rough summary bc I also don't wanna reread lol apologies for any wrong info!
A noble girl (Helena) died very young & her mother went crazy from grief. Her husband, super in love with her, kidnaps commoner FL (Lila) to raise her as the child. Fake mom dies BUT leaves her will to "Helena" and says if she's unmarried then the money will be donated. Fake dad re marries + new family all abuses FL. FL step brother is really creepy (Heavily implied SA). FL runs away and asks duke to marry her for 3 yrs. She says that she has a secret (she is NOT helena) & begs for help (I think she offers her inheritance but I dont rmbr)
As a child, FL remembers that this world is a novel that she read. In the novel she's an extra who blackmails ML into marrying her by saying that she knows his secret. After 3 yrs ML brings someone else into the picture (I THINK her name was Rose). Novel-her is divorced as she is an extra & Rose is his main love interest.
Back to chapter 1. She is now at the end of her 3 yrs. ML is super loving and she is anxious bc it is about to be 3 yrs but he is constantly reassuring her. THEN he brings Rose to the mansion and says she is a distant relative who he is helping (matches with the novel). She practically has a heart attack (she is very sickly btw). She is convinced he is cheating on her bc she thinks she saw them kissing + Rose and him are going shopping and spending all this time together and she is being disrespected. Rose has alll the maids and is getting super full of herself. It all culminated in him missing her Real birthday (Lila's; no one has celebrated it with her since she was kidnapped) bc he is out with Rose and he misses the plans they made. She is devastated so she decides ykw fuck it we ball and she leaves the ring + goodbye note and says now you can be with ur 1 true love. She goes 2 her family (REAL).
He reads this note and freaks out bc actually he is in love with her FRFR and he had no plans of divorcing her. Turns out Rose was brought in bc she is aware of the TRUE villain (step bro) and ML was using her to get information about what the step bro was doing. Rose was clearly flirting w him but he went along with it bc he thought it was a means to an end (he was very clear every time that he was annoyed tho). Rose had also lied to FL. ML tells Rose to fuck off and says he'll deal with her when he gets back.
ML is now rushing to find the FL. She's gone back to her real family so he rushes to the train station where BAM he gets into an accident and then GETS AMNESIA wakes up and then Rose seduces him and is like oh I'm the mistress. Your wife left you. He's like welll all signs point to yes (my wife literally left me and there's a marriage contract and YOU'RE here lol). So he basically hangs out w the mistress and tries to get his memory back. Nothing works.
FL is back with her real family who haven't seen her since she was kidnapped. lovely people nd they love her frfr! Turns out ML has been taking care of them since they got married. It's clear he loves her. She's happy but something is missing. She heard about his accident and rushes to the capital to see him. He is on a shopping date with Rose. She sees him and is heartbroken. She goes back home.
Eventually he is persuaded to go back to the FL to spend time with her in the hopes of getting his memory back. He dumps Rose bc of some suspicious stuff found, kicks Rose out of the mansion and sends her to the annex or whatever and she has no maids. She's dirt poor and then step bro finds her. Turns out he is ALSO abusing Rose and he tries to get her back. MEANWHILE ML hops on a train to FL. He ends up spending time with FL and he regains memory quickly. The more time he spends w her the more he knows that he loves her altho he doesn't know why he didn't say it b4. He ends up regaining all his memory and confessing to the FL.
This is where my memory gets really murky lol but he manages to convince her to get back with him and they agree to be together blah blah. There's some political drama (ML owns train station companies); FL eventually agrees to come back to be a Duchess again. Rose & step bro are dealt with.
Other background information: ML tragic backstory is his father was really abusive and eventually his mom snapped and killed the father ro protect the ML. However she went crazy after that from the shock and thought that the ML was his father bc they look exactly the same. He was besides himself with grief bc he lost both of his parents and his own mother can't look at him anymore so he sent her to a monastery. She eventually died there in the original novel. This is also how he meets FL in the OG novel (at his mom's funeral) nd she blackmails him w the knowledge of his father's death. In the novel he is both resentful of her for this blackmail and intrigued bc he begins to love her but doesn't know how to express it.
BUUUUT we find out that he actually has memories of this! He has been having dreams of his life with the FL for years. He rmbrd his feelings and specific conversations (like her blackmailing him. When he first sees FL and she asks him to marry her he says yes bc he realizes this is the person from his dreams who he is in love with. He decides that he will express his love better this time which is why he is clear during their marriage. It is kind of implied that this could be a second timeline rather than a book.
AND ANOTHER THING!!! The reason why he had a hard time caring abt FL post amnesia is because he has conflicting memories and feelings for her.. he remembers resentment and memories of her blackmailing him + he sees the evidence of her leaving and contract. All of his aids and advisors say he is in love with her + the maids all said they were together etc., but he can't decipher his feelings.
I think that's everything but I'll come back if I rmbr any important details post amnesia recovery arc lolll
Thank you!!!
No problem!!!
I’d like to add on by saying ML had his memories of the first timeline the entire time. There’s a chapter where we see that after the FL left in the first timeline he ends himself only to wake up back in the past. That’s why in the second timeline he’s slightly more affectionate to the FL. He still didn’t over express himself bc in this timeline FL tells him the truth and he’s not sure if she has feelings for him or not.
During his recovery, Lila and Aslan spent time together and she admits her feelings for him, but tells him his true love is Rosalie. She mentions how he should take his ring off and look at the name engraved on it. FL had heard rumors that ML had is true loves name engraved on the ring and that the name sounded like a flower. ML takes the ring off and says he knows who he loves and shows FL that it’s her name.
Closer to more recent chapters. Rosalie helps ML and FL get rid of Step bro via double agent style. ML has him killed. Rosalie is allowed to leave but never return. There’s a court case between this where FL is on trial for impersonation of a noble where fake dad admits to falsely presenting Lila as his dead daughter Helena for his wife. Lila gets to live as herself now not hiding behind someone else’s name. FL gets semi bullied at a party she was invited to but she stands up for herself. ML receives a letter from the monastery where his mother is being kept.
Thats all up to 56
Can someone please summarize this until chapter 55? I kind of forgot the plot and I don't wanna re-read