A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 84 A Constant Thorn In Her Side

The office was silent for a while, and things were somewhat depressing. Summer was trying to recall what she did wrong that pissed James off.

After a bit, James said in a flat tone, "This project isn't suitable for YL Group. HM Group is far more experienced at charity projects than YL Group. Not to mention they turn a tidier profit doing it. We can work with them and cut YL Group out this time. As for them..." The man tapped his fingertips on the back of the chair and continued, "Give YL Group another project as compensation."

Lorenzo and Summer exchanged glances with each other, wondering whether that was the real reason. Neither of them could think of a better partner in this than YL Group.

They didn't understand what was on James' mind. HM Group was a large and powerful organization, but the bid they put in wasn't as good or as comprehensive as that of YL Group. YL Group even included a timeline and a possible expansion of services.

They couldn't help wondering what happened to James.

Summer advised him as best she could. "Mr. Xi, I read over that project proposal YL Group sent over. I think they did a better job than HM Group in terms of medical equipment and children's psychological guidance. Is there some compelling reason you don't want to work with them?"

James knew better than anyone else what Summer meant. Thinking of Maria, his eyes darkened. "Just do as I say."

It's all thanks to Maria. He cursed her name inwardly.

"Yes, Mr. Xi." Lorenzo nodded and left.

In Miracle Cafe, Maria was working as usual.

After washing her hands, Maria came to the bar counter and saw a barista creating latte art. She walked over and asked "Hey, Mike. Thinking of entering the latte art competition at the end of the year? Mike nodded with embarrassment. "Yeah, but I'm not good enough..."

He'd been at it for several years, which made him a little better than the normal baristas. But he was far from talented enough to enter his work in a competition.

Maria dried her hands and took the tools from him. "Let's see if I can give you a few pointers."

"Okay!" "The first thing is make sure you've textured your milk just right. And you want to clear

anything that's settled on the top with some cream first. Pour from a little higher up to clear that up. To make it look just right, pour directly into the center of the cup, following the

centerline all the way down..." Maria taught him earnestly, step by step, and Mike listened to her carefully.

After he finished a lovely-looking leaf using her

guidelines, Mike was about to ask the cafe

assistant to bring it to the guest, but they were all busy taking orders. Maria wiped her hands and said, "Leave it to me."

"Thanks, Maria. It's for table No. 12."

"You're welcome." Maria took the tray and walked towards table No. 12.

There were three girls sitting there, chattering eagerly. When Maria came to bring them coffee, they were discussing the rumors about James. "Lydia accidentally saw the marks on Mr. Xi's back. How embarrassing! We thought it was from Mr. Xi's one-night stand. It turns out Alina Tang gave him those scratches. Who knew she was that wild?" one asked.

"Who told you she did it? I heard it was someone else," another remarked.

"Alina Tang admitted it herself. Well, her friend did, anyway—"

Maria interrupted them intentionally. "Excuse me. Here are the lattes you ordered." She didn't like them talking about James and Alina.

The three women said "thank you" without raising their heads. Then they continued to gossip. "And the bite mark on Mr. Xi's lip? That was Alina too, apparently." Maria turned around and sneered.

So Alina was a good liar.

If it were Alina in his bed last night, why was Maria sore? Did Alina pull James' hair? She was probably too scared of him to do that.

As soon as Maria returned to the bar counter, she made a phone call. "Go to my room and bring me the dress I left on the sofa..."

She wanted to piss off Alina. She asked someone to pack up the dress and jewelry that James bought for her and bring them to Alina.

Just when Alina started to feel complacent about the rumors she started about her sexual escapades, she received a special gift from Maria, which immediately raised the woman's hackles.

A big man in a suit, with a bodyguard's build and swagger, handed Alina two large paper bags. "Ms. Tang, Mr. Xi bought these for Ms. Song. She says she doesn't want them. She also says you should keep better tabs on your man." He relayed the message to Alina exactly as instructed. The smile on Alina's face froze. With her trembling hands, she took out the dress. The faint scent of perfume reached her nose. Although the dress was still brand-new, it was obvious somebody had worn it.

Maria was deliberately humiliating her and stomping on her dignity.

Alina blushed in shame.

'Maria Song, you are such a bitch!' Her feelings surfaced once more, and the familiar hatred for her cousin settled in her heart.

Without any hesitation, Alina went to the offices of HL Group with the paper bags in hand after the bodyguard left.

She put the bags in front of James and said, "James, Maria Song asked someone to bring these to me. So, whose bright idea was that? Yours, or hers?" She looked pretty calm on the surface. Only she hersel knew how restless she was.

He didn't have to look at the bags to realize these were the very bags he used to transport the jewelry and the dress he bought her. The man put down the pen in his hand calmly. "She says you hurt her and she has evidence. What's going on?"

He noticed the panic in the woman's eyes. Maria wasn't lying to him.

Alina tried her best to suppress the panic in her heart and calm herself down. She explained, "That wasn't my fault. I was forced into it. Aunt Judy doesn't like Maria, and insisted —"

"Judy Lan?" James interrupted.

Alina nodded and continued, "James, I love you so much that I lost my mind. I let Aunt Judy talk me into it. I'm so sorry, and I owe Maria an apology. After she came back, I wanted to get along. Leave the past in the past. But Maria doesn't want to do that. She's not innocent, either. Maria hit me. And she humiliated me, like with these gifts."

With tears in her eyes, she added, "She knows I love you so much and always uses you against me. I get mad, too. I can't fight her, though. She'd beat the hell out of me in a straight up fight. It's not fair." Since she couldn't beat Maria in a fight, she'd have to use more underhanded methods.

The tears made James want to stop talking to her, but what kind of boyfriend would he be if he did that? So he listened and tried to be patient.

"She asked someone to tell me that she doesn't care about you. She asked me to keep an eye on you and ask you not to bother her anymore. Put yourself in my shoes. I'm your fiancee-to-be. Your ex always bullies me. I swear I've never cheated on you. You can't just stand by and watch Maria Song bully me like this. Please help me!" One of the reasons James was willing to unite with Tang Group through marriage was that Alina's private life was clean.

Now he asked Alina to behave herself and she'd done just that, but he was entangled with Maria's life. It was indeed unfair to Alina.

However, he was not interested in the feud between these two women.

"I can't protect you all the time. I'm not interested in what women do As the future Mrs. Xi, you should learn to protect yourself," James said, looking at the document in his hands. "She knows Kung Fu. I..." Staring at him with tears in her eyes, Alina looked hurt.

But James interrupted her. "Bring more bodyguards with you, or learn martial arts yourself." From what he remembered, Alina used to be the representative of the upper-class socialite divas in H City. She was in charge of all the high-end clubs of Tang Group. She was quite resourceful.

She was in her element when socializing, getting anything she wanted. James couldn't help wondering what was wrong with her. She'd tangled with others, and either befriended them or ruined them. But Maria was a constant thorn in her side.