A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 232 Snag A Rich Husband

Summer had arrived early in the evening, and she was talking with someone near the stage when a buzz went around the hall. Maria's appearance caused an uproar at the entrance, and it carried over in waves until even Summer's attentions was caught. She turned her head and could not help sighing at the sight of Maria. 'She is so beautiful! No wonder Mr. Xi could never seem to resist her.'

Her crimson dress wrapped tightly around her curves, and showcased her smooth, delicate shoulders. She had applied black eyeliner on her wide, piercing eyes, and a rusty red shade adorned her lips. Maria was the kind of beauty that was aggressive and unapologetic, the kind that was sure to take your breath away at first glance.

She now walked toward Summer with a smile, and the latter found her breaths running short. They were both girls, but Summer was still quite entranced by Maria.

"Good evening, Summer." The gentle voice finally shook Summer back to her senses, and she leaned close to Maria to whisper what was on her mind. "Good lord! You look absolutely gorgeous tonight. Everyone's eyes are on you."

Maria lifted her eyes surreptitiously and surveyed the hall in secret. Then she flashed a provocative smile. "Of course. If I don't dress up like this, how in the world would I be able to snag a rich husband?" "How dare you try to hook up with another man? Aren't you afraid that I will rat you out to Mr. Xi so he locks you at home every day?"

"Oh please, you won't do that," Maria replied jovially.

Summer had to shake her head. "You are right."

This was met with a carefree chuckle. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I don't have the time. I only came to sign in. I have another dinner party to go to in five minutes. Otherwise I won't get the time off to visit my relatives tomorrow."

"Oh my. Is this how James oppresses his employees? It's the Spring Festival, and here you are, attending dinner parties left and right." Maria inspected her nails and blew on an inexistent layer of dust.

"I could have taken a day off tomorrow, but Lorenzo has just been transferred elsewhere, remember? I can't just dump all the work to those junior assistants for the time being. I have no choice but to slave away on my own until things settle down." Of course Summer had become even busier after Lorenzo had left.

But she much preferred her current circumstances over having to see Lorenzo again.

"Remember to ask James to give you a pay rise."

"In that case, Ms. Song, please put on a good word for me when you get the chance."

The mirth never left Maria's eyes. "You're quite mistaken, Summer. I am not nearly as important to him as you are."

James always put work first. As far as he was concerned, an assistant would undoubtedly be more precious compared to a leech cadging off him.

The two women kept at their banter, until someone stepped up in front a few minutes later and informed the guests that they were to move to the thirteenth floor.

Everyone started for the elevators, but Maria stayed behind and continued to talk to her friend. She was in no hurry anyway.

But then a woman leaned over between them. "Good evening, Maria, Summer."

It was Sandra.

She was wearing a fluffy pink evening dress and sported a princess braid. She looked cute and rather endearing.

They exchanged pleasantries briefly before Summer glanced at her watch. Then she waved at them. "You two should go upstairs to have dinner. I'm leaving now."

When she was gone, Sandra took Maria's arm and they walked toward the elevators side by side.

There was nobody else in the elevator they had taken, and they chatted all the way to the thirteenth floor.

Maria had expected Western food to be served for dinner, but she was wrong. She saw a lot of Chinese dishes on the large, round table.

Name cards were assigned, and a server at the door assisted Maria to her place.

She was sitting separately from Sandra. Well, it was only a business matter, anyway, so it didn't really matter who she sat with. They would still be able to mingle downstairs after the meal.

Maria pushed through the door of her designated private room and found a round table decorated with pebbles and flowing water at the center. It looked to be able to accommodate more than thirty people. The room was practically full of people when she arrived, and they fell silent as she stepped inside, all of their gazes zeroing in on Maria.

Spotting a few special people in the room, she smiled.

The Tangs, the Xis, the Songs and the Jiangs were there. There were also a handful of others she didn't recognize.

It appeared that someone had deliberately prepared this arrangement, no doubt with the purpose of giving her a hard time tonight. Maria ignored the stares and headed over to gracefully slide into her seat.

Two men flanked her on both sides. She didn't know who they were, but she could tell right away that they weren't good people.

Kent picked up on weirdness of the seating arrangement, and he rose from his chair, intending to exchange seats with one of the men beside her. His mother was quick to stop him, however. "Kent, where are you going?"

Her sharp tone rang around the quiet room and drew everyone else's attention.

Embarrassed at being the sudden focus of the crowd, Kent balked. "I was just about to go to the bathroom, Mom. What are you doing?"

His mother looked clearly relieved at his answer. "Go on then."

Kent stuck to his excuse and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Brushing off her initial anxiety, Kent's mom proudly explained herself to the room. "I'm sorry. I have to keep an eye on my son. He is still young and thoughtless, and I don't want to be seduced by some tramp." A waiter appeared and poured Maria a cup of tea. She picked it up, her neutral expression never wavering, and smelled the aroma.

The tea was good, but the leaves had unfortunately been steeped in the water for a long time. It ruined the overall taste.

Judy had seen that it was Summer who had come tonight, so she knew that James wouldn't be making an appearance. And now that someone had gotten the ball rolling, she didn't want to miss out on the fun. She jumped right in on Mrs. Jiang's claims. "You're absolutely right, Mrs. Jiang. There are quite a lot of those women nowadays, women who just can't recognize their position in society and even dare to try and marry into a rich family. My goodness, they're everywhere!"

Carolina frowned slightly. It sounded like they were talking about Maria. But she couldn't do anything to refute their words, so she remained silent and listened.

The Tang couple exchanged a look, Miranda feeling proud of herself. This game that they had set appeared to be unfolding perfectly in accordance to their plan.

The servers sailed into the room just then, serving cold dishes one after another.

Jonathan poured a glass of wine and handed it over to Maria. "Ms. Song, I heard that you're a good drinker. Most of the guests here tonight are your elders; shouldn't you propose a toast to us as a sign of respect?"

Maria took a long, leisurely look at the glass of liquor in front of her. "The elders?" she echoed, her smile still in place.

"Well, aren't we?"

"That's true." Then she cocked her head at him. "But why should I be the one to propose a toast? I'm not the only young person here."

Many people in the room had already known what she had done. And they all hated her for it. She was aware of this, too, so what use was there in keeping up her act?

Jonathan had received an outright, public refusal, but he didn't get mad. "I really do admire you, Maria Song. Six years ago, you killed your son and cut all ties with the Song family. And you managed to set a flawless trap for me. To think that an industry veteran like me would fall at the hands of a beginner. It's really quite embarrassing."

Throughout his tirade, only the mention of his son poked at Maria's sore spot.

The smile slowly slipped away from her face, and the hand holding the teacup tightened its grip. "While we're on the subject of ruthlessness and cruelty, I'm afraid I am no match to you at all, Mr. Jiang. Especially given everything you used to do..." She drifted off and did not finish her sentence on purpose, and now the others' curiosity was piqued.

People from the Tang, Song, and Xi families watched quietly as Maria had a face-off with the head of the Jiang family.

Alina, in particular, was watching the exchange with glee. She liked it when the smile disappeared from Maria's face. How fun it would be if she actually cried in the end.

Author's note

I ARK cm F OBM

Translator: Jessie Chen