A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 188 Vindictive

There was pin-drop silence in the dining room. Sebastian then stood up, went to the living room, and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"It's me." Charlotte's voice came through on the other end of the line.

"Mom. How are you? Have you had dinner yet?"

"Not yet. Let me talk to James," Charlotte said without even asking if James was there.

Sebastian was confused. If she wanted to talk to James, why didn't she call James' mobile phone? He turned his head and looked at the dining room. Everyone else's eyes were fixed on him. He nodded and said, "Okay." Sebastian looked at James and said, "James, your grandma. She wants to talk to you."

James stood up and walked to the living room. He took the phone from Sebastian. "Hello, Grandma."

"James, Maria has cooked dinner. Now that you have gotten off work, why don't you come over and have dinner with us?" Charlotte's voice sounded kind and loving, but it was also firm, indicating that she could not be refused.

James thought for a while. Then he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go there now."

After hanging up the phone, he went back to the dining room and told Sebastian and Judy, "I'm going to see Grandpa and Grandma. Please go ahead with the dinner. Don't wait for me." Then he turned to Alina. "I'll ask the driver to send you back later."

Judy was startled by James' words. How could the two elders ask him to see them right now? Feeling disappointed, she couldn't help but wonder if they did it on purpose. She had exerted so much effort planning this birthday dinner for James. She carefully picked the dishes that the chef cooked. And now that the dining table was full of sumptuous dishes and they were about to eat, Charlotte suddenly called and asked him to leave.

Judy asked in confusion, "Are you in a hurry? Can't you just go there after dinner?"

James looked at her and answered, "Yes, I am." He didn't bother to give any more explanation.

Since he said that he was in a hurry, no one dared to say anything more.

Alina knew that Charlotte and Augustine didn't like her, so she didn't dare suggest going with James. She felt very uncomfortable, but she had to pretend to be considerate. "Go ahead. I'll have dinner with Uncle and Aunt. Drive safely."

"All right," James said with a nod. He then turned around and left.

As soon as the door closed, Judy sat down and asked, "Sebastian, it was your mom who called?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't she call James directly? Why did she call us on the landline?" Judy fell into deep thought. She had to figure it out.

Actually, Sebastian had already known the answer. Charlotte did it on purpose, but he didn't want to admit it. "Stop overthinking. She might have forgotten to call James' phone. It's just a meal. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Alina is still here anyway. Let's eat now."

Upon hearing Sebastian, Judy came back to her senses. She turned to Alina and said, "Alina, come on. Let's eat."

"Thank you, Auntie." Alina forced a smile. She wanted to show that she appreciated Judy's kindness.

When she heard Judy's question to Sebastian just now, she also suspected that Charlotte deliberately asked James to leave. After all, neither of his grandparents liked her.

James arrived at his grandparents' house fast. As soon as he entered, he smelled the delicious aroma of the food.

He put on his slippers and walked into the living room where Augustine was watching TV and Charlotte was sitting next to him.

He peeked into the kitchen and saw two women busy cooking, similar to the scene when he came over last time.

When Charlotte saw him walking in, she turned around and gave him an order. "The dishes should be almost ready. Go help them prepare the table."

James couldn't think of any words to say. So he just nodded, turned around, and walked into the kitchen.

Tami saw him coming in, so she smiled and greeted, "Hi, Mr. Xi. You are here."

"Hmm."

Tami was quite sensible. She walked out of the kitchen with two dishes in her hands.

Maria was chopping some ginger for her last dish. When she turned her head and saw James, she was a little shocked. Then she felt a pain in her hand. She quickly put down the kitchen knife in her hand. She was an experienced cook, but she got her finger cut. How embarrassing!

James strode over, grabbed her hand, and asked with a frown, "Why are you so careless?"

The wound was neither deep nor shallow, but it began to bleed.

"Who knows that you will suddenly appear?" His sudden appearance startled Maria.

James' face darkened at once. "Are you blaming me?"

"Yes."

He was not in the mood to argue with her, so he called Tami. "Tami, the first aid kit." While waiting for Tami, James put Maria's bleeding finger under the faucet to wash the blood away. Augustine and Charlotte heard him asking for the first aid kit, so they rushed to the kitchen together.

"What happened?" Augustine asked.

Maria felt a little embarrassed, so she quickly withdrew her hand from James' grip and turned around. "It's nothing, Grandpa. I just cut my finger by accident. Nothing serious." Augustine frowned. "What is wrong with you?" he asked.

Maria thought that Augustine was talking to her. But when she looked back to explain, she found that he was looking at James.

James met Augustine's eyes and was silent.

Augustine continued scolding him, "Why are you looking at me like that? Yes, I'm blaming you. You're a man who doesn't even know how to take care of his wife. Look at you. You just watch Maria cut her finger."

Everyone else was rendered speechless.

Maria didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. She tried to explain, "Grandpa, it was not his fault. I was just careless."

"You don't need to speak for him. You were fine before he came here. As soon as he entered the kitchen, you cut your finger. He must be the reason."

Charlotte, who was standing next to Augustine, just watched the scene with a smile. She didn't say anything.

With James and Maria's presence, the atmosphere in their house became more harmonious.

James cast a cold glance at Augustine and said, "Something's wrong with your eyes. I'll ask John to arrange a doctor to check you tomorrow."

"You brat! There is nothing wrong with my eyes. I still have a perfect vision. Unlike you young people, most of you are nearsighted."

Tami came with the first aid kit, and Maria was about to take it.

However, Augustine stopped her. "Your hand is injured. What else do you want to do? James, why are you still standing there? Don't you know what to do? You can't blame me for scolding you. You are not sensible at all!"

James remained silent, and Maria was amused by the look on his face. She almost burst into laughter. She didn't know that James could also become humble and pitiful.

James took the first aid kit from Tami. He stared at Augustine coldly and retorted, "Then why are you still standing here? Do you want to be the third wheel?"

This time, it was Augustine who was rendered speechless. 'All right, all right,' he thought inwardly. He then turned around and walked to the living room, mumbling to Charlotte, "Let's go. We are not needed here."

Maria smiled, but she didn't dare to make a sound.

Before walking out of the kitchen, Charlotte told Tami to finish cooking the last dish and asked James to take Maria out to clean her wound. She then followed Augustine back to the living room.

James opened the first aid kit. He took out the tincture of iodine and started to disinfect Maria's wound. He felt that her body was trembling, and he knew that it was because she was holding back her laughter. He raised his eyes to look at her and asked, "Is it so funny?"

James didn't replace it amusing at all. In fact, he felt that Augustine was getting more and more unreasonable.

Finally, Maria couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter. "Yes, it's so funny," she answered between laughs. James was scolded but didn't dare to retort. This was really funny.

Casting her a sidelong glance, James said flatly, "It seems that it doesn't hurt anymore. How about I disinfect it with alcohol?"

Maria shut up. He was indeed a Scorpio. He was so vindictive.

After disinfecting her wound, James took out a Band-Aid and threw it to her. "Put it on."

Looking at the Band-Aid in front of her, Maria picked it up silently and walked to the living room. "I'll ask Grandma to help me."

"Wait!"

Maria tittered. But when she looked back, her expression had already returned to normal. She pretended to be confused. "What's wrong?"

James grabbed the Band-Aid from her hand, tore it open, and ordered impatiently, "Give me your hand." "Mr. Xi, I'm so sorry for bothering you to put the Band-Aid on my finger. But thank you."