A Vengeful Ex-Wife

"We almost lost the Ezyhealth project to Fosun. We got it back, thanks to you. By the way, how much do you know about Fosun?"

Maria thought for a while and answered, "The first time I ever heard about them was at that dinner party Mr. Xi threw. You brought up Fosun and Ezyhealth. Before that, I hadn't heard a thing about either of them."

"Oh! I wonder if Mr. Xi might know more." Colby picked up the serving chopsticks and picked up a piece of fish for her. "Come on, Maria, check this out. It's leopard coral grouper. The chef's special."

"Thank you, Mr. Zheng! I'm not sure if James knows about that company. How about I ask him next time I see him?"

Maria took a bite of the fish and sipped on the soup.

"Seen him recently?" Colby asked her again.

Maria could tell that Colby was extremely interested in that. It was like he really wanted to use her against James.

She nodded, looking a little depressed. "Yeah. But you know him pretty well. He's super arrogant and proud. He doesn't care about me at all. Just like last night, when I met him in the Leopard Club, he had a woman on each arm. He ignored me."

Colby smiled. "Maria, you need to try harder!"

"Granted. But James is a smart guy. He's always has his guard up around me. I have to be very careful." Maria lowered her voice on purpose, showing how disappointed she was.

"Yes, you have to be careful. Mr. Xi was able to take the reins of HL Group in short order. He's built that company up too. He's not dumb."

"I agree."

After a moment of silence, Maria realized she was full and started on the fruit.

She asked casually, "Mr. Zheng, can I ask you a question. Where is Mrs. Zheng? Why isn't she here? Come to think of it, I haven't seen her at any dinner party I've been at." Colby wiped his mouth, put down the tissue, and answered, "She's been in the US tending to our kid. She hasn't come back yet."

"Well, what if she finds out about us when she comes back?" Maria asked hesitantly. Worry was written all over her face.

Colby smiled unfathomably. "What about us?" They weren't having sex. He only gave her some money, and his wife wouldn't check his account. Maria was stunned for a moment and then smiled. "Oh, right! I got it, Mr. Zheng."

"But if you're interested, I've got a villa in the south of the city. You can move in there, and you won't need that shabby hotel." After she moved into his villa, he could do whatever he wanted to her. Right now, he didn't give a damn about whether his wife would find out.

"I'd love to, Mr. Zheng. James made me the same offer a few days ago, but I turned him down. If I moved into your villa, it wouldn't take long before he found out. James and I probably wouldn't be hanging out again," Maria said. How could she not know what Colby had in mind? So she gave him a flawless answer.

Although the villa was not a property in Colby's name, it was in his assistant's name. As long as James asked someone to check it out, he would know what was going on. Colby didn't insist. He opened his briefcase, took out something, and handed it to the woman. "Okay, I'll leave the key with you. Ball's in your court now."

Maria took the key, acting overjoyed. "Thank you, Mr. Zheng. That's so kind of you!"

"You're worth it. By the way, you should pay more attention to Fosun Entertainment Group. You can ask James about them. If you hear anything, let me know as soon as possible!" Fosun Entertainment Group was up to something. Colby couldn't ignore them. "All right, Mr. Zheng!"

As Colby was quite busy, they went their separate ways after lunch.

Maria watched the old man walk out of the private room. A few minutes later, she took out her phone and dialed a number. "How's the Ezyhealth project going? Okay, I see. Keep an eye on it. And HL Group too. If anything changes there, let me know. Good. Thank you for the hard work. Bye."

Putting her phone on the table, Maria walked to the French window and looked out at the city's main river, lost in thought.

Colby was a cunning fox, who was not so easy to fool. She had to think about where to go next.

In a prosperous city like H City, there would be no shortage of parties and banquets.

In a rich downtown neighborhood, a car rolled to a stop in front of a villa. Maria tidied up her smoky-gray dress and emerged from the car. She walked up to a man in a tailored grey suit, waiting by the door. She put her hand in his, and finally took his arm gracefully.

When the usher saw them, he trotted up and greeted the man. "Good evening, Mr. Shen! Glad you came!"

Norman nodded at him in response and walked into the villa with Maria. Maria looked around the magnificent villa in front of them and whispered to Norman. "It's Kent's birthday party, so I bet Alina and her brother are here. If there's any trouble, you can pretend you don't know me." She didn't want to disgrace him.

Norman smiled slightly. "I thought you didn't want to come. What changed your mind?"

"The Jiang family is powerful. Since you'll be here, how can I miss it?" Both Kent and Ronald were from rich families. The Tang family had become rich and risen faster than the Jiang family had, but they weren't that different.

Norman's eyes fell on Ronald, who flirted with a woman nearby. "You've never done anything without a reason. Did the Jiang family anger you as well?"

Maria maintained her smile. "Amazing, Mr. Shen. You can read me like a book."

Ronald was chatting up a girl from a rich family. Alina was conversing with a woman by the swimming pool not far away. Maria looked around but there was no sign of James.

James never thought highly of the Jiang family, so he likely wouldn't be here. Norman was also no fan. He just came here to look for someone.

Since it was Norman who took Maria to the party, the Tangs came over to greet them and then drifted away to hobnob with the other guests. The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and it was already cold. The air was fresh because it had just rained. The ideal situation for a birthday party in the garden.

Since Maria came here with Norman, many were curious and wanted to talk to her. They had a lot of questions. But they knew her situation was still precarious, so they didn't get too close. After all, if one day she annoyed Norman and he dumped her, she'd be vulnerable to whatever the Xi family wanted to do to her. People she kept company with would be implicated as well.

Kent spotted Maria as soon as she arrived. He didn't come to greet her until Norman left her side. "Good evening, Maria!"

Kent would always remember how Maria taught Ronald a lesson in the bar that night. Ronald was a classic bully and needed to be knocked down a few pegs. All of a sudden, Maria showed up and taught Ronald a lesson. Kent knew he had to be careful around her. She had made some powerful enemies.

After all, Kent was the host of the party tonight. Maria grabbed a champagne flute from the tray of a passing sever and greeted Kent with a smile. "Happy birthday, Kent!"

"I wanted to send you an invitation, but my parents handled the guest list and invitations, so..." Kent let his words trail off, feeling a little embarrassed. She knew what he meant.

He didn't invite Maria. After all, they were not exactly friends. But he was the host, and felt obligated to explain.

"It doesn't matter. Where are your parents, anyway? I didn't see them." Maria understood what Kent meant. It would look more than a little odd if he did invite her.