Last night’s early evening rain grew stronger, and by morning, it was pouring as if the sky had opened up.
The storm seemed to be intensifying, and Adeline woke up to the sound of the torrential rain.
The window hinges creaked under the weight of the downpour.
“Is this house going to be okay?”
It was, after all, the villa of the Thorpeo family, despite being neglected.
Yesterday, watching the rain, she thought everything would be fine.
“Surely, the Thorpeo family’s villa won’t collapse.”
But the intense downpour began to worry her.
The rattling windows seemed to signal an impending disaster.
Soon, her worries turned into reality.
With a thunderclap, a flash of lightning was followed by the sound of something splitting.
“What, what’s that? Oh!”
Shocked by the loud noise, Adeline rushed to the window and gasped.
A large tree struck by lightning had split in two and was now leaning towards the mansion’s wall.
“What’s happening, Adel?” The Duke hurried to her side.
She frantically pointed to the window.
Through the window, the half tree slowly tilted towards the mansion.
It all happened in an instant. The falling tree crashed through the window into the mansion.
Adeline and the Duke exchanged a look of disbelief.
“What do we do?”
“Oh no. The window is completely ruined.”
Adeline sighed, hardly believing the situation.
She paced around, unsure what to do next.
Then another loud crash was heard, this time from a nearby room.
“That sound! Isn’t it from the office?”
They quickly left the bedroom and headed to the office.
Sure enough, the office window was shattered, glass strewn everywhere, and the rain was pouring in.
“Oh my God.”
Adeline’s sigh was laced with despair.
Yet, standing there wasn’t a solution. She began picking up the glass shards.
The Duke, noticing her, intervened.
“You’ll hurt yourself. Let me do it, get out of here.”
Reluctantly, Adeline stepped back and looked at the barely hanging window.
‘How to repair this?’
As she approached the window, the rain soaked her through.
Ignoring it, she tried to remove the hinge with her bare hands.
The Duke, almost done with the glass, noticed her dangerous action and shouted.
“Adel, let’s call a repairman! It’s too rainy, we can’t do this.”
“No.”
Adeline insisted, struggling with the hinge.
“Just call a repairman.”
The Duke reached out to stop her.
“Don’t do this!”
Adeline fiercely shook off his hand and unexpectedly shouted.
If they called a repairman and he recognized the Duke as Thorpeo…
But the Duke, unaware of her concerns, didn’t understand her refusal.
“Adel! Why are you being so stubborn…”
“Ah!”
Adeline lost her balance and fell from the window frame.
As she fell, the sharp edge of the twisted hinge sliced through her palm.
A groan escaped her lips. Blood oozed from her palm, dripping onto the floor.
“I told you not to do it!”
Upon seeing the blood streaming from Adeline’s palm, the Duke’s anger boiled over.
He knew she was stubborn, but he hadn’t expected such recklessness.
He had been anxious watching her precariously balance at the window, trying to fix it.
And now, this accident.
“Why are you so stubborn?! Let’s see the wound.”
He examined Adeline’s palm, his brow furrowing deeply.
“Ah, it’s a deep cut. Wait, I’ll get some medicine.”
He stormed out, slamming the door. Alone, Adeline slumped down, her head in her hands.
“Ah…”
Nothing was going right.
She hadn’t really believed she could fix the broken window herself.
But given the situation, she couldn’t call a repairman, so she tried to fix it herself.
‘I didn’t want to get hurt. Why is he angry when I’m the one injured?’
As she was welling up with emotions, the Duke returned and silently treated her hand.
Adeline’s gaze fell on his back.
The office became more drenched as the rain poured in.
“We need to block the rain…”
Muttering to herself, Adeline’s words drew the Duke’s attention.
He surveyed the room and pointed to a piece of furniture.
“Let’s use that to block the window for now. It seems movable. And we’ll call a repairman tomorrow.”
Adeline gasped at the furniture he indicated – it was covering the passage to the basement.
“No!”
She couldn’t reveal the passage to the basement. She had no choice but to keep objecting.
“Why not?”
His brow furrowed.
“Why are you being so obstinate?”
The Duke couldn’t understand her stubbornness, unaware of her inner turmoil.
“Anyway. If it’s no, it’s no. Just leave it. I’ll take care of the house.”
“Fine! Do as you please. I can’t understand anymore.”
Annoyed by Adeline’s stubborn and irritated tone, the Duke got up and left the office.
Adeline approached the window and angrily drew the curtains.
She was fed up with the relentless rain.
Her wet dress clung to her, and her injured palm throbbed, only adding to her frustration.
Adeline, uncomfortable in her damp dress, returned to the bedroom.
Was the villa always this large? The bedroom felt eerily quiet and dark today.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
