A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 267 It Was An Act

"Yes, I did. But this isn't about whether or not you could rescue me, nor is it about whether or not I know Kung Fu.

If you truly loved me, you would never let me be in danger to begin with."

Maria sounded calm as she spoke.

Her last sentence, however, was ringing in James' ears, bouncing against the walls of his mind.

The night grew quiet. Perhaps he was feeling guilty, or perhaps he just couldn't come up with a retort. Either way, the man was silent for a long time.

Maria closed her eyes, forcing herself to fall asleep without paying any head to his watchful gaze.

Finally, James lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "I'll keep you company," he whispered in a hoarse voice.

She resisted the urge to sneer at him. 'This man sure is cheeky!'

Maria didn't reply; she rolled over and turned her back to him.

To his credit, James perfectly understood her silent refusal.

But his intuition was telling him that she needed someone to be with her at the moment.

He rose and took off his coat, hanging it inside her closet. Then he headed straight to the bathroom for a shower.

The moment he disappeared behind the door, Maria sat up on the bed and called after him in an irritable tone. "James XI, I'm currently on my period so I'm afraid I won't be able to satisfy you tonight. It's best that you leave."

He paused in the act of unbuttoning his shirt. Did she think that he only stayed for the purpose of sex?

He ignored her and proceeded with his shower. He would prove his word to her for the rest of the night.

He went over to the bed and pecked at her lips once before holding her and settling into a comfortable position. He didn't do anything else.

Maria was already exhausted from the ordeal, not to mention the strains that her pregnancy was causing. She had planned to remain on guard against James, but she eventually succumbed to sleep in the end.

At eight o'clock the next morning, she rolled over and blinked her eyes open.

It slowly dawned on her then that James had stayed the night. She sat up abruptly and turned to the other side of the bed. It was empty.

Then she looked down to check on her pajamas. They were fine.

She slid into her slippers and made her way out of the bedroom. The place was quiet; he must have left already.

She was about to return to the bedroom when her eyes snagged on the handbags sitting on the sofa. She walked over to take a look and discovered that they were all the ones she had chosen the night before, every single one.

Maria huffed at the items and sneered before stomping back to the bedroom.

She picked up her phone to check the time and saw that she had an unread message from James. "Heat up your breakfast in the microwave.11

Then there was nothing else.

She gaped at her screen.

So James had come to her in the middle of the night, held her in his arms as they slept without touching her inappropriately, and prepared breakfast for her in the morning. She couldn't help wondering if he hac done these things because of guilt. Maybe wanted to make it up to her.

Maria snorted. It didn't matter what his motivations were; she didn't give a shit about his guilt.

At HL Group

James was discussing last night's events with his father when Judy chimed in. "James, don't you think Maria Song was behind this?"

His eyes darkened at the impertinent question.

Judy rushed to explain, "I don't mean to presume, but why were you at the shopping mall last night?"

James tried to think back. Why had he gone there? Because Maria had called him.

Judy continued, "Maria Song was taken away, but she left completely fine. It's entirely possible that she put on a show for us."

A show? Again? James certainly wouldn't put it past that Maria.

"Why were you with her last night?" he asked Judy.

"I invited Alina and her mother to go shopping. Miranda and Elaine happened to be at Alina's beauty salon, too, so they all came over. We often shop here, just ask your father. He has kept me company on a lo of my sprees."

Sebastian nodded his affirmation. "That's true."

"I suggest that you don't jump to any conclusions before the truth is determined. I have a meeting later so please excuse me."

Judy gaped, speechless. Wasn't James being too protective of Maria? She had barely begun badmouthing Maria and yet James was already kicking her out. How ridiculous!

Sebastian turned to his son. "Look, James, regardless of whether Maria was acting or not, the thing is that you're engaged to Alina. It would be better for all three of you if you keep your distance from your ex- wife."

James' expression didn't change. "I know what I'm doing. I have my own plans."

Sebastian grunted with obvious displeasure, but didn't say anything more.

The couple left, and James stood in front of his large windows as he pondered what had happened last night.

If it had indeed been all an act, what would be Maria's purpose in orchestrating it? Did she do it just to see whether he would choose her over Alina?

Just then, a knock came at the door and Summer walked inside. "Excuse me, Mr. Xi. The kidnappers were caught. The police said..."

James turned around and saw the hesitant look on her face. "What?"

"The kidnappers said they were hired by someone to act out the crime."

"Who was it?"

Despite her reluctance, Summer gave him the name.

When he was alone again, James called Maria. "The kidnappers have been caught. According to them, you paid them to put on a show last night. What do you have to say for yourself?"

His tone was flat and casual, as though what he was saying was not at all a big deal.

Maria's hand clenched into a fist. "What do you think?"

"Haven't you put on enough shows in the past? You pretended to be sick, dead, pregnant, then have a miscarriage... You've lied to me so many times, Maria Song."

She smiled bitterly to herself. His trust in her must be completely shattered now. "All right then, believe what you will and take last night's incident as just another one of my shows."

She couldn't prove anything anyway; she had no choice but to take the blame for the time being.

Besides, even if she explained, she doubted that the man would listen to her at all.

"Don't make it sound like this is my fault, Maria Song. Behave yourself from now on." Otherwise, he just might lock her up and teach her a hard lesson.

Maria roared, "You stay the fuck away from me from now on, James Xi! I never want to see your fucking face again!" Then she hung up.

James stared at his phone, his eyes burning with furious disbelief.

Did that woman really think he wouldn't be able to live without her?

She wanted to stay away from him for a year. Well, he would let her be for two whole years!

They days passed, and soon Maria was in her fourth month of pregnancy. Her belly was starting to protrude, but she could still keep it hidden by wearing loose clothes.

The person Cooper had sent to pick her up was already in H City, but she wasn't ready to leave just yet.

She had one last thing to do, and it was going to take another half a month.

Spring came. The air was warm, and flowers were in full bloom everywhere. H City had the luxury of enjoying good weather.

A significant event was coming up-it was the 52nd birthday of Parker Xu's wife. He was a tycoon particularly prominent in the city's clothing industry, and a banquet was naturally to be held, in a luxury hotel no less.

A lot of guests were in attendance, and among them were Judy and Alina.

Judy and Ruth Duan, Parker's wife, happened to be best friends, having sustained their relationship for more than two decades.

Ruth spotted her guests coming over and greeted them warmly. "Welcome, Judy, Alina. I've been waiting for you for a while now."