A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Chapter 171 Second-hand

When James saw that Maria was with Colby, his icy gaze swept over her and then he looked away.

Summer greeted Maria quietly before she found a seat near the door and sat down.

Meanwhile, Jonathan was really curious about Maria, especially that she was personally brought by Colby to this dinner party. Besides, he also noticed that James had stared at her for a while. Thus, he got more eager to get to know her.

Since all of the invited guests had arrived, the dinner soon started.

Maria was the most beautiful among the women present at the party, so she naturally became the center of men's attention.

Even the bureau chief who organized this event wanted to talk to her from time to time. He would also take care of her occasionally. "Ms. Song, do you drink?" he asked.

Maria put down her chopsticks, smiled at him, and replied, "Of course, I drink. But I'm better at pouring wine." She then picked up a bottle of wine, walked towards the bureau chief, and filled his glass while he was laughing heartily.

James just silently smoked while watching Maria wander around men skillfully and with ease. He never said a word.

The bureau chief kept on praising Colby for finding a good manager for HM Group. Colby just smiled and glanced at James. He then tried to sound out Maria for the last time. "Maria is Mr. Xi's ex-wife. Of course, she is excellent."

Since the bureau chief was only transferred from another city not long ago, he didn't know many things in H City yet. So obviously, he was interested in what Colby said. His gaze swept James and Maria and said, "Well, Ms. Song and Mr. Xi..."

James didn't react. It was as if the chief wasn't talking about him.

With the same smile plastered on her face, Maria put her elbow on Colby's shoulder and said in a sweet and coquettish tone, "Well, I'm not good enough to be with Mr. Xi now. But Mr. Zheng treats me better."

Men were always too proud, so Colby was overjoyed by her flattery.

He tested her several times, but the results showed that she had nothing to do with James anymore. Finally, he was convinced that James and Maria had nothing to do with each other now.

Everyone knew that Colby had a wife. But this kind of affair was very common to successful businessmen. It happened everywhere. Thus, they all tacitly did not mention his wife.

This time, Jonathan chimed in, "Mr. Xi is so handsome and rich. Ms. Song, don't you miss him?"

For a moment, everyone's gaze fell on Maria again.

She was still pissed off, so she answered, "Mr. Jiang, Mr. Xi already has a fiancee. Of course, I can't possibly get back to him. Why should I miss him? At most, I just wanted to fool around with him. But Mr. Zheng treats me better."

'Fool around?' These two words from her reechoed in James' mind. Although he remained quiet, a hint of irony flashed across his eyes. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Maria was so bold that she dared to say something like that. He decided to piss her off too. At the thought of this, James stubbed out his cigarette and said in a lazy tone, "There are thousands of women in the world. Maria is just a second-hand woman. If her boyfriend really doesn't mind it, then he seems to truly love her.”

'Truly love her?' These words sounded really ironic.

No one could guarantee that businessmen like them loved their wives truly. Almost eighty percent of these men had a marriage of convenience. They valued power, money, and business than love.

Maria got more pissed off by what James said. The last time she was in his manor, it seemed that he really had a great time playing with her before she flew to France.

On the other hand, Colby felt a little embarrassed by James' words. But he tried to smooth things over with a smile. "We are now living in modern society. Maria is beautiful and has a good figure. How can a man not fall in love with her?"

"Yes, you're right. As a matter of fact, I'm so envious of your luck, Mr. Xi and Mr. Zheng," Jonathan said.

The obscenity in his words made Maria almost throw up.

After pouring wine into the men's glasses, she didn't return to her seat. Instead, she walked up to James with the bottle and her glass. She poured wine into his glass and asked with a smile, "Mr. XI, can we still hang around in the future?"

It was hard to read the emotion in James' eyes. After a while, he sneered, "I'm sorry, Ms. Song. I don't want to betray my woman."

Maria wanted to thank him for his indifference and cold refusal at this moment. But she pretended to be embarrassed and tried to smooth things over for herself. She threw up her hands at the other men and said, "See? I'm really not good enough for Mr. Xi."

"Mr. Xi always behaves himself. It's normal," Colby said while waving at her, hinting her to go back to her seat.

Maria got his silent message, so she walked back to her seat and said, "Exactly. Oh, I'm sorry for taking so much time filling your glasses. Please go on with your discussion. I won't bother you any

longer."

The men smiled at her and continued with the topic.

After two hours, the dinner ended. Maria held Colby's arm, watching James leave with the bureau chief. She then got into Colby's car.

Inside the car, Colby talked to his assistant for a while. He then turned to look at her and asked, "Maria, do you know who is in charge of the project of Tang Group and HL Group?"

"I don't know. I actually didn't pay much attention to it. Mr. Zheng, do you want me to check on it?" Maria looked confused. It seemed that she really didn't know.

Colby shook his head and grabbed her hand. "No need. I'll ask my men to look into it. I have to go to the company first. Shall I ask someone to send you to my villa?"

He looked at her with a strange light flashing in his eyes. His words were full of implication.

Maria pretended not to understand. She rested her head on his shoulder and yawned, trying to muddle through. "No, thank you, Mr. Zheng. Please go ahead with your work. Anyway, we're near the hotel where I'm staying. I'm so tired today, so I want to sleep. Just call me if you need anything, Mr. Zheng."

Colby looked at her sleepy eyes that were about to close. She seemed really exhausted, so he didn't suspect anything. "Okay."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the hotel where Maria was staying. When she got out of the car, Colby rolled down the window and looked at the small hotel in front of him. "If you don't want to stay in my villa, why don't you buy a house for yourself? Tell me which one you like, and I'll ask someone to buy it for you."

Maria leaned over and smiled happily. "That's great! I'll look for a house in the next two days. Thank you, Mr. Zheng. Have a safe trip home." She then blew him a kiss, took a few steps back, and waved at him.

Colby had wanted to do something when she leaned over, but she didn't seem to have such an intention. Instead, she said goodbye to him. He had no choice but to also wave at her before telling the driver to leave.

As soon as the car drove away, Maria breathed a sigh of relief. She put her smile away and turned to enter the hotel.

But after taking just a few steps, she heard a sound.

It was the sound of a lighter.

She paused and looked in the direction of the noise. There, she saw a familiar Harkim parked at the entrance of the hotel. The man in the driver's seat rested his elbow on the window frame and slowly lit a cigarette.

She remained where she stood and looked in the direction where Colby had left just now. James must have seen everything.

Thinking of it, Maria quickened her pace to her room, intending to stop James before he could get in.

However, she had underestimated him.

As soon as she locked the door of her room from the inside, her phone rang. She took it out and checked the caller. It was James.

She leaned against the wall and pressed the answer button. "What's up?"

"You have ten seconds to open the door."

Maria rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you? Why should I open my door for you? Go to your Alina!"

"You have seven seconds left. If you don't open the door, I will ask someone to call Colby and tell him that you and I had sex in my manor."