, screamed, and Isabella’s angry voice drowned it out. Isabella’s soprano tone was buried under the longsuffering sigh of Cardinal de Mare.
“Stop harassing your younger sister! Stop—!”
The cardinal, who had shouted, glared at Isabella fiercely.
“Tell me! Is this the Duke of Campa’s property?”
Isabella was caught between a rock and a hard place. If she denied it, it was a lie, and if she admitted it, she had nothing to say. Whichever side she chose, a lie was a necessity. And Isabella was not one to fear lying.
‘It’s a showdown, either way.’
“This is a ridiculous accusation!”
At Isabella’s firm denial, Ariadne smiled, her lips curling up. How shortsighted people can be.
Sancha, who had taken the desired object from Ariadne’s jewelry box, handed it to her lady. It was a bracelet with a green topaz and fleurdelis pattern.
Holding the bracelet, Ariadne raised her voice.
“Father, this is the Duke of Campa’s bracelet.”
The unfortunate bracelet, which could have been named something grander like ‘Count Cesare’s bracelet’ or ‘the bracelet of the lady who tempted two sons of the king at once’, now bore the name ‘Duke of Campa’s bracelet’.
While the marquise cut dark green topaz, each half a carat in size, formed a cluster, scattering a rich glow, the golden nest for the centerpiece was empty, the egg missing.
Ariadne calmly picked up the red ruby from the silver tray and put it into the nest.
Clunk.
The red ruby fit perfectly into the elongated golden nest, just like Cinderella’s glass slipper.
Ariadne looked at Isabella triumphantly.
“Swear to God?”
In the middle of the silent hall, Cardinal de Mare stepped towards Isabella and slapped her face firmly.
Slap!
“Ah!”
Stars swirled in front of Isabella’s eyes. It was the first slap she had ever received in her life. Who would dare to lay a hand on Isabella de Mare, the forbidden golden leaf of Cardinal de Mare?
“Did you sell your vows to God so easily everywhere?”
Cardinal de Mare scolded Isabella in a low voice.
“Did you smile at any man, offer kindness, hang around because you were treated well? Is that how I taught you?”
Isabella’s pupils widened as she realized her father really thought she was the mistress of the Duke of Campa. This was a false charge she could not accept.
“No! It’s a misunderstanding! It’s a horrible misunderstanding!”
Isabella, wearing only a robe over her ‘breast cover’, screamed and pleaded in her shame.
“I swear to God, I never did such a thing with the Duke of Campa!”
Slap!
Stars popped up again in front of Isabella’s eyes. This time, it was Lucrezia, who had been watching from behind.
“You…… you have sullied your mother’s face like this? How am I supposed to face anyone!”
Lucrezia began to sob uncontrollably.
“How could my beloved daughter, my own flesh and blood, fall into the hands of a scoundrel like the Duke of Compa!”
“Mom, it’s not like that!”
Irritation spilled from Isabella’s lips and tears began to burst from her eyes. She cried out as she sobbed.
“When I arrived, the Duke of Compa was already tangled up with that woman! I was just a bystander!”
However, the Cardinal de Mare pointed out sharply. There was irrefutable evidence here.
“Then why the hell is that ruby in your possession!”
In reality, the ‘Duke of Compa’s bracelet’ and the Duke of Compa had nothing to do with each other. If one had to name it, it would be more accurate to call it ‘the bracelet that Isabella secretly picked up’.
But after Count Cesare lied in front of everyone about why the ‘Duke of Compa’s bracelet’ was with the Duke of Compa, people began to believe that this bracelet was really a possession that the Duke of Compa won in gambling.
“This ruby is……”
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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