A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 229 Loneliness

"Don't you dare cross Maria's path, I won't let you get away with it," Charlotte finished, eyes flashing dangerously.

The young woman couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears. It was Judy who had brought her here, so Judy smiled diplomatically and tried to mediate the dispute. "Mrs. Xi, Alina is still a little girl..." 'So please don't speak so harshly to her,' she finished in her head.

"A little girl? The moment she turned sixteen, she grew out of the 'little girl' title. She's already thirty! She's a mature woman already, but she doesn't know anything. Please, I'm doing her a favor by teaching her the ways of this world, for the sake of the Tang family. I dare Clayton to stop me!"

Judy was rendered speechless. Her mouth shut up immediately.

Charlotte continued, "If you are sensible enough, you should cancel the engagement. I will treat you like a guest if you come to Xi family in the future. If you continue this stubbornness, don't blame me for being rude to you.

Last but not least, let me tell you that my grandson, James Xi, has only one wife, and her name is Maria Song! They are divorced, but in my eyes, Maria is my granddaughter-in-law."

In the end, Alina left in tears without having eaten anything. The Xi family driver took her back to the Tang family.

Sebastian and Judy were also driven away by Augustine. The two returned to the Imperial Villa, infuriated with how the events unfolded that night.

Meanwhile, Maria and Ethan were happily chatting over several cans of beer, blissfully ignorant of the drama that took place in the Xi family.

Ethan was bragging, and Maria kicked him. "Why didn't you tell me you're the lost heir of the royal family?" she demanded.

"That's an exaggeration. If I were the hair of the royal family, I wouldn't have run away from home."

In that moment, Maria instantly understood something. This brat had run away from home.

Just then, a black Harkim stopped quietly beside the square. James looked at the two who were talking and laughing not far away, displeasure raging in his eyes. Just then, the sound of fireworks blooming rang from the sky.

The two in the square looked up at the same time. Ethan pointed at the sky and said excitedly, "Look! Fireworks!"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Chill, it's not my first time to see fireworks."

Putting down the can of beer in his hand, Ethan asked, "Do you like watching fireworks?"

"I like all beautiful things." After all, she was human. Humans were drawn towards beauty.

Just like James-he was so handsome that her heart always leapt out of her chest whenever she saw him.

"I'll call someone and have the fireworks on all night!" As he spoke, Ethan pulled out his phone.

Maria knew that he was a man of his word, so she gently pushed his phone away. "It's fine, Ethan, there's no need to do that. I'm fine with this." A number of fireworks bloomed in the air, lighting up half of the sky of H City.

Ethan shook off her hand and proceeded to dial a number. "We can't let the loneliness get to us, we should have our own fireworks show!"

Maria stood up and grabbed his phone to stop him. "Finish your beer!" she urged.

When Ethan tried to grab his mobile phone, Maria dodged. At last, Maria, who was wearing high heels, accidentally missed a step. Seeing that she was about to fall backward, Ethan quickly grabbed her wrist and yanked her hard towards him. Maria, obedient to the laws of gravity, couldn't help but throw herself into his arms.

Just as Ethan was about to make a snide remark about her clumsiness, he heard a cold voice behind him. "Ethan Nan."

'James?' Both Ethan and Maria were taken aback when they heard James's cold voice. 'Shouldn't he be having dinner with the Xi family on New Year's Eve?' Still in a daze, the two forgot to let go of each other and looked at James, dumbfounded.

James' face was as cold as the arctic ice. Even though he didn't say anything more, his eyes were quite telling. He gazed at Ethan sharply, like daggers stabbing into his flesh.

This sent shivers down both Ethan's and Maria's spines.

James stepped forward and firmly pulled the woman in the arms of Ethan into his own, coiling his arms around her waist tightly. "What's the difference between you and Lawrence? Huh?" he spat. Ethan gaped at his accusation. 'No, James! You've got it all wrong,' he whined to himself.

Maria tried to shrug off James' grip, but to no avail. He was too strong. After a while, she finally sighed in defeat. "What're you doing here, Mr. Xi?"

The man's icy cold gaze shifted from Ethan to her. "What's wrong? Did I ruin your romantic date?"

He had thought Maria was alone. Apparently, he thought wrong; she seemed quite happy in the arms of another man.

"Yes, you did. Can't you see we're in the middle of celebrating?" Maria retorted in annoyance.

"No, no, you've got it all wrong, James," Ethan cut in immediately. He valued his life and didn't want to die a horrible death. "James, we didn't plan this. Don't get me wrong. Just take her away already, please!" Maria glared at him. Through gritted teeth, she hissed, "Ethan, didn't you say you were cold and lonely?"

James' sharp gaze fell on Ethan again, causing him to sweat nervously. He was scared his credit cards would be frozen again. "I'm neither lonely nor cold. I just happened to be in the area and saw you by sheer coincidence. I was worried for your safety, so I stayed and kept you company,"

Ethan explained. Maria found herself unable to utter a single sound.

James, however, didn't believe a word he said. But there were more important things to deal with, so he decided he would take care of Ethan later.

Thus, he forced the two of them into the Harkim and drove back to his grandparent's villa in HQ Road.

James not only brought Maria back, but also Ethan. Augustine and his wife, who had been glum the entire evening, finally had smiles on their faces.

Ethan was a sweet talker. He had met the two elders before, and knew how to cheer them up. It only took a few words from him to delight James' grandparents.

Over dinner, Charlotte had the dish that Alina had touched removed and asked Tami to serve another dish. Only then did they enjoy a good dinner.

When everyone was done eating, the three youngsters chatted with the two elders while the Spring Festival Gala played on TV. They also received three thick red packets from the two elders.

The three exchanged glances with each other and accepted the packets in silence.

Finally, the eventful night came to an end, and it was time for the elders to retire to their bedrooms. Maria ushered them to their room before leaving.

Ethan was about to sit in the passenger seat when James grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to the back seat. The passenger seat was reserved for Maria.

When they arrived at downtown, James sent Ethan back home first. Then, he started to drive towards his manor.

Maria had been gazing out the window intently and noticed the direction they were headed. "Please drop me off at the Golden Mansion."

"It's too late. I don't want to change routes."

Maria didn't say anything else.

Upon arriving, Maria was about to go to the room where all her blind boxes were, but James stopped her. "Go take a shower first," he ordered.

"You can go ahead. I want to have a look at my blind boxes."

"You don't need to, they're fine. Go and take a shower." His tone was not unkind, but it was firm.

Again, Maria decided not to retort. Instead, she secretly wondered if there was something wrong with him. Why did he care whether she took a shower or not?

Maria rolled her eyes and decided not to stir up a fight in the spirit of Chinese New Year. She walked slowly towards the guest bathroom.

However, she was stopped by the man yet again. "The bathroom door of the guest room is still under repairs. Use the one in my room." Maria nodded absentmindedly. Fine.

She chose to believe him.