A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 72 The Simple And Naive Ethan

Knowing that the other guests wouldn't notice, Alina glared at Stella and just ignored her. But the next moment, she seemed to have thought of something, so she tapped Stella's shoulder and whispered something.

At first, confusion was written all over Stella's face. Then it was replaced by shock. She shook her head vigorously and said, "No, Alina. I can't dare to do that." If James found out, she would be doomed. Alina didn't want her plan to fail, so she thought of something to bribe Stella. She looked around, but she realized that the jewelry and accessories in this exhibition were way too expensive for a gift to Stella. After thinking for a while, something came to her mind. She secretly nudged Stella and said, "Don't you like that dress in the fashion week? I'll give it to you as a gift."

That dress that Stella liked was not that expensive but difficult to get because its procurement required a lot of procedures. Now that Alina wanted to give it to her as a gift, she finally gave in. It was such a temptation she couldn't resist.

So she nodded in agreement and walked towards the direction where James and Maria had disappeared just now.

Under everyone's watchful gazes, Maria was taken by James to a corner at the end of the hallway. It was the fire exit, so no one went there.

James loosened his grip on Maria's wrist and faced her. He just stared at her coldly without saying anything.

It was Maria who broke the silence. "Why did you take me here? James Xi, don't you know that I'm so pissed off right now?" Maria was so annoyed that James had threatened her that she couldn't visit Arthur's tomb anymore. Arthur's death anniversary was approaching, and it was impossible for her not to bring flowers to her son. She couldn't forgive James so easily this time.

James couldn't understand what Maria was thinking about. He didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. In the first place, it was she who had threatened him and even doubted his relationship with Ethan. Shouldn't he be the one to get angry? "Can't you just hold back your anger?" he tried to ask.

"Why should I? Don't you know that I may get ill? It's either I'll get hyperplasia or myoma. And you even didn't let me kiss you. So why should I not be angry?"

James tried his best to restrain himself from laughing as he found her reasons really amusing. She was so quick to change the subject. He couldn't help thinking, 'Aren't we supposed to fight? Why does it seem like she just wants me to feel that I have wronged her?'

Eventually, Maria took a deep breath and said, "If you want to have a fight with me, I don't care. Just don't threaten me with anything related to Arthur. You know too well that he is my rock bottom."

James believed that Maria was only flattering herself too much. He never wanted to put up a fight with her at all. If possible, he didn't want to have anything to do with her.

When Maria noticed James' silence, she decided to change her approach. She calmed herself down, threw herself into his arms, and held him tightly. She then said between sobs, "James, don't use our child to threaten me again, okay?"

James got more speechless, looking at the ceiling. He thought that Maria might be suffering from a split personality disorder, or there might be something wrong with her nerves. He tried to break free from her embrace while saying, "Maria Song, let go of me!"

"No. I'll never let go of you. Never!" Maria's only goal was to win James' heart back. If she couldn't do it the hard way, then a softer way might work. But one thing was for sure. She would pester him in every possible way.

For a moment, James didn't know what to do. His body stiffened when he looked down at Maria in his arms. Her nonstop wailing was giving him a headache. He closed his eyes tightly, clenched his fists, and finally said, "Okay. I promise." There was a hint of helplessness in his voice.

Upon hearing his assurance, Maria's lips curved into a smile. She loosened her grip on him a little and raised her head from his chest. "James, there's a necklace I really love there."

"Maria Song, don't push your luck too much." James felt like his patience would totally run out if she would keep on troubling him.

"Fine! If you don't want to buy me anything, don't buy for Alina either."

"Do I have to remind you who you are to me now?" James snapped. He pushed her away and glared at her coldly. It seemed that she wanted to meddle in his personal affairs. Of course, he would never give her a chance to do that.

"No, thanks. I don't forget that I am just your ex-wife," Maria replied. She knew that it was what he wanted to remind her.

James cast her a glance and said, "Good. There's one more thing I want to warn you. Ethan is a simple and naive man. Don't you dare hurt him!" He had seen that Maria and Ethan were chatting just now. They had been talking and laughing for a long time. He was worried that Ethan would be charmed by her in the end.

Maria was stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter. "Are you thinking that I'm going to hit on Ethan?" She couldn't help wondering what her image was in James' heart. Didn't he know that she was very picky when it came to men? How could he even think that she would seduce such a young man like Ethan?

If only she could, she wanted to smash James' skull right now.

With a gloomy expression, James didn't answer her question but asked, "Aren't you?"

Maria was not in the mood to defend herself, so she pretended that James had really seen through her. "Wow! How did you know that's my plan? And now that you're warning me not to hurt him, does it mean that I can do it on you instead?"

"Hmm," James replied nasally. He was confident that he could resist her charm. She wouldn't be able to seduce him.

Maria was about to say something when she heard some light footsteps approaching.

It seemed that the person coming towards them was very cautious. But since she had some training in kung fu, her senses had become sharp.

When she looked at James, she saw that he was also on alert. Obviously, he heard the footsteps too. They both stopped talking. The footsteps finally stopped at a distance far enough to overhear their conversation. Out of the blue, Maria uttered, "James, what is wrong with you?"

Unable to figure out what she intended to do, James frowned and retorted, "I dare you to say it again!"

Maria came closer to him and whispered in his ear, "You look so charming tonight."

James didn't say anything but just glared at her.

But when she was about to distance herself from him, his powerful long arm wrapped around her waist. She didn't see it coming, so she raised her head and looked at him with eyes full of confusion. A hint of malice flashed across his eyes as he said, "Ms. Song, why are you touching me? We're only here to talk, aren't we?"

Finally, Maria understood what James wanted to do. He wanted the eavesdropper to think that she was trying to hit on him. She didn't bother to escape from his arm. Instead, she even put her hand on his chest and said in a coquettish tone, "Mr. Xi, didn't you say that you are not interested in Alina? I'm the only one who can arouse you, right?"

She restlessly caressed his chest for a while. And what she did seemed to have some effects on him. With a cold expression, he abruptly loosened his grip on her waist, not wanting to continue their game anymore.

He stepped back, turned his head towards the corner, and shouted, "Get out of there!" In an instant, they heard some messy footsteps going farther and farther.

Obviously, James was able to scare the eavesdropper away.

Maria wanted to tease him more. But when she saw a red light flash on her ring, she stood straight and tidied up her dress. The expression on her face returned to normal at once.

She took off the emerald earrings from her ears, handed them to James, and said, "Give them back to Mr. Nan. I have to go now."

James had also noticed the red light that flashed on her ring and the sudden change of her expression. He stared at the pair of earrings in her hand but didn't take them. "You can either give them back to Ethan personally or keep them."

Maria just shrugged, kept the earrings in her hand, and strode back to the banquet hall without saying a more word to him.

James was lost in thought, watching her receding back.

He was wondering why she became serious all of a sudden. What was she up to?

James didn't expect that he would get the answer soon.

As soon as Maria returned to the banquet hall, she looked for Ethan to return the earrings. However, he refused to take them back. After all, James had said that they were not suitable for his mother. He shouldn't have bought the earrings. So since he couldn't give them to his mother, he didn't want to take them back from Maria.

While Maria and Ethan were still pushing the earrings back and forth to each other, Stella came over to them. She looked like an arrogant peacock as she stared at the earrings in Maria's hand with disdain. "Maria Song, what kind of taste do you have? Why do you always prefer rubbish stuff?"

Stella didn't know that it was Ethan who liked the pair of earrings so much and he bought them. So she didn't realize that she had unintentionally offended him.

Maria looked at Ethan sympathetically. She could see the disappointment all over his face, and she could feel that his mood worsened after hearing what Stella said. To calm him down, she thought of something that could distract Ethan's attention. Looking around, she saw James not far away. She walked up to him and said, "Mr. Xi, you know how much I've liked you before."