The Secret Affairs of the Fake Duke Couple (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
Prologue
It was a nostalgic scent.
The fragrance that evoked a rain-drenched forest.
Inside the house, thrown into chaos by debt collectors, Jane lifted her head from where she sat on the floor.
At the doorway—its hinges torn off, standing wide open—stood a shadowy figure waiting for someone.
For a moment, Jane thought she must be seeing things. He had no reason to appear at her small, shabby home.
But it really was him.
With vivid golden hair, eyes like the sea, sharply defined brows, a prominent nose, and an aura where elegance mingled with raw intensity—there was only one such man in the entire kingdom.
Cain Hastings.
Jane’s former fiancé and the sole duke of the great Amblen Kingdom.
The arrogant man’s gaze swept over the ruined interior.
“You left me only to end up in squalor.”
Their reunion after seven years came at a moment she never expected—precisely when her lowest point was laid bare.
He strode decisively into the house.
“Pathetic.”
Each cold word he spat pierced Jane’s heart like a dagger.
“And utterly lacking in dignity.”
Jane tightly shut her eyes, then opened them again.
“How… did you get here?”
Her voice trembled pitifully.
He—clean, refined, and dignified—did not belong in this place at all.
“You’re asking the wrong question. You should ask why I came.”
“…Please leave.”
Cain’s expression darkened, but he quickly smoothed it away and spoke.
“I have a proposition.”
Jane swallowed hard, caught off guard.
That familiar face now wore an unfamiliar expression. Her eyes trembled slightly as she looked at the man who had once been her fiancé.
She felt herself being pulled back into the time when she loved him helplessly, and barely managed to tear her gaze away.
The lips that had once whispered “I love you” to her now moved with cold professionalism, uttering a detached voice.
“I need a woman to be the mother of my child.”
His icy eyes felt utterly indifferent. This man needed her.
His proposal was astonishingly rude—from someone who had once been her fiancé but was now as good as a stranger.
In his unchanged, condescending gaze, a familiar realization struck her.
“Get ready.”
The realization that she had no choice.
The Woman Whom God Loved
Jane Whitney was a woman who had everything.
A moderately wealthy family, virtuous and respected parents, a harmonious household, and a kind, handsome fiancé.
She was even renowned for her beauty throughout high society before her official debut.
Everyone who saw her rich, rose-red hair and gleaming jade-green eyes fell in love with her. Thus, she always gave thanks to God.
“Thank you for blessing me with so much.”
She believed she was favored by God.
But it took less than a single day for that belief to shatter.
No, even a day was too long. Five minutes—the time it took for the judge to read the verdict—was enough to destroy her life.
“Gillian Whitney and James Whitney, you are hereby arrested on charges of high treason. You are accused of supporting rebels who destabilized the nation and of conspiring against Her Majesty the Queen to transfer parliamentary power to commoners—an outrage deserving universal condemnation. All assets of the Whitney family are hereby forfeited to the state, and your entire household is banished beyond the capital.”
When the judge announced that he had come with the Royal Palace Knights, the Whitney household members who had rushed outside stood frozen in shock.
It was unbelievable.
Earl Whitney was an exceptionally noble man—though admittedly a bit unusual, but only regarding Jane.
They had taught Jane subjects like rhetoric, politics, and history—things ordinary young ladies never learned.
Yet he was the kind of man who personally composed poems for the Queen’s birthday and never looked down on physical labor.
There was no way the Whitneys could have supported rebels seeking to dismantle the royal family.
Jane grabbed the judge’s arm.
“Treason? That’s absurd! There must be a mistake. Are you certain this decree is meant for the Whitneys?”
“Step aside! Say another word and you’ll be dragged off too!”
A knight standing beside the judge sharply slapped Jane’s hand away. Stunned, she turned to look at her mother and father.
“Please say something! Anything!”
James and Gillian each took one of Jane’s hands. Jane clenched her jaw, lifted her drooping head, and locked eyes with her parents.
In that instant, everything became clear to her.
“Oh…!”
Jane staggered.
The verdict was correct. The Whitneys had indeed supported the rebels.
Her parents’ faces showed no remorse or regret—only resolve, conviction, and guilt for having shown their daughter such disgrace.
The Whitneys had supported the rebels.
“Carry out the sentence.”
At the judge’s cold command, the Queen’s soldiers seized the Whitney estate.
Their hands were merciless. Servants were dragged away, possessions shattered indiscriminately.
Jane could only stagger in place, watching helplessly as knights trampled her cherished home under their boots.
“Kyaaah! Master! Mistress!”
Only after a shrill scream shook the hall did Jane snap back to her senses.
“My lord! You brutes—let go of our Earl! Ugh—ack!”
The knights bound Gillian and James with ropes, prompting the servants to recklessly charge at them.
“Take your filthy hands off! These are criminals! Opposing us is the same as opposing Her Majesty! Do you wish to be arrested too?”
Even under the knight’s threats, the servants refused to let go—until brutal violence rained down upon them without discrimination.
Men, women, children—no one was spared. The fallen were stomped on deliberately, as if to make an example.
Jane bit her lower lip hard and clenched her fists. She had to move. With her parents gone, it fell to her to protect what remained of the Whitney name.
“Stop this!”
She stepped directly in front of a knight who had raised his sword high.
“Her Majesty commanded you to apprehend the guilty, not to beat innocent people.”
Jane stared straight at the judge who had read the verdict. The judge gave a regretful look and gestured to the knights.
When the knights withdrew, the judge turned to face Jane.
“Since Miss Whitney speaks so, we shall take our leave.”
The judge’s bow was exaggerated to the point of mockery—clearly ridiculing her.
In that single word and gesture, Jane fully grasped her changed status.
Without laying a finger on her, the judge had already shattered her.
Just as they had come, the judge and knights noisily departed.
As they were dragged away, the Whitneys smiled reassuringly at Jane—as if to say, “Don’t worry.”
“Father… Mother…”
Jane’s mind went blank.
She was no longer the noble daughter of a respected house—but the daughter of traitors.
She couldn’t even imagine what would change, or how wretched her life would become.
“What about Mother and Father? What will happen to them? According to the law, rebellion means…!”
Jane sucked in a sharp breath. Rebellion was punishable by death.
“I can’t just sit here. I must find someone to help me. There has to be someone.”
Even then, Jane still believed in the fate God had once favored her with.
She believed God wouldn’t abandon her so cruelly—wouldn’t take everything away.
[This is the timeline separator]The next day, Jane went to see Duke and Duchess Hastings.
The Hastings dukedom.
The family enjoying the Queen’s greatest trust, and a powerful house that had produced chairmen of the Noble Assembly for generations.
The Whitneys and the Hastings had maintained close cooperation in public spheres such as politics and business.
Privately, they were even closer—their bond sealed by the engagement between Hastings’ heir and Jane.
Since their marriage had been arranged from a young age, Duke and Duchess Hastings had grown fond of Jane since childhood and treated her with great affection.
Thus, without a second thought, Jane sought them out to overcome her crisis.
“Jane, you look terribly shaken. I was alarmed—and you must be even more so. What on earth happened? For someone so gentle to secretly be involved in…”
Ahem—the Duke of Hastings cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Jane, have you found somewhere to stay? I heard you must leave the capital.”
Duke and Duchess Hastings showed Jane genuine concern.
Truly the Hastings—exemplary nobles who remained consistently kind even to the daughter of convicted traitors.
They were unlike anyone else.
Her requests for help, sent urgently the previous night, had brought only bitter disappointment.
〈Don’t contact me again. If my parents find out I’m talking to you, I’ll be in big trouble.〉
〈Jane, your situation is unfortunate, but we’re in serious trouble ourselves because of your family. The losses are enormous. Sorry, but consider your message unanswered.〉
People who, just two days prior, had eagerly sought ties with the Whitneys now flipped their attitudes as easily as turning over a palm.
Only Duke and Duchess Hastings had responded positively to her plea and even permitted her visit.
“I’m deeply sorry to trouble you both. Though it’s shameless of me, I’ve come with a request.”
Jane was desperate—especially thinking of Earl and Countess Whitney confined in the detention center.
The detention center where her parents were held was infamous for its appalling conditions.
Rats scurried across the kitchen counters, beds were made of stone, and with no proper toilets, inmates had to relieve themselves in wooden buckets.
Dark clouds gathered over Jane’s face at the thought of her parents.
“Tell us anything, dear. You’re as good as our own child.”
Jane believed Duchess Hastings’ words wholeheartedly—the gentle tone even brought tears to her eyes.
She felt painfully guilty for having to make a request that would surely bring harm to such kind people.
But she had no choice—only they, with the Queen’s deep trust, could lessen the punishment awaiting her parents.
Jane squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.
“Please save my parents.”
A heavy silence pressed down on the drawing room. Duke and Duchess Hastings exchanged a peculiar glance.
“…Jane, that’s a very difficult request.”
At last, Duke Hastings’ tightly closed lips parted.
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
I don’t know if Both jane and cian were innocent or fool..jane’s parent crime is treason act.. it’s not weird if cain’s parent asked jane to break off the engagement.. how can both of them couldn’t see that would happen especially cain😑
Jeez l’m full of emotion and that was only the first chapter…
I feel like Cain has been working behind the scenes to get Jane back. I bet he sent the loan sharks to harass her too so she woild take him up on his offer