A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 17 I'll Make Your Life A Living Hell

Coming back to her senses, Maria turned around and skillfully got away from the bodyguards' grip. The men froze, unsure whether to proceed or not since James didn't give them further instruction. But Maria didn't have to wait for anything.

With James' fingers still imprinted on her pale neck from earlier in the car, she gasped for breath and glared at him. Her lips curled into a sneer as she challenged, "That's all you can do, James? If you have the guts, kill me! Then I can reunite with Arthur in heaven!"

'Arthur? How dare you mention him?'

James pushed aside the bodyguard who was wiping the beer off him, and stood up from the sofa, walking to Maria. "Rest assured, I'm not going to kill you."

As he approached, Maria felt an invisible pressure emanating from him. She knew that this man had something mean to add. Confirming her suspicions, James continued, "But I'll make your life a living hell!" The next second, Maria took a deep breath and changed her tactic. Putting on a gentle smile, she asked, "So, you want me to have sex with your bodyguards? Well, it's just a few men. It's a piece of cake!" Maria turned and looked at the bodyguards up and down carefully. Seeing that her attitude suddenly softened, the men felt confused. However, they didn't try to subdue her again.

James stared at her coldly and didn't say anything.

Maria walked around the bodyguards and smiled charmingly at one. Raising his chin with a finger, she greeted, "Hello, handsome! Since Mr. Xi here has given us such a valuable opportunity, why don't we enjoy it? Let's go get a hotel room."

The bodyguard didn't move but looked at the silent man next to him, trembling with fear. He knew this woman wasn't just anybody to James. How could he agree with such a proposal?

Noticing the coward look on his face, Maria became enraged again. She then grabbed the bodyguard's tie and made him stare into her eyes as she ordered, "Don't look at him! He's just a heartless man. Now, command you to check in a hotel room with me!"

"Okay! I will!" Startled by her strength, the bodyguard nodded in agreement.

James cast a glance at the woman and said, "No need to get a hotel room. Go ahead and use this one!" In fact, he wanted to prevent her from escaping. She must learn her lesson today!

As soon as he finished speaking, James left the room without sparing another look at her.

He heard Maria call him a petty man behind his back, but silently, he took Lorenzo, who was standing outside the private room, to a business dinner downstairs.

The private room's door was locked from outside, and Maria sat on the sofa angrily, cursing James fiercely. The next moment, she glanced at the bodyguards and decided to release her rage through a good fight against them.

Ten minutes later, in another private room, James had just finished greeting his guests and was about to start having dinner when the door was pushed open unexpectedly from the outside.

At that moment, a soft female voice came from the door. "James, could you please come out for a second?"

Attracted by her voice, everyone in the room turned their head and saw a woman with a cigarette between her fingertips leaning lazily against the door frame. She had her eyes fixed on the man sitting in the host's seat.

James had changed from his beer-stained navy suit to a black one. He looked quite decent.

Following Maria's movements, her white cardigan slipped down from her shoulder, revealing the strap of her tank top inside. The men at the table couldn't help but gulp, feeling like loosening their ties. Only the man in the host's seat didn't spare a look at her, replying in a cold tone, "Go ahead and tell me here."

Maria didn't seem tortured at all. In fact, she stood at the door, provocative. He wondered what had happened in the private room in these past ten minutes. Still, he couldn't help cursing the bodyguards in his head, 'Losers!'

The woman exhaled the smoke and said calmly, "I dropped my earrings while we were in your car just now."

The men exchanged looks as they heard this. Noticing the bruises on the woman's neck, everyone assumed that she and James must have been involved in some intense lovemaking in the car. Some men were indiscreet to the point of glancing between Maria and James several times.

As if she hadn't noticed the looks on those men's faces, Maria added, "That pair of earrings cost me 300 thousand dollars. They were so expensive!"

Unaffected, James told his assistant, "Lorenzo, give Ms. Song three million dollars and tell her not to bother me again!"

In his head, however, he couldn't believe her audacity. 'Maria Song, how dare you ask me for earrings after damaging my suit? If I asked you to compensate for it, it would cost you a dozen of your earrings. You have no shame!' Nevertheless, James didn't want anything to do with Maria anymore. After giving her 300 million dollars as alimony six years ago, he didn't care about this small amount of money now only to be rid of her.

"Yes, Mr. Xi!" Lorenzo began to write a check.

'How can Mr. Xi give Maria Song three million dollars so easily? I'd rather give it to the homeless. Or, at least, it could have been a bonus for all my hard work,' Lorenzo thought, failing to mask the trace of disdain that flashed across his face.

Unemployed, Maria was certainly short of money, so she took the check from Lorenzo and kissed it happily. Before she left, she commented, "Mr. Xi, this is so generous of you! Let's keep in touch! I'm just a phone call away."

The other men exchanged looks again as Maria disappeared through the door.

The atmosphere in the room was notably awkward then. Maria's farewell sounded a lot like that of a prostitute to her client. Everyone could not help but imagine all sorts of things that might have happened between her and James. It seemed that they got to know a whole different side of James today.

However, the man sitting in the host's seat was James Xi, so no one dared to question his relationship with that woman out loud. In their heads, they already knew the answer anyway. Some men smiled knowingly to each other with the thought.

On her way out, Maria looked at the check triumphantly. Honestly, she had never bought earrings that cost 300 thousand dollars.

'Mr. Xi, I'm sorry for lying to you. The earrings didn't cost anything near what I told you, and I didn't drop them in your car either.' In reality, she dropped them in Room 666 sometime during her fight against the bodyguards. She didn't bother to look for them before running downstairs. After all, it was just a pair of earrings worth 300 dollars or so.

As she was about to leave the club with the check, she recognized a familiar figure turning in the corridor. Since she was not in a hurry to get anywhere, she smiled and changed her mind about leaving.

With a cold look on her face, Alina squeezed her black purse furiously as she walked towards the private room in her high-heels.

She was told that half an hour ago Maria got out of James' car and walked hand in hand with him into the Leopard Club.

As far as Alina knew, James had an important business dinner in the five-star hotel below the Leopard Club. 'James, why did you bring that bitch to such an occasion?'

Just the thought of Maria made Alina wish she could crush her face like the purse in her hand now. Ignoring the waiter chasing after her, Alina rushed to the private room where James' dinner was taking place. But as soon as she was about to push the door, she didn't have the guts to proceed. How could she open that door and question the man behind it as if he owed her an explanation?

She was just the latest woman to get involved with James. Although she believed they would get engaged soon, their families were yet to arrange the details. Therefore, she had no right to accuse him of anything at present.

Moreover, now that Maria was back, Alina had to pay closer attention to her own actions so that James wouldn't get tired of her.

Considering this, Alina suppressed her anger and jealousy, turning around to ask the waiter to announce her presence to the people in the private room.

The waiter nodded and announced Alina. After receiving permission to let her in, he pushed the door open for her. Alina immediately put on a bright smile. Almost every guest at the dinner was a business tycoon in H City. They were already familiar with Alina, who was a member of Tang family. Besides, the news that she was likely to marry James had already spread throughout the city. Hence, everyone greeted her politely after she came in.

Although Maria had just left with James' check, none of those businessmen considered mentioning it in front of Alina.

They were all used to the fact that a man should be surrounded by several women. And for a wealthy and successful man such as James, it couldn't be any different. If it were, it would be an abnormality. As for Alina, the moment she realized Maria was not at the table, she heaved a sigh of relief.

Both seats next to James had already been occupied. Nonetheless, one of them was promptly offered to Alina.

After the waiter brought her the tableware, Alina gracefully raised a glass of liquor and stood up with an apologetic smile. "Please, forgive me for my sudden appearance. I was just passing by when I heard James is here, and I came to see him. I hope you don't mind my intrusion."

As soon as she finished her words, a man flattered her. "Of course not! We don't mind it at all. Ms. Tang, soon you'll become Mrs. Xi. It's our honor to have you here with us!"

"That's right, Ms. Tang. Hopefully, you won't forget about us once you become Mrs. Xi!"