Trapped in the Mad Duke's Snare (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 26
Adeline returned to the toilette room, her stomach churning.
No matter how much she argued, it was clear the Duke would absolutely insist on presenting her at the banquet.
‘To dress me in something like this and parade me out.’
Unable to control her emotions, Adeline clenched the hem of her dress with trembling hands.
The toilette room was still filled to the brim with dresses Adeline had yet to try on.
Adeline hadn’t even had time to check if anyone else was in the room—she’d simply surrendered herself, lost in thought.
‘Is she ignoring me?’
Madam Violeta seemed hurt by Adeline’s behavior.
Violeta stopped taking measurements for alterations and moved to restrain Adeline.
“Oh dear, my Lady. You mustn’t grip the dress like that. You may not realize, but this fabric is so delicate a commoner could work their whole life and never afford it.”
Her meaning was clear: she looked down on Adeline, believing a commoner had entered the Duke’s household as his mistress and now wore a dress far above her station.
Yet Adeline couldn’t even argue with Violeta—after all, she was posing as the commoner Del.
“Madam, could you raise the neckline just a bit?”
Suppressing her rising anger, Adeline requested a design adjustment, hoping at least Madam Violeta might listen since the Duke himself was impossible to reason with.
At Adeline’s request, Madam Violeta scanned her from head to toe and said,
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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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (32)
Why is she so stupid? Why doesn’t she run away? She could leave or ask her friend for help, but she foolishly endures his insults.
Disgusting! Why put up with this humiliation? Is this the life she wanted and ran away from?
Wow trashy (the duke) has issues. He’s obviously a sadist. I really hope for her sake she isn’t pregnant.
Inline Comments (20)
The Duke, who had been listening silently, felt the corners of his mouth curl up
Is he enjoying humiliating her? Is this the person Adeline loved? A filthy bastard who enjoys her pain and humiliation. I can’t bear this. I really want to cry. It’s so disgusting that he doesn’t love her at all.
Without even fully glancing inside the den, the Duke turned away without hesitat
Someone who loves wouldn’t do this and take pleasure in exposing her body and insulting people.
The past, where she’d deceived and tormented him, refused to fade—and his mood d
This torment the Duke speaks of…I cannot recall it. Is this because he thinks Del has some scheme with her family backing to trick him?
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Artemtisforaday
I AM LITERALLY SEETHING MAD!!!!! I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN TAKE READING THIS!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡