The sun had completely set.
The sky that had been tinged with sunset was now dyed black.
“Where are they?”
Charlotte turned her body, standing at the edge of the cliff.
“You disappeared with them?”
Charlotte asked Benjamin, glancing down at where she had been standing precariously.
“Do you want to hear?”
“…….”
“It’s okay. I sent them back nicely.”
“Is it okay to send them back just like that?”
Benjamin looked down at Charlotte.
“No. Maybe not.”
“You said you sent them back?”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
Benjamin had thought of sending them back nicely, too, if it hadn’t been for the nasty chemicals found in their possessions.
Benjamin called Charlotte with a faint smile.
“Charl.”
Charlotte blinked her eyes at the call.
“Why?”
“I feel breathless. As if it’s stifling to breathe.”
Charlotte stiffly touched her throat.
The death that had reached her jaw still remained vivid.
When she touched her neck stiffly, the day she was dying came to mind.
The throat was stiff. The lungs were stiff.
The moments when all the joints were stiffening and turning wooden.
It was when Charlotte was groping from her neck to her collarbone.
“Why are you touching your neck?”
“Huh?”
“You’re compulsively touching your neck.”
Benjamin wrapped his hand around Charlotte’s neck.
Her breath was suddenly blocked. It wasn’t even tightly gripped. Wrapped gently,
“Is it hard to breathe?”
“Don’t play such a joke.”
“If I don’t play such a joke, the mood gets serious on its own.”
Benjamin brought his face close. His eyes sank black in front of her nose.
His dark pupils were deep and clear, resembling him.
“I barely crawled out of the grave. But they buried me back into the dirt.”
Benjamin whispered against her forehead.
“You’re talking too harshly, Charl.”
“…….”
“The night wind is cold, let’s go back.”
Benjamin caressed Charlotte’s hair and opened his coat.
“Prepare the carriage.”
Charlotte lowered her hand, which had been touching her neck.
There were parts between us that were hard to explain in words.
It was okay now that my father brought his mistress.
It was okay to embrace that illegitimate child into the family. The death of my mother was now a distant memory.
“Why?”
“You’re, let’s see.”
“Huh?”
“Difficult.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know you well.”
Benjamin’s voice trailed off as he smiled. The eyes shining through the narrow eyes were deep and dull.
Katarina made a ‘cough’ sound.
“The carriage is ready.”
The sky had already darkened. It was time to leave.
Benjamin chewed only on Charlotte’s name without any other words.
“Charl. Charlotte. Charlotte Windsor.”
Charlotte tilted her head and met Benjamin’s eyes.
“You realize just now, right after losing your biological mother?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“But there’s no sorrow.”
How was he at that time? It was just after losing his biological mother.
There were moments when various sorrows surged in. But that was not now.
“I don’t remember it well now.”
She only vaguely remembered her mother’s face from the portrait. It was forgotten after not seeing it for just a few years, let alone over a decade.
The child who lost her mother became an old adult.
(This is the time separator.)
“Are you out of your mind! What have you been doing outside until this time? Coming home without a word……!”
When Charlotte arrived home, Windsor ranted and raved at her late arrival.
“She was with me. Don’t scold her too much.”
Benjamin calmed Aster down with a clear tone. Aster glanced at Charlotte and answered Benjamin.
“But still. If you were going to be late, you should have told us? There are obviously people waiting, what if there’s no news?”
Charlotte’s lips quivered slightly, bewildered.
It had been a long time since someone waited for her.
So long that she had forgotten to tell them she would be late.
Charlotte fluttered her lips, and Benjamin touched her head.
“I didn’t know it would get this late.”
“Have you been together all this time?”
“Yeah. We have.”
“I guess I worried for nothing. Will His Highness the Crown Prince come inside as well?”
Benjamin looked down at Charlotte once and replied.
“No need. It’s late, and we’ll do it next time.”
“Charlotte, you come inside now. You’ve been standing outside, and it’s cold.”
For the first time, Charlotte felt awkward.
“Come in.”
Benjamin gently pushed Charlotte’s back. Charlotte, who had been hesitating, stepped forward and looked back.
“My fiancée’s feelings are complicated. Aster, put her in warm bathwater and let her rest for a while.”
“Yes?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes in confusion.
“If we leave her like this, she seems like she’ll catch a cold.”
Benjamin left her and quietly disappeared beyond the shadows.
Charlotte stood still in front of the gate, and Aster called out to her, “Charl. Charlotte?”
“Have you eaten?”
“No. It’s not dinner time yet.”
“What have you been doing without even eating until now? Well, first of all, ha! Bathmaid, put that child in the bathwater. She must be covered in frost. Doesn’t she know it’s cold?”
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.
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