For the past few days, he had been in a state of mental suffering to an extent that was hard to believe. As if he were afflicted by an illness, there was hardly any scent of the once poisonous roses emanating from him. When he suddenly opened the iron bars and tried to come inside, Aisha, in a seated position, took a step back. With a cold wall already behind her, there was no place left to retreat, making his appearance even more desolate. Karaf’s expression twisted even more painfully at her attempts to avoid him.
As all memories came flooding back, it seemed like Aisha’s thoughts about him and the current emotions she held were known even without her saying a word. However, in the next moment, Aisha’s eyes widened. Karaf descended slowly and, in an instant, knelt on the floor, bowing down before me. It was as if a fortress, seemingly indes
Kharaf now pleaded for forgiveness with a voice mixed with tears.
“I was wrong… I really… truly am sorry… I will make you happy. So, please don’t leave me…”
As he finished speaking, tears streamed down his face.
Ashah, frozen in astonishment at the unbelievable sight, wondered if he had ever uttered the words “I’m sorry” in his entire life.
Like a boy holding onto his mother trying to leave, Kharaf pitifully clung to her heels, unwilling to let go.
In that moment, memories of his childhood that Duran had shared with him flashed in her mind.
The rose, the embodiment of love, was the one thing he could not possess even after having everything.
For him, it was truly a tragedy, almost like a curse.
Now, Kharaf, trembling like he was holding onto straw, gently caressed Ashah’s feet and said, “When I returned after leaving you here, all memories flooded back. I remembered what I did to you in the past, the wounds I inflicted. I was truly a wretched person, a heartless wretch who didn’t deserve pity. Until I drove you to death, I was trash who didn’t even know what I did wrong.”
His breathing rough, Kharaf continued to speak, each word pronounced with difficulty.
It was hard to tell if he was crying or speaking, as his back heaved so violently. Tears, mucus, and saliva mixed into a liquid that dripped down to his feet like a thin thread.
In that state, he was in a panic, not thinking about his dignity at all.
“I don’t… I don’t know how to ask for forgiveness… Asking for forgiveness doesn’t make the past disappear… All I can do now is beg for your forgiveness…”
His body, filled with cold sweat, trembled as if he had just immersed himself in icy water.
He usually referred to himself as ‘I,’ but seeing him not doing so this time indicated that he had relinquished his imperial status in front of her.
“I was truly foolish. I was a fool who realized the value of a precious person only after letting them go… When you fell off the cliff, it felt like the world was crumbling… A truly precious person to me… I destroyed them with my own hands…”
Now he sobbed loudly, a cry filled with lamentation.
Ashah, unaware of when it happened, found herself shedding tears just like him.
Kharaf, unable to look at her, spoke with a choked voice at her feet.
“You don’t have to forgive me. You don’t have to make me bloom anymore. You can curse and hate me for a lifetime. I don’t deserve to be an emperor or to be loved by anyone. But… please don’t leave me as death, like my mother did…”
He now seemed like someone who had given up everything.
Even if she didn’t release the curse, even if she didn’t make him bloom…
That was the biggest goal of his life.
Yet, he was saying he would abandon it.
Perhaps he had heard the words of a dying subordinate before, and he, too, might have prepared himself to some extent…
And now it was her turn to make a decision.
Ashah slowly reached out one hand and gently raised Kharaf’s black hair.
He shuddered below.
“…Your Majesty.”
Ashah calmly spoke in a restrained voice, gently stroking his tangled hair with her delicate hand.
“Your Majesty, you can stand tall even without me. Just as you did when you first ascended to the throne, you can certainly do so again.”
Her words sounded like a tactful refusal, and Kharaf lifted his head with an earnest expression.
His enlarged eyes still had tears in them, and his disheveled face was full of moisture.
Perhaps because of the rose, even his face, ruined by crying, seemed decadent and beautiful.
But Ashah found it difficult to look at his face, as memories of his childhood came to mind.
“No, it can’t be. I’ll do anything, so please…”
“No. Your Majesty is a being that must stand alone without a butterfly. I will make it so. So, let’s make a contract.”
At her words in a language unknown to him, his pupils trembled.
As if trying to read Ashah’s thoughts, his desperate gaze searched her face.
Ashah, in a saintly manner, wiped away his tears with her thumb and spoke.
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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