A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 70 An Apple In My Hand

Although it was only a whisper, the other guests around were able to hear what the woman had said. Out of curiosity, their gazes swept over James and Maria. And when they noticed that the woman's comment was right, they exchanged intriguing glances. Then one of them exclaimed, "Indeed! Mr. Xi and Ms. Song are wearing matching outfits for a couple."

"Are they together again? Perhaps they are planning to remarry. Otherwise, why would they wear the same outfit in this event?" another woman commented.

Alina was a little confused as she couldn't clearly hear what the crowd was whispering about. But it was Ethan who finally made her understand what was going on. He exclaimed, "Holy cow! James, you and Maria are wearing couple outfits tonight. Wow! I didn't know that you can be so romantic."

James' raised his eyebrows. When did he become romantic? He gave Ethan a warning look and said harshly, "Shut up! Just focus on that pair of earrings you love."

Upon realizing that he got too excited and Alina was with them, Ethan scratched the back of his head and said, "All right!" He zipped his mouth but bitched about inwardly, 'It's too obvious that you are wearing a matching outfit. Why still deny it?'

Alina, on the other hand, asked through clenched teeth, "James, what is going on?"

James had already realized what was going on, but he didn't answer Alina's question. Maria had framed him.

The suit he was wearing right now was one of the two suits given to him by Maria. When she brought them to his office, he planned to throw them away. But before he could do so, one of his secretaries ironed them and hung them in his wardrobe. While he was choosing a suit to wear for this banquet, this suit caught his eyes, so he decided to wear it. After all, the design suited his taste.

But he didn't expect that Maria would have an evening gown that had the same embroidery patterns as his suit.

Alina was still waiting for his answer, so he just replied indifferently, "I don't know."

He then turned around and went to socialize with the other businessmen, as if the commotion had nothing to do with him.

The discussion of the crowd also reached Maria's ears, and it made her grin ear to ear. She walked over to Ethan and greeted him in a brisk tone, "Hello, Mr. Nan. Are you here alone?" Ethan shrugged and asked, "Aren't you alone as well?"

"It's not unusual for a woman like me to attend a jewelry exhibition alone. But in your case, you are a single man. Where is your date?" Since women were fonder of jewelry than men, it was indeed a bit strange for a man to attend this kind of event without a date.

Ethan snorted and said in a proud tone, "Can't I buy jewelry for myself? Can't you see? There's a lot of jewelry for men over there."

He raised his chin to point at the other side of the hall. Maria followed his gaze. There were indeed some jewelry and accessories for men there.

"All right. But I'm just curious. Despite being handsome and well-known in H City, why don't you have a girlfriend yet?" Maria didn't attend this exhibition to buy jewelry. Actually, the first phase of her plan had already been achieved. Hence, she decided to chat with Ethan for a while to kill time.

Ethan took two glasses of champagne from a waiter's tray, who happened to pass them by, and handed one to her. "Why do I have to replace a girlfriend? I enjoy being single anyway."

Maria chuckled mockingly and deliberately provoked him by saying, "Mr. Nan, being single is totally different from being unpopular with girls."

Ethan got irritated at once, so the tone of his voice slightly rose when he said, "Maria Song, what are you saying? It's not that I'm unpopular. It's just that I'm not interested in those vulgar women around." Maria restrained herself from laughing, but she failed, so she burst into laughter in the end.

The truth was, she was enjoying teasing Ethan. She liked his innocence and carefreeness. If only she could have a younger brother like him, she would be much happier.

Maria's laughter attracted many people's attention. The way she laughed right now was totally different from the usual. Tonight, she laughed with real brightness in her eyes and without any reservation, showing her straightforwardness.

Watching her laughing out loud, Ethan couldn't help smiling. Joy also filled his charming eyes. But then, a sense of crisis suddenly surged up in his heart.

He was afraid that Maria would do something to him. After all, she had a wide range of connections. James, Lawrence, and Norman were only to name a few. Ethan felt like he was the only one who had not fallen into her trap yet. At the thought of it, he reminded himself to keep calm and never look at her enchanting eyes.

He believed that beautiful women were more capable of cheating on him.

Maria stopped laughing. "Hey, why are you so quiet all of a sudden? Has the cat got your tongue?" Maria asked.

When Ethan came back to his senses, he got a bit annoyed, so he asked, "Maria Song, why are you such a temptress?" He couldn't understand why he couldn't seem to dislike her.

Maria rolled her eyes. "Mr. Nan, you think too highly of me. If I am a temptress, I already have James like an apple in my hand."

"Well, for your own good, you'd better give up. You can't defeat James. He is a man above everything."

This was the fact that Maria also knew. She had already realized how difficult it was to deal with James. In the eyes of many men, she was an enchantress. But it had been more than a month now since she came back to H City, yet, she hadn't touched even the edge of his bed. "I know that. After all, how can a woman like me defeat a beast? But I still want to challenge myself, so I'm giving it a try," she said in a low voice.

Ethan thought for a while before he said, "Well, there's nothing wrong with trying. And who knows, you may even beat him. If that happens, it only means that you are worse than a beast."

Maria was amused by his words, but she pretended to be mad. "Oh, shut up!"

Ethan felt proud of himself. It wasn't that easy to win an argument against Maria, and he did. Since he was in a good mood now, he invited her by saying, "Maria, I just saw a pair of earrings that really match your temperament. Come with me. I'll show them to you."

"Are you going to buy them for me?" Maria asked, eyeing him.

"No way! You're not even my girlfriend," Ethan refused at once.

Maria snorted, "I don't want to have a boyfriend as young as you, okay? I don't have the energy to take care of you."

Ethan retorted, "Hey, Maria Song! Let me tell you this. If I have a girlfriend, I will be the one to take care of her." He believed that as a man, he should be the more emotionally stable one in a relationship. "Bravo! So if you will have a girlfriend in the future, don't forget to introduce her to me, okay? As your friend and as a woman, I can assess if she really loves you," Maria answered casually while looking at the jewelry in the showcases.

She was about to turn to a corner when Ethan suddenly pulled her to the right. "Here we are. Look! Aren't they beautiful?"

Maria looked at the showcase curiously to see what kind of jewelry Ethan had been praising. It turned out, it was a pair of emerald earrings. The bright green precious stones were quite huge, and the design was magnificent. But they were not her type. "Are you going to buy it for Auntie?" she then asked.

"Auntie? What do you mean?" Ethan asked back in confusion.

"Your mom, of course!"

Ethan blinked a few times. For a moment, the look in his eyes became a little weird. He stammered, "Of course not! I don't have a plan to buy them. I just thought that they're the best pair...for you." "Oh, they're indeed beautiful. But they will perfectly suit aged women more. Maybe if I am sixty or seventy years old, I will buy them," Maria explained.

Ethan curled his lips. He didn't want to give up, so he told the staff, "Take them out. Let her try them."

Maria's brow creased as she thought inwardly, 'Are all rich young men so willful? He hasn't even asked me.' She then refused helplessly, "No need. I don't want to wear them."

"Come on, Maria! Just try them. It won't cost you a penny, after all." Ethan was quite enthusiastic, so eager to see the earrings on Maria's ears.

Maria glared at him. "Are you a salesman here? How much commission will they give you?"

"Of course not! What are you talking about? Never mind. Miss, put them back in." The staff had already taken out the earrings and put them on top of the showcase, so when she heard what Ethan said, she was a little stunned. Maria shook her head. She couldn't let the staff's effort be in vain. Feeling helpless, she said, "All right. Let me try them on. Please hold the mirror for me."

She took off the diamond earrings from her ears, sat down, and put on the emerald earrings.

Ethan casually leaned against the showcase beside her, fixing his gaze at her ears.

After putting on the earrings, Maria spun the chair and looked up at Ethan. "Here you go. So how do they look on my ears? Still like them?"