A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 80 Beyond Redemption

James didn't like to eat Chinese yam with osmanthus syrup. But as he watched Maria enjoying some mouthfuls of it, he felt the sudden urge to taste it too. Eventually, he picked a slice of it with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

As the yam touched his tongue, the fragrance of the osmanthus flower spread in his mouth entwined with the taste of Sprite. It was sweet, but not too greasy.

They soon had a quiet dinner. James must admit that Maria was an excellent cook. From the French mutton sprinkled with black pepper, braised tofu with eggs, Chinese stir-fried vegetables with garlic, to the stir-fried shredded chicken with chrysanthemum, each dish conformed to his picky taste.

When Maria was already full, she opened two cans of beer and put one in front of James. She then looked at James, whose face was full of confusion, and said, "It's good to have beer after a meal, isn't it?" James replied, "If my memory serves me right, your arm is injured." What he meant was Maria shouldn't drink alcohol because the wound on her arm had not healed yet. Maria was a little stunned. She glanced at the pink scarf on her arm and said indifferently, "Oh, it's just a small cut. And it's almost healed anyway."

"I came here alone." What James meant was he drove going to Fairview Villa by himself, and he couldn't go back home later if he drank alcohol.

Maria picked up the beer can in front of her, stood up, and walked around him. She then bent over beside him and reminded him in a soft tone, "This is your house, remember?"

As she tilted her head, the strap of her dress on the right shoulder slid down, exposing her fair skin and swanlike neck. James couldn't help swallowing hard secretly, restraining himself from reacting to the strange burning sensation in the middle of his chest.

Maria acted like she didn't notice anything. She casually took a beer mug, poured some beer into it, and leaned against the table. She then handed it to him and said, "Here, take this mug. I'm not picky, anyway. I can drink straight from the can."

James took the beer mug and held it in his hand.

Maria didn't force him to drink. She went back to her seat and gulped down some beer from the can. With a smile, she looked at him and said, "You know what? I've been dreaming of this before. That I can cook some dishes for you like this, and we can eat together sitting opposite each other. But unfortunately, you have always been busy. I haven't even gotten an opportunity to have you taste any of my cooking.

She was smiling, but there seemed to be a subtle sadness on her face.

James could also tell when he looked into her eyes. He didn't say anything as if he was willing to listen to whatever she would say.

"In the whole Xi family, only Grandpa, Grandma, and Cooper liked me. And maybe Arthur as well. After all, I'm his mother." She took another gulp of her beer and continued, "To be honest, there are so many things I've wanted to tell you long ago."

Their eyes met. Then Maria held James' hand that was resting on the table. She just held it quietly for a while before she blurted out, "James, I had always been very grateful to you that you took me away from the Song family. Their villa was like a bottomless abyss to me. You just didn't know how difficult it was for me to pluck up all my courage to ask you to marry me. I took the risk even if I knew that you might already have someone else in your life. I didn't give up because I thought it was much better than killing myself.

Even if our marriage wouldn't last that long, I knew that I didn't have the right to complain. At least you chose me to be your wife. I didn't intend to, but as time went by, I started to fall for you. I learned to love you so much that, in my eyes, you were the most handsome CEO in the world. There were so many successful and good-looking CEOS, but I couldn't accept it if someone would say that someone else was better than you. For me, you were the best, and you were always number one."

In her childhood, Maria had longed for family affection until she grew up. When she got married, she longed for a husband's love.

But no one knew that she loved James that much. Her love for him was the secret she was willing to keep, even if it would mean that she had to drink three glasses of wine in one go. She could never forget him. However, she couldn't make him love her the way she loved him. That was her biggest failure in life.

James withdrew his hand and asked indifferently, "Did you ask me to come here so you can confess your love to me?"

"Whoa! You're too quick to see through me!" Maria exclaimed.

However, despite her dramatic confession, James remained calm as if he was not affected at all. He even said in a cold voice, "Stop your tricks and stay away from me. I will never like you."

Why he remained calm because he could tell Maria's words seemed to be affectionate, but in fact, she didn't show much emotion. He didn't believe a single word she had said.

He wasn't sure if she was really serious or she was only faking it. Maria got a little annoyed. "Humph! I know that I can make you love me. I'll replace another way to make you fall in love with me." This time, her face looked stern again. She fell silent as if she was really racking her brains for some ways.

James annoyingly rolled up his sleeves, revealing his powerful arms.

Maria stood up with the can of beer in her hand. She walked around the table and hugged him from behind. "James Xi, I have a secret."

She tilted her head and slowly approached his ear.

Her warm breath tickled him a little. He turned around to push her away, but their lips met unexpectedly.

"Hmm..." Maria had really wanted to kiss him. But this time, she was not ready. It was James whose lips bumped into hers.

She could tell that he didn't mean it either. Perhaps she was just lucky that God blessed her with such a chance to be this close to him.

Instead of distancing herself from him, she smiled and said, "I have a secret to tell you between kisses. Hmm..." She then closed her eyes, pressed her lips against his, and kissed him deeply. James' face turned gloomy at once. He didn't intend to kiss her. If she wasn't that close to him, their lips wouldn't have met when he turned around.

At this moment, only his and Maria's rapid heartbeat could be heard in the quiet dining room.

Maria decisively put down the beer in her hand and wrapped her arms around his neck. She then boldly sat on his lap.

They shared another passionate kiss. Maria couldn't help but wonder if she would succeed this time.

Soon enough, she got the answer.

What she didn't know was, James had mentally prepared himself not to fall from any of her traps before he came here.

So despite that sweet kiss, he immediately came back to his senses and pushed her away.

He then stood up and walked towards the door. Upon seeing that things had started to drift away from what she had planned, Maria quickly drank up her remaining beer.

She rushed to James, jumped on him, and kissed him again crazily. While he was stunned, she poured the beer in her mouth into his.

James reflexively wrapped his arms around her waist, afraid that she would fall down. But upon realizing what she wanted to do, he tightened his grip as if he was trying to squeeze her to death. Maria ignored his strength. She cupped his face in her hands and forced him to swallow the beer down.

She didn't give him a chance to get rid of her. When she succeeded, she slid down from his body, wiped her mouth with the back of the hand, and proudly said, "You're drunk. If you drive now, I will call the police and report you. You will be charged with DUI. And if it will come out on the news, I'm sure that HL Group will be affected. Think about it. Are you still driving away, or are you staying here tonight?"

James' face looked terribly dark now. Maria didn't only kiss him twice, but she also even poured beer from her mouth to his. As a neat freak, he couldn't accept what she did. So he said between clenched teeth "Maria Song, you're dead meat!"

"Oh, it's okay. You can kill me if you want, Mr. Xi," Maria replied with a wink, not showing any trace of fear on her face at all. James took out his phone to make a call. Since he couldn't drive by himself now, he would ask Lorenzo to pick him up.

Maria didn't stop him. She just leisurely watched him with her arms crossed over her chest.

He glared at her while waiting for Lorenzo to pick. As soon as he heard a voice from the other end of the line, he said, "Lorenzo, come pick me up in Fairview Villa now."

It took a while for Lorenzo to reply. He stammered, "Mr. Xi...I'm sorry. My driver's license was confiscated by the traffic police earlier."