A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 235 Prove My Innocence

Finally, Maria gave up struggling in his arms. She smiled bitterly. "So what? Back then, I lost my child, marriage, family, and friends. It didn't matter where I was-whether I was dead or alive." James looked at her remorsefully but said nothing.

Delicate snowflakes landed on her long jet-black hair like tiny jewels. He quietly observed this as he took out his phone and made a call. "Drive the car over here."

After hanging up the phone, he carried her in his arms to a nearby bench to let her sit down.

Then, he squatted in front of her and gently placed her ice-cold, reddened feet on his thighs.

Tears started streaming down Maria's cheeks silently. However, she defiantly withdrew her feet and propped them on the freezing cold bench. "I don't need your pity, James Xi!" she said coldly. Even now she managed to hold her head up high. Even if she was in a mess, she refused to make herself small in front of anyone, nor would she ask for help from anyone, including him. The man said in a hoarse voice, "I will investigate the matter of your prison sentence and prove to you I'm innocent."

"No, thanks!" She refused decisively. "First off, I don't believe you. Second, even if you replace out I wasn't lying, so what? Can you turn back time and give me back the two years I lost?" She had been sentenced to five years in prison back then, but it was Norman who helped reduce her sentence.

James stared at her in silence. What she was saying was true, money couldn't buy back time.

Just then, the car arrived. "I'll take you to the hospital," James offered.

"No, thanks." Maria stood up from the bench.

She shook off the coat James had wrapped around her and started to hobble away, bare feet on the snow-covered, ice-cold ground.

James couldn't bear to see the blistering red skin on her back. Stubbornly, he strode over to her in two swift steps. "You're going to the hospital," he ordered.

The shivering woman shook him off once more. "If you follow me again," she started to say, pointing at the nearby bridge, "I'll jump down from there."

James looked at the direction she was pointing and didn't say anything more.

Satisfied with his silence, the woman continued to walk forward.

James gritted his teeth. He couldn't bear to see her self -abuse. He quickly caught up to her again and picked her up and walked towards the Harkim with her in his arms.

The driver was quite sensible. When he saw his boss carrying the woman towards the car, he immediately got out and opened the door. James didn't get inside the car until he had safely tucked the woman inside.

Seeing the two were finally seated, the driver promptly shut the car door and trotted over to the driver's seat. "Turn on the heat to its maximum and head for the hospital," James ordered. "Yes, Mr. XI."

Knowing that she couldn't escape now, Maria accepted defeat and slumped into the seat. She buried her head in between her knees and said nothing throughout the entire trip.

James draped his coat around Maria's shoulders again before carrying her out of the car. Then, he hurried over to the outpatient department.

Finally, he set her down on a stretcher, where she lay, pale as a corpse. The doctor inspected the scalding on her back with a grim expression. After disinfecting her wound, the doctor warned her, "Ms. Song, it might be a little painful when I apply the medicine. Please bear the pain." Maria didn't respond.

James answered for her. "Go ahead and apply the medicine."

"Okay."

The cotton swab swept over the scalded part, and the medicine felt like boiling hot water on her wound. Maria shut her eyes tight from the excruciating pain, biting down hard on her lower lip to avoid crying out James saw this and quickly grabbed her chin to stop her from gnawing at her lip. Sure enough, she had bitten down hard enough to bust her lip, and scarlet blood oozed out of the wound. In a low voice, he said to her, "Cry out if you feel pain."

Maria opened her eyes to glare at the man. Gasping for breath, she said slowly but clearly, "I will make Alina Tang pay double the pain I suffered today."

The man didn't say anything, but kept a firm hold on her chin to prevent her from hurting herself again.

The process of applying medicine seemed to last forever. However Maria didn't make a sound the whole time. Finally, the doctor finished his work with a wrap of gauze on the wound, sealing in the medicine. Before leaving, the doctor reminded her, "Your wound can't get wet. Also, don't exercise too much. Come back in two days for me to reexamine the wound."

After leaving the hospital, James took Maria to his manor in East District.

There, he carried her to the bedroom and gently lay her down on the queen-sized bed. Her mud-encrusted feet accidentally landed on his bed sheet. On reflex, she scooted her feet to the side so they hung over the side of the bed.

The man noticed this. For a moment, he was stunned. When he regained his senses, he promptly went to the bathroom.

When he came out again, he brought a basin of warm water.

He put it by the bedside, dipped a towel in the basin, and gently wiped her feet.

Feeling the warmth of the water on her feet, the woman lying on the bed burst into tears.

Why did he treat her well after hurting her?

When he was done washing her feet, the man stood up and leaned over Maria to take off her dress.

Maria's hand shot up to hold his. "The doctor said I can't exercise..." she said in a hoarse voice.

James' eyes widened. What did she take him for? A selfish beast? How could he possibly want to sleep with her at a time like this?

But he didn't bother trying to explain himself. Heedless of her objection, he carefully peeled off her evening dress.

Then, he pulled the quilt over her and tucked her in. "Stay here from now on."

She had made too many enemies, and Golden Mansion was not as safe as his manor here.

'Stay here?' Maria frowned. She took stock of the luxurious yet minimalist bedroom. She was nobody to him. It was not proper for her to live here. Why should she?

She looked at him with teary, swollen eyes. "You don't have to do this, and you don't have to try to pay me back. It's useless." Even if he spent his whole life atoning for his sin, she refused to forgive him and everyone else involved.

James calmly put his hands into his pockets and said, "I will explain everything in due time."

"I don't want an explanation," she said huffily. "Will you give up on marring Alina Tang?"

James fell silent again. He averted his gaze and looked at the floor.

He couldn't call off the engagement for the time being, but he would do it in the future.

His silence made the woman's heart sink. Maria smiled bitterly. "Thank you for helping me just now. I'm going to sleep."

She was nodding off from the exhaustion of the day; she didn't even have the energy to remove her makeup.

The mockery in her smile was not lost on James.

He turned off the bedside lamp for her and headed to the study.

This whole time, he had ignored his constantly ringing phone. Only now did he check what he had missed.

Looking through the records of missed calls, he found that there were calls from Sebastian, Clayton, and other important clients.

He walked into the study, lit a cigarette, and only returned calls to the important clients.

After work, James began to think about Maria's matters.

After divorcing her that year, he was supposed to give her three hundred million as alimony-after all, she had fulfilled her responsibility as a wife. He had asked Lorenzo to take care of that, but only today did he replace out that she never got the money.

Not only that, but she also suffered in prison.

It was not difficult to guess who were behind all this.

He just didn't expect that the bad blood between Judy and Maria would be so serious, and he didn't expect that Judy and her nephew would be so daring.