A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Chapter 172 Living Ten Years Less

At that moment, there was a click as Maria opened the door. Then the two people on the phone were standing face to face.

Maria was the first to hang up. She asked blankly, "What do you want?"

James put his phone away and didn't answer her question. Instead, he approached the woman and forced her into the room.

As the door closed automatically behind him, he pressed her against the wall and asked, "What do I want? I want you."

Maria was speechless.

The man picked her up and strode towards the bed.

Maria struggled. "I don't want this. Get out!"

Throwing her on the bed, James caged her between his arms and stared deeply into her eyes. "I'm not angry right now. Why are you?"

"It has nothing to do with you. I'm just angry with myself!

James held her wrists tightly as he said, "You owe me a detailed explanation."

Since she had no other choice, Maria explained thoroughly, "I brought you gifts from abroad and wanted to give them to you. But when I got in your office, I saw you so intimate with Alina. I was upset, even though I had no right to stop what was going on between you two. Anyway, how could I feel happy about it?"

James fell into silence. He recalled the day when he was with Alina. What kind of intimacy was there between them? There was none. Wait! He was just misled by her. "Alina is my fiancee. What's wrong with me being intimate with her?"

"Nothing. I'm just angry with myself, okay?"

"Okay." Getting off her, James warned with a gloomy face, "I advise you to stay away from Colby Zheng. He's not as simple as you may think."

Maria was well aware that Colby was more dangerous than what met the eye, but she couldn't afford to step back now.

Just like she knew it wouldn't be easy to deal with James, she insisted on getting close to him and annoying the hell out of him, regardless of the consequences.

Therefore, Maria didn't respond to the man's warning. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

James was pissed. "When he frames you one day, don't come and ask for my help!" He had noticed how hard Maria was trying to get close to Colby and earn his trust.

"Why would I do that? I can always turn to Mr. Jiang, Mr. Wang, or Mr. Li instead of you. After all, I'm just a second-hand woman."

At the sound of that, James rested his hands on his waist, enraged. How dare she say such a thing? Who was the one to pick up a fight during dinner just now? "You're right. At most, you'll fool around with me. How could I think you'll come to me for help? Maria Song, I hope you won't go back on your word."

Maria didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, it occurred to her this was not how she wanted things to go.

Sobering up, Maria realized her emotions almost got the best of her just now.

She warned herself, 'Maria, think before you speak. Don't let your heart rule your head.'

Her future depended on James, so how could she not come to him in a time of need?

At that thought, the woman sat up on bed and wrapped her arms around the man's neck while playing with his tie. When she spoke again, her tone was gentle, totally different from before. "I was just kidding. Don't be angry with me!"

James didn't buy her act, so he pulled her away with a sneer. "What trick are you playing now?"

"There's no trick. I was just pissed off and wanted to vent my anger. Now I'm fine. Give me a hug!" She shamelessly rubbed herself against him.

James pulled her away again. "So, you want to just fool around with me?"

"No. I love you, James. I mean it! If I could be with you for the rest of my life, I wouldn't mind living ten years less."

'Huh! She's a really good actress,' the man thought to himself. Next, he uttered, "I wonder where's the woman who said she wanted to marry Lawrence just two days ago!"

Maria gritted her teeth discreetly. She thought women were the ones supposed to hold grudges, not men. But she was wrong. Instead of provoking him, she smiled apologetically. "I guess I'm changeable. Now that I've realized how nice you can be, I don't want him anymore!

How could James believe a word she said? He took her arms away from him and turned around, walking towards the door.

But since he had come all the way to her room, she wouldn't let him go so easily.

Still clenching her teeth, Maria ran after him and jumped on his back.

With the impact, James stretched out a hand to support her for fear she might fall while he tried to regain his balance.

The woman whispered in his ear, "I bought a bottle of perfume in France and sprayed it on my underwear. Do you want to smell it?'¹

James was speechless. He pulled the woman from his back into his arms and looked at her.

Maria undid his tie with a smile. "This one doesn't look good on you. Remember to ask Summer to bring you the tie I bought for you tomorrow."

"Don't you mind my relationship with Alina?"

"Not at all. You're a businessman. I don't mind how many women you may have."

"You just don't care, then?"

Enduring the urge to blurt out that she wanted to slap each of those women, Maria shook her head. Then she threw the loosened tie aside and answered insincerely, "No, I don't."

Immediately, James pulled the woman down with a blank face.

As her feet touched the floor, Maria asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

James buttoned up his shirt and said, "I'm going to find another woman."

His words made Maria's blood boil. She was just trying to please him. How dare he act so arrogantly? Too nauseated to keep staring at the man's face, Maria strode to the door and opened it. "Goodbye!"

James left with no hesitation.

Bang!

She slammed the door so hard that the impact made the windows shake.

Once again, the two people parted ways in discord.

The next morning, Maria left H City by herself without telling anyone.

In a village, hundreds of kilometers away from H City, Maria was taken to the fields by a middle- aged woman in a shabby shirt and jeans.

Finally, she stopped in front of a tomb. "Maria, this is where Candice lies."

The village wasn't very advanced, and burial was more common than cremation.

Pulling out some cash from her bag, Maria gave it to the woman. "Aunt Ann, thank you for taking care of me in the past. It's not much money, but I want you to have this as a sign of my appreciation for everything you did. Please, take it."

The woman's eyes widened when she saw the thick stack of money in Maria's hand. There were at least ten thousand dollars in it.

In a hurry, she put the basket she was carrying on the ground and nervously rubbed her hands on her clothes in order to clean them. Still, she didn't dare to take the money immediately. With a faint smile, she said guiltily, "No, I didn't do anything. How can I take it?"

"Just do it! It's yours." Maria then stuffed the money into her hands. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to stay here alone for a while. Please, Aunt Ann, if you have something else to do, go ahead. I can get back on my own later."

Ann was so excited that she almost burst into tears.

"Okay. Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? I'll cook your favorite meal from when you were a child."

Her favorite meal? When Maria was a young girl, she loved eating almost everything because hunger was part of her everyday life.

Not wanting to embarrass Ann, however, she nodded. "Thank you. I'll come over later."

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

The next moment, Ann left, leaving Maria alone.

In the countryside, whenever someone visited a tomb, paper-made money were taken with them. Gladly, Ann had already prepared those in advance for Maria.

Looking at the neatly arranged paper-made money in the basket, Maria squatted down. Then she took the lighter and lit a stack. "I'm sorry I haven't come back to see you until now, Aunt Candice."

In fact, she had never returned since she left at the age of eight.

Sometime later, Candice went to H City looking for Elaine twice. Maria was at school at the time, so they didn't get a chance to meet.

After burning everything there was in the basket, Maria stood up again and whispered, "Take care of yourself in heaven. If you happen to meet Arthur, please take care of him for me."

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