Prologue
When Cordelia woke up in the morning, she realized it was her twentieth birthday.
At seven, she had wished for a big teddy bear.
At ten, she wanted to be a happy princess from a fairy tale.
By fifteen, her only wish was to escape the suffocating poverty.
“Blessed dawn star, protector of Vasquez.”
She clasped her hands, praying for a special gift on her twentieth birthday.
If you have any conscience, please grant this wish, she prayed fervently.
“Please, kill my husband.”
‘He’s not dead yet.’
As she looked sadly at her husband, the maid beside her offered insipid consolation.
“Don’t worry too much, young madam. The master will wake up soon.”
“Yes, he should.”
She forced a smile. The maid began wiping the hands of the man lying motionless like a corpse.
Cordelia’s husband, Craig Abrams, had been unconscious for five months since his horseback accident.
Initially, the physician had given him only ten days, but now it had been five months.
‘He should have died cleanly in that fall. How long must I care for this living corpse?’
Cordelia thought this dreadful sentence without batting an eye.
Sometimes, when alone in the room, she was overwhelmed with the desire to smother him with a pillow.
‘You’re the daughter of Vasquez? Your face is fine, but what about your figure?’
On their wedding night, Craig leered at his bride with disgusting eyes, assessing her from head to toe.
Humiliated for the first time in her life, Cordelia’s face burned red. Craig’s two mistresses laughed heartily at her reaction.
‘Tonight’s our first night as a couple. How can you bring other women into our bridal chamber?’
‘Yes, I know. I prepared them especially for you. Meet Alicia and Elizabeth.’
Craig Abrams’ character didn’t take long to assess.
On the first night of their marriage, he shamelessly played around with his mistresses in the bedroom, unashamed in front of his new bride.
“The master should wake up soon.”
“That’s right.”
While uttering these insincere words, the door burst open without any warning.
“Oh my!”
Startled, the maid spilled the wash water, soaking the bed and dripping onto the floor. Her face turned pale.
“Oh dear, what a mess.”
“What’s going on here?”
An irritated woman’s voice came from behind. Cordelia hastily stood up.
“Madam, you’re here.”
“Without me around, you spill water on my son? You’ve gone mad!”
“Madam, actually…”
The maid tried to confess, but Cordelia intervened.
“I’m sorry, Madam. It’s my fault.”
“Sorry? That’s it? Craig’s bed is drenched! Poor my son. Such an incompetent wife… Get up, my heart aches for you.”
The elaborately dressed woman dabbed at her dry eyes with a handkerchief. Cordelia stood silently, eyes lowered.
‘Anyone would think she’s his real mother.’
Although she feigned care, Helena and Craig actually despised each other.
After Craig’s biological mother died and Helena seized the position of the lady of the Abrams house, she openly criticized Craig’s debauchery.
However, when the previous Earl died suddenly, and Helena’s fate hung by a thread, her attitude completely changed.
“What are you standing there for? Clean up the water, will you? Craig must be freezing.”
End of Prologue
Under Helena’s pressing demand, Cordelia bent down to wipe the thoroughly soaked bed cover. Still unsatisfied, Helena spitefully remarked to Cordelia.
“Today, don’t eat and go to the temple to pray until tomorrow morning, so Craig wakes up safely.”
“I will do as you say.”
“Useless thing. We should never have let you into this mansion. Ever since you came, everything turned into a mess!”
“…….”
Helena glared at Cordelia with contempt, as if all the misfortunes were because of her.
“What does it matter if you’re from one of the sacred eight families? Hmph, totally ruined and crumbling. Do you even know how much the Abrams have invested in your family?”
“….I am always grateful, Madam.”
Cordelia forced a smile, trying hard not to reveal her decaying insides. It was the only way she could survive in this house.
The sacred eight families.
Eight families that founded Ershé with Emperor Wilhelm, also known as the Electors, as they possess the right to vote for the Emperor of Ershé.
However, one of these eight families, the Vasquez, had lost its glorious splendor and was now just a shell of its former self.
‘If it weren’t for my father, I wouldn’t have ended up in such a wretched state.’
Unfortunately, marrying Craig Abrams wasn’t Cordelia’s choice. It was because her father, blinded by gold, sold her off to pay for his medication.
The misfortunes of Vasquez escalated due to poor land and foolish investment failures. The little wheat harvested from their dwindling lands was their only source of income.
With only a few servants left, the Vasquez castle turned into a gloomy fortress, with even meat rarely gracing the table.
Yet, her father, the Elector of Vasquez, wouldn’t let go of his pride.
Instead, he sold his daughter.
“Cordelia, my daughter. Finally, you will do something of value.”
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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