“It’s been a while.”
With her hair fluttering, Yulia ran towards the Duke. Then, with an exceptionally bright face, she stood in front of the Duke. Her smile was so enchanting that it would be beautiful even to Rose, a woman.
Standing side by side, the Duke and Yulia were undoubtedly a well-matched couple. Although Yulia appeared to be large in stature, next to the Duke, she gave off a delicate impression.
“Well… They seem to match well.”
For some reason, Rose felt uneasy watching them together.
At that moment, from afar, the Duke’s eyes met hers. Unintentionally, Rose avoided the Duke’s gaze. It felt like she was an uninvited guest, disrupting their reunion.
For some reason, even though there was nothing between her and the Duke from the start, she felt strangely frustrated.
“…It’s all because of that incident.”
Rose closed her eyes tightly, feeling a mixture of emotions. Memories of almost kissing him, and the Duke dragging her into bed at the palace, filled her mind.
A bitter feeling washed over her. Even though he had an engagement, he behaved like that.
She thought all men were the same, yet… Ironically, she had secretly expected something special from the Duke.
She had even thought that maybe the Duke had a liking for her.
“No… The Duke was just carried away by the atmosphere, intoxicated by alcohol, and made a mistake.”
She almost fell for his kindness.
Having meals together, doing business… and living in the same mansion made her feel like she had become someone special to him, an amusing delusion.
She wasn’t in a good mood. Rose’s footsteps quickened.
Avoiding eye contact with the Duke, she left as if escaping the situation.
The Duke, watching her go, tilted his head in amusement.
When he moved to follow Rose, Yulia grabbed Duke Arteum.
She stared at him with eyes narrowed like crescents, fists clenched.
“Where are you going, Lucas?”
Duke Arteum looked her up and down in disbelief. He was so dumbfounded that his mouth didn’t close.
Yulia, seemingly unharmed by the Duke’s reaction, even seemed to find it amusing, poking fun at him.
“Why so shocked to see me after a long time? I almost fell over. Lucas.”
Arteum laughed and pushed her away as if trying to escape.
“Why are you acting like this, disgustingly.”
“Sorrowful, isn’t it? Are you more concerned about the woman who is temporarily dependent on me than me, whom you haven’t seen in a long time?”
“You…”
Duke Arteum scrutinized Yulia. He was now so dumbfounded that his mouth didn’t close.
Yulia, as if intending to be embraced by him, dug into his arms.
Duke Arteum, springing up, pushed her away.
“Why are you like this, repulsive.”
“Feel sad. Seeing someone I haven’t seen in a long time embarrasses you? I almost fell. Lucas.”
Yulia seemed unharmed by the Duke’s actions, even appearing playful.
“Do it in moderation, okay?”
Duke Arteum, with a stern expression, avoided Yulia’s embrace that was holding both of his cheeks.
The surrounding air froze as if even the atmosphere had turned chilly, but Yulia showed no sign of caring at all.
“Oh my, are you scared?”
Instead, she exaggeratedly gestured and winked at the Duke. The Duke, making a horrified expression, grabbed her wrist and led Yulia into the mansion. It was a rather forceful act for dealing with a lady.
“Lucas, you’ve become more powerful in my absence?”
“Please close that mouth of yours.”
Duke Arteum growled at Yulia with a displeased expression. The employees, who had become accustomed to the Duke’s gentle treatment of Rose, were taken aback by the Duke’s rough behavior. However, their surprise lasted only for a moment as they nodded, thinking, ‘That’s the original appearance of Duke Arteum.’
Because of his gentle demeanor towards Rose, they had almost forgotten his true nature.
“But… is it okay to treat the princess like that?”
“I don’t know. It seems like he might even like it.”
The servants whispered as they watched Duke Arteum dragging Yulia away.
Seeing Yulia’s face, she seemed to be enjoying herself, giggling and smiling.
“It seems like they’ve developed affection while bickering.”
“Right? They’ve been close since childhood. They seem to suit each other subtly.”
“Where’s the friendship between a man and a woman? It turns into ‘darling’ after a lot of bickering.”
“But… what about Lady Rose?”
When one maid mentioned Rose, an awkward glance was exchanged among them.
“Well… I saw her a while ago, and she seemed a bit hurt.”
The maids nodded in agreement while giving various responses.
At that moment, Nervan, who overheard their conversation, raised his stern gaze and interjected.
“Why would there be hurt feelings between Lord Duke and Lady Rose?”
They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t expect Nervan to join them, and their surprised expressions were evident.
“Don’t speak nonsense and get back to work.”
They quickly dispersed, glancing at Nervan.
Meanwhile, Rose returned to her room and was diligently examining business-related documents.
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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