A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 81 James Was Slapped

The frown on James' face deepened upon hearing what Lorenzo just said. His first reaction was to scan Maria's face for some clues that she had something to do with it. However, she was really good at hiding herself. When he gave her a tentative look, what he saw was her confused look.

On the other end of the line, Lorenzo was wiping the sweat on his forehead while he explained, "Mr. Xi, it was because of the Mercedes-Benz of our company. I didn't notice that the plate number was covered when I was driving it." He was so surprised when a few minutes after he drove out of HL Group, he was stopped by a traffic police. It was only then that he found out that the plate number of the car was covered. As a result, he was charged with deliberately hiding the plate number, and his driver's license was confiscated at once.

And since he didn't have any evidence to prove that he didn't do it on purpose, he also had to pay a fine of two hundred dollars. Worse was, he had to go to the driving school for seven days to attend some driving lessons before he could take his license back. For such a busy man like him who had so many things to do every day, it was very troublesome.

Lorenzo had actually regretted that he wasn't able to quickly think of a solution when he was in such a predicament. He had only realized the severity of his situation when the traffic police asked for his driver's license. He thought that he could have used someone else's driver's license for the point deduction. But he only realized it after he had handed his own driver's license to the traffic police. It was too late for him to cheat.

James suddenly felt that his temples throbbed. Based on Lorenzo's words, it was very obvious that he couldn't pick James up.

But then, James realized that he really didn't need to worry that much. Aside from the other drivers in HL Group, many people in H City also wanted to drive for him. It wouldn't be difficult for him to replace another driver. So he opened his phone again and checked his phonebook for the next person to call.

He was about to call John when Maria suddenly rushed to him and held his hand. She then asked, "James, can you just stay here tonight?"

"No!" James firmly refused. "Ms. Song, please keep your distance."

Maria was stunned. "But you've kissed me just now. It's too late for us to keep a distance from each other," she countered.

James shook off her hand and ordered harshly, "Stand still!"

But she didn't seem to hear him. She kept rubbing her body against his intentionally.

However, when she saw his expressionless face, she curled her lips and thought inwardly, 'Humph! James Xi, you're such a jerk!' Maria wanted to keep on teasing James. But when he seemed not affected at all, she decided to pretend that she didn't care about him either. "Okay. You can leave if you want. But I have one condition."

James had finally understood why she had asked him to come tonight. "It seems that I've really underestimated you. Your next condition has something to do with all the efforts you have exerted for this dinner tonight, am I right?"

"You're right."

"Spit it out. I haven't got all night for you."

Maria put away her frivolity and said in a flat tone, "Hand over HL Group's charity project 'Helping Children with Cleft Lip and Palate' to HM Group."

"Maria Song..." James uttered calmly. But deep inside him, fury had already flared up.

Maria looked up and met his eyes fearlessly without saying anything.

"You want to use my money on another man?" he asked sarcastically. James was not even confident that HM Group had the resources and abilities to work with HL Group on the said project. He didn't expect that Colby would need a woman to back him up. Was HM Group on the brink of bankruptcy?

What annoyed him more was that Maria had even tried to seduce him for Colby.

It was so ridiculous.

Instead of answering his question, Maria looked at him coldly and said, "I have the evidence of Alina's crime. If you agree to my condition, I can destroy the evidence. Otherwise, if I'll expose this on the day of your engagement, HL Group and Tang Group will be in trouble."

James held her chin and roared, "How many times have you mentioned that to me? You just keep on threatening me again and again. Do you really think I'll buy that?"

"You give me no choice. You've chosen to fall in love with a woman who has a tainted reputation and insists on marrying her. You can't blame me for what I can do," Maria countered, enduring the pain in her jaw as James' grip on her chin tightened. It was true that she really had the evidence that Alina had drugged her six years ago. Before she came here to Fairview Villa, she had even planned to show it to Alina. But later on, she changed her mind. She thought that she might use it to negotiate with James.

James could see the determination in Maria's eyes, and it made him furious.

He harshly pushed her away and shoved the dining table with all his might. In an instant, all the tableware fell down to the floor and shattered into pieces.

This time, James' eyes were burning with fury. He walked up to Maria, pressed her hard against the dining table, and tore her dress. He then said through clenched teeth, "If you don't want me to throw you out, restrain your pride and strength. Maria Song, let me remind you. It isn't good for a woman to be so strong."

Maria gritted her teeth to endure the pain. She stubbornly reached out for his shirt and pulled it with all her strength. The sound of the buttons falling to the floor resounded through the dining room. "You're not the only one capable of ripping clothes. See? I can also do it."

Since James' shirt was torn apart, his washboard abs were exposed. But Maria was not in the mood to appreciate them. It seemed that tearing off his shirt didn't quench her anger. This time, she grabbed his belt and pulled it away. It made James realize that if he dared to lay a finger on her again, she wouldn't hesitate to tear his trousers apart.

He let go of her chin, spun her around, and pressed her face tightly on the table. He then clasped her hands behind her back, making it more difficult for her to move.

Maria felt so much humiliation from what he did. She went furious. With a flushed face, she did her best to resist. But James was too strong for her, so she failed to break free from him. Out of fury, she cursed, "James Xi, you fucking bastard! Let go of me! I swear, I will kill you the moment I get away from here."

James turned a deaf ear to her screams and said in a cold voice, "Listen! I don't like mixing my professional life with my private life."

Despite her difficult situation, Maria still countered, "You don't really love Alina then. If you don't care that I have the evidence against her, let's wait for your engagement day to come. I am so excited to let the reporters all over the world know about it. Let's see if HL Group will suffer a great loss, and Tang Group will be destroyed." If the media found out that Alina had drugged Maria, who was her own cousin, it would definitely be big news. It would cause a sensation all over the world.

James' left hand suddenly grabbed Maria's hair. "Ouch!" she cried in pain.

He leaned closer to her and said, "Your evidence is not enough to threaten me. What else do you have? Come on, show me!" James was now determined to teach Maria a lesson and make her realize the true meaning of fear.

"Ha-ha! You want more? Well, I also have the video when Judy secretly drugged you so the girl she favored could get a chance to marry you. By the way, in the eyes of your grandparents, I am your only wife. They will never accept Alina even if you marry her. And if anything happens to me because of you, do you think they will forgive you?"

After James and Maria got divorced, Augustine and his wife had sworn that they would only accept Maria as their granddaughter-in-law. They had long forbidden Alina to marry into the Xi family. It was not exposed to pubic, but a lot of people including Maria were very much aware of this fact.

When he heard her mentioned his grandparents, James held back his anger and let go of Maria's hands.

He knew that she was telling the truth.

The next moment, something unexpected happened. Pak! The crisp sound of a slap reverberated around the quiet dining room.

James didn't expect that Maria would slap him.

He slightly tilted his head as fury started to well up in his eyes again. Maria had dared to hit Ronald and Alina before. And now, she slapped him. In his eyes, she was absolutely dead meat now.

Gasping for breath, Maria glared at James. The coldness he emanated made her shiver. But although she was scared, she still said, "James Xi, you dare hit a woman, huh? You are not a man at all!"