A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 223 Reborn

"Are you hungry? I bought some food for you."

Indeed, Maria was quite hungry because she hadn't eaten for several days. "Sure," she answered.

Ethan called a nurse to help Maria sit upright and lean against the headboard.

The dinner was nutritious and well-prepared. It was purely vegetarian, most of which were liquid food. Ethan handed the spoon to Maria. "Are you strong enough to eat by yourself? Do you want me to feed you?"

Shaking her head, Maria smiled. "You don't have to do that, Ethan. I can do it myself."

"Oh, good."

Ethan watched her eat, and occasionally spoke to her.

But because she was tired, Maria didn't eat that much. However, she still didn't feel sleepy yet.

After tucking her in, Ethan noticed that her eyes were still red. "Does it still hurt?" he asked. James had told him that if Maria ever groaned in pain again, he should let her bite his arm to alleviate her sorrow. "It doesn't."

"Then why are you crying?"

Maria forced a smile. "I'm not crying." In reality, she was just touched that Ethan not only visited her, but also took the time to take care of her.

On the other hand, James had only visited her once during her whole stay in the hospital. He didn't spend more time with her.

"You're lying. Your eyes are red."

"Oh," she replied. "That's because the ashes of my ex-husband got into my eyes."

Outside the door, the man who was about to enter halted.

Ethan burst into laughter. "Aren't you afraid that James would teach you a lesson?"

She was afraid.

If James really wanted to punish her, he could kill her with a snap of his finger right now.

But Maria had always been a proud woman, so she couldn't bring herself to admit it. "Why should I be scared of him? He's nobody to me, and I have the freedom of speech." "The freedom of speech?" That cold voice came from the door.

The look on their faces drastically changed. Ethan looked like he was enjoying a good show; on the other hand, Maria looked disheartened. It was difficult for her to say something bad about James, and she got caught for doing so. Her recent misfortunes made her wonder why she was so unlucky lately.

"Do you want to go shopping with me some other day?" she asked Ethan.

Ethan was confused. "Why? Are you still planning to buy those blind boxes?"

"No, I'm going to buy a bead of luck this time."

Ethan was rendered speechless.

Seconds later, James entered, took off his gloves and overcoat, and hung the coat on the coat rack.

Afterwards, he glanced at Ethan.

Immediately, Ethan understood him and said to Maria, "You don't have to go there yourself. I have some spare time on my hands right now, so I'll go and buy one for you. Please wait for me to come back." "Wait a minute. Hey! Ethan!" Maria watched the young man run out of the ward without even looking back.

Now, only James and Maria were left inside the ward. He sat beside the bed, staring at her. "Who am I to you?"

"Nobody."

Once again, James asked calmly, "Is your ex-husband dead?"

"Yes. In my eyes, he's been long dead," she replied. It turned out that he had heard everything.

As of this moment, she was a patient, so she had the final say. She didn't think that he'd do anything to her. Hence, she remained proud.

"Do you think that I won't dare to punish you just because you're bedridden?"

Maria clammed up. She wondered if he could read her mind. "Yes." It was as if she was certain that he could not harm her right now.

In an indifferent tone, James asked, "I heard that you met up with Lawrence."

"Is there a problem with that?" It was needless to say that Lawrence must've told him.

The man stared at her intently. "Maria Song, I've never once thought of having you investigated. How would you like me to revive your ex-husband in your eyes?"

"What are you implying?" She had a bad feeling about his question.

"You'll remember me forever because I'll make you hate me even more." "And why should I hate you more?"

Instead of answering her question, James took out his phone and dialed a number. Once the call was connected, he looked at her and told the person on the other end of the line, "Investigate everything about Maria Song."

Maria was dumbfounded. She wanted to grab his phone at once.

Sadly, she not only failed to reach his phone, but also caused her wound to reopen. It was so painful that she could not breathe at all, and her outstretched arm was frozen in midair.

Upon seeing her reaction, James quickly dropped the call. "You're injured and yet you tried to move."

'If it weren't for you, would I have tried to move?' she cursed inwardly.

"What are you hiding from me? All I said was that I wanted to run a background check on you, and yet you reacted so strongly."

After she got ahold of herself, Maria answered, "Everyone has their own secrets. Even you, James Xi, have secrets that you can't tell me, but I haven't had you investigated. You should learn to respect my privacy. Call off the investigation."

"I'll let you investigate me if you want," he answered without hesitation. "But... what will you even replace out?"

It wasn't because he was underestimating her, but he was sure she could not replace out anything that he didn't want her to know.

His words left her so angry that her face turned pale. "What are you even doing here? Can't you just leave me alone?"

Ignoring her words, James answered, "Just lie down in silence. You're injured after all." He then helped her lie on the bed.

"It's none of your business!" she rebuffed.

Casting her a cold glance, James said, "If you don't behave yourself, I'll have someone investigate every single detail about you." If she didn't believe him, she could try.

Hearing that, Maria changed her manner of speaking all of a sudden. "Don't interfere with my personal life!"

James ignored her bullheadedness and asked, "Why didn't you call me the moment it happened?" Instead, she called him after she had gotten injured.

With regards to that, Maria felt a bit aggrieved. "Didn't you tell me not to call you? You said that you disliked my poor combat prowess..."

This was the first time that she was obedient to him. "I'll ask someone to replace out who attacked you."

"Are you planning to avenge me?"

The man fell silent.

Maria was currently his woman, and he would strike down anyone who would try to harm her.

She relentlessly refused the idea. "You don't have to avenge me, and I wouldn't appreciate it either way." If James investigated her assailant, the enemy would be alarmed. She didn't want someone else to pay for her own mistakes.

Besides, it had nothing to do with him. She didn't wish to cause him any trouble.

James' face turned grim as he stared at her. "Do you think you're capable enough?" 'Of course not. But this matter has nothing to do with you. Look, I do appreciate your kindness, but I'll investigate my attacke by myself," Maria said in a cold tone, completely rejecting James' kindness towards her.

Standing up, he frigidly responded, "Since you're clearly not going to die, I'm not going to come back here. Besides, I'm quite busy nowadays. Take care of yourself."

After that, he took his coat and strode out of the ward.

In silence, Maria watched him walk away.

Unbeknownst to James, the moment he left, the poison in Maria's body began to take effect again.

The medicine from Q Country had been injected into her bloodstream already, but its effect was limited. Only a certain amount of poison could be removed after each injection.

If she had any hope of ridding her body of poison, she needed to be injected at least three more times.