Coming down from the treadmill and catching her breath, the woman asked again.
“What does Christmas mean to someone who couldn’t even protect their only child?”
Butler Kim looked pitiful.
“Young Master is doing well. Didn’t I go up to meet him last time? So, Madam, I…”
“I’m not Madam.”
Without realizing it, the woman corrected her habit that had popped out.
Butler Kim, startled, corrected himself.
“I apologize, Miss.”
Butler Kim originally worked for the woman’s family. The term “Miss” was the title she was called before marriage. After marriage, she was, of course, called Madam, but she didn’t want to be called that again. Being called Miss over fifty was embarrassing, but rather than being called Madam, she preferred to die.
The woman wanted to erase the time she had lived as Daewon Group Madam from her life.
Even though she could become the chairwoman herself, she chose to step back and insisted on being called Madam. She believed it was a wise decision as a wife to boost her husband’s ego. She thought leaving external matters to her husband and simply raising children and managing the household would be her happiness.
And what was the result?
Her father from her family died of shock, and for a whopping 14 years, she lived in that hellish place, and her child, more precious than her own life…!
Unseen tears of blood flowed from the woman’s overwhelmed eyes.
Why not run right now and hug her son? She wanted to do that since the moment she escaped from that hell. She wanted to tell him that his mother is alive, that she didn’t abandon him.
But going back to her son with a broken body and empty hands would only be a burden. Besides, her son, who lived in pain due to her foolishness, could not bear any additional weight on his shoulders.
The woman bit her lip and endured the longing for her son. Even in this moment, she endured each second. She sweetly accepted even the pain that felt like scraping her bones. The deeper the pain, the sharper the blades of revenge she wielded would become.
Soon, the time would come.
She would repay all the pain she suffered while imprisoned, along with the pain she is enduring now.
Yeonhwa. That devilish woman had slapped her cheek and boasted.
“Now I am Daewon Group Madam!”
Madam.
Such a name, she could throw it at that cursed woman.
She would reclaim the position that originally should have been hers.
Stopping her thoughts there, the woman changed the topic.
“What about that Miss? Did you find out?”
Butler Kim shook his head with a grim expression.
“At the age of twenty, including deceased individuals, we’ve searched nationwide, but there’s no Joo Eun-hye beyond twenty-seven. It seems she might have been using a pseudonym.”
To think that the name of the benefactor who rescued her from hell was a pseudonym.
The woman let out a short sigh. She didn’t even have time to take a long breath.
“If you’re alive, someday we’ll meet.”
Kang Hyesun, the woman who returned from hell, got back on the treadmill and increased the speed.
Eunseo, who came out to the main hall after waking up in the morning, blinked once again at the surreal scene. The table where they had the Christmas dinner yesterday was completely cleared, and in its place, beautifully wrapped gift boxes were piled up.
“What’s all this?”
“Gifts to take to the Big Love House. Can’t go empty-handed.”
The man, who was already perfectly dressed, answered. Eunseo playfully asked, thinking about how much Secretary Choi must have struggled.
“Which one is mine among these?”
“None.”
Because of his too firm answer, Eunseo felt a little embarrassed.
“I asked what you wanted, and you said you didn’t have anything?”
She regretted not saying anything, but in fact, when she thought about it, there was nothing she really wanted.
“Wash up and come out. We need to leave.”
Wondering why he was in such a hurry to do something in the afternoon, Eunseo, thinking so, obediently finished getting ready and came out.
The two loaded the trunk with gifts and snacks and headed to the ‘Big Love House.’
“Eunseo noona!”
Yohan, not forgetting the Eunseo he saw just a few days ago, ran up happily, calling her.
That day, shocked by the fact that it wasn’t Eunho, she couldn’t even say a warm word. Seeing Yohan happily greeting her, Eunseo felt both hurt and angry.
That woman was the only one she couldn’t forgive, she thought again.
After sharing snacks and gifts, spending half a day at the ‘Big Love House’ and coming back, Eunseo suddenly became gloomy.
On days like this, thoughts of her brother became more intense. Was our Eunho spending Christmas somewhere in a facility? Why isn’t our sister coming, and is she sad…?
Lost in various thoughts, Eunseo didn’t even realize where the car was heading.
“What did you talk about with the social worker earlier?”
Seungju, who took the steering wheel, suddenly asked.
“I’ll tell you later. …But where are we going now?”
Only then did Eunseo realize that they were crossing a bridge. They never crossed the Han River bridge on the way home.
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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