“Do you truly wish to break away from the embrace of your family?”
“Stop with the nonsense.”
“What is so funny about this!”
“It’s strange to forcibly stay within an embrace when we were never family to begin with, isn’t it?”
“Even so, you are a child of the Odoi family!”
Grit did not give up.
He already knew that if he backed down here, the relationship with the Percy Grand Duke’s family would turn for the worst.
But above all, what concerned him most right now was his pride.
The tool that always obeyed his commands is now rebelling.
He couldn’t tolerate the rebellion of a once useful tool. Grit’s pride wouldn’t allow it.
On the other hand, Clea, who was watching this, found it amusing.
‘How ironic that someone who never once acknowledged me as an Odoi now claims I’m a child of the Odoi family.’
She should have lived a prosperous life as a genuine young lady of the ducal family.
Despite receiving support from the Percy family thanks to her, they took it for granted.
She was only burdened with obligations as a member of the ducal family.
When she tried to act as a family member, they drew a clear line.
That was Clea’s existence within the Odoi family.
“You said it first. If I want to leave, then leave.”
“I haven’t expelled you yet!”
“Then sign this. And we’ll end our relationship cleanly.”
“Is that how you speak to your father!”
“Steve, did you not hear what I just said, or are you pretending not to have heard despite listening? I’m telling you there’s no longer a father of mine here.”
As Grit and Steve shouted in unison, Admund, who was standing beside them, frowned.
Clea gently stroked his arm with her usual calm expression.
At that, Admund briefly relaxed his expression and waited as Clea wished.
After sending a grateful look to Admund, Clea spoke again.
“And didn’t I say? Do you want me to go to the Grand Duke’s family and confess everything that has happened?”
Grit narrowed his brow at Clea’s sharp threat.
No matter who he was, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated in the face of the Grand Duke’s family’s influence.
As it is, if Clea disappears, the relationship between the Odoi and Percy families will become a mere debtor-creditor relationship.
The best solution here was to somehow change Clea’s mind.
To return to the original state as if nothing had happened.
But Clea before him looked more resolute than ever.
And seeing Admund beside her, Grit gritted his teeth.
‘It must be him who has swayed Clea’s heart.’
Grit, who had no respect whatsoever for the Crown Prince, glared at Admund.
That it was Admund who had swayed Clea’s heart.
Thinking that Clea, who had been docile until now, was acting like this because of someone’s instigation, Grit turned his gaze towards Admund.
“Your Highness, did you beguile this child?”
“Why do you think it’s His Highness?”
“You keep quiet. Your Highness, please tell me. Did you really tell my daughter to leave the Odoi family?”
Admund felt ridiculous at Grit’s gaze, but he didn’t confront him in the same manner.
He didn’t want to disappoint Clea by appearing to be the same kind of person as him.
On the other hand, he found it absurd.
‘Who’s been using Clea all this time to now shamelessly say such things?’
Thinking of the Clea he had seen, he felt the urge to slap him.
Although he hadn’t fully grasped everything that had happened between Lloyd and Grit, he knew they had used her all the same.
A faithful puppet of the Odoi family.
An existence that could be discarded at any time once its usefulness was over.
That was her position as Admund coldly observed.
“Duke, do you know what your daughter likes?”
“Your Highness?”
“Young Duke, you try answering too. What is your younger sister’s favorite food?”
“Your Highness, what are you saying now? Please answer my question first.”
“I’ll tell you anything if you can answer my questions. So, try answering.”
Grit and Steve were enraged by Admund’s calm demeanor despite them asking first.
However, Admund’s promise to answer anything seemed sincere, so they thought about it.
What food does Clea like?
Grit and Steve briefly glanced at Clea.
But Clea had her eyes closed, simply savoring the aroma of the tea in front of her, not sparing them a single glance.
“Do you still need more time?”
Grit answered while grinding his teeth at her attitude.
“…It must be apples.”
He was confident.
Apples were his favorite food. It was only natural that his daughter, Clea, would prefer the same food as him.
But Clea’s expression turned incredulous upon hearing that answer.
Admund was certain after hearing his words.
‘It seems apples aren’t quite right.’
Otherwise, even Steve, who should be on his side, wouldn’t have such a stiff expression.
Steve knew. He knew that Clea was allergic to apples.
Steve wanted to stop this conversation, but he didn’t have the power to do so.
Admund continued with his questions.
“What’s her favorite color?”
“It’s purple.”
“Her favorite place?”
“Patra Park.”
Clea, who had been listening quietly, was barely holding back her laughter.
In contrast, Steve sent a desperate look towards Grit, but Grit didn’t notice Steve’s gaze at all.
As the conversation continued, Steve’s complexion turned blue.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Admund looked at Clea.
Clea put down her teacup and said,
“You are truly remarkable.”
When the first word was “remarkable,” Grit inwardly rejoiced.
He had the vain thought that Clea had changed her mind, touched that they recognized her.
He was certain that Clea would change her mind just because they showed this much interest.
In their memories, Clea was always a child starving for attention.
But everyone except Grit was aware of the subdued atmosphere.
They also knew well who was responsible for this somber mood.
“How can you only answer with things I strongly dislike? If the question had been about what Clea hates the most, I might have been moved.”
Steve knew all of this.
Because he was the one who made Clea hate those things.
He had played pranks like hiding worms in apples, locking her in a purple closet so she couldn’t escape. At Patra Park, he had made her fall into the lake.
Clea’s body vividly remembered the past.
Perhaps that’s why, even though the current her wasn’t the Clea who fell into the lake in the original story, she couldn’t easily take a step forward.
In the past, Grit had heard all about this process through Clea’s nanny.
But he dismissed it as children’s pranks, not taking it seriously and forgetting about it.
“I thought there couldn’t be any affection left to lose, but thank you for making me feel it today.”
Hearing Clea’s response, Grit realized he had made a mistake, but still didn’t back down.
“Your Highness! My daughter has a fiancé!”
“Once she’s left the family, isn’t the relationship already over?”
“This is not a matter for Your Highness to interfere with!”
“I don’t know how long you intend to be so stubborn.”
Admund approached Clea’s side.
Grit seemed to think that the interaction between Admund and Clea was a ploy to make the rumors appear true.
However, Admund wanted to help him accept reality now.
Clea, who had been watching from the side, looked at Admund.
Their eyes met.
“There’s nothing as beautiful as your eyes.”
“Me, this unsightly person?”
“Still, I like you.”
The two faces, talking as if no one else was around, drew closer.
The bodies of Grit and Steve, who were watching, stiffened.
Even as they saw Admund drawing closer, they thought it couldn’t be.
They thought there was no way the rumors they had heard could be true.
But.
“By the way, my favorite color is red.”
Clea spoke softly, just loud enough for him to hear.
Hearing those words, Admund felt his face grow hot.
Feeling a thirst as if his throat was burning, Admund set aside the smile he had been trying to maintain and kissed her.
Clea did not avoid his kiss either.
At this brief but intense scene, Grit’s eyes widened and he pointed accusingly.
“What on earth are you doing!”
Annoyed by Grit’s raised voice, Admund pulled away and openly furrowed his brow.
But Grit didn’t back down.
He approached Admund and was about to say something. But his body could only freeze at the voice coming from behind him.
“I should be the one asking. Duke, what is all this commotion about?”
A low, ice-cold voice.
Despite having heard it by his side for decades, that unfamiliar voice made Grit and Steve turn to look at the speaker.
“It’s been a while since I came to the Crown Prince’s palace, and hearing there was a guest, I came in out of curiosity, only to see quite a spectacle.”
There stood Odin and Oberon side by side.
Admund gestured to Oberon, asking why Odin was here, but Oberon avoided his gaze.
Clea thought Odin looked familiar.
And hearing Odin’s words, she realized who he was.
“Little bird, tell me.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Are these the ones troubling you?”
That there was someone who had said the same thing to her before.
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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