A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Maria was afraid of being discovered. She was living at Fairview Villa against the owner's wishes. So she never turned on the air conditioner, and relieved the oppressive heat with cold showers at bedtime. Behind the curtain, she was so nervous that beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.

The man leisurely walked over to the curtain. The two were now so close that Maria could finally hear his footsteps, muted by the carpet. The man paused. She got ready to fight, but she couldn't hear him anymore.

He didn't move for a long time. Just when Maria was uneasy and wondering if she should ambush him, she heard a familiar voice. "Come out!"

It was James!

Realizing who it was, Maria heard her inner voice utter, 'You're doomed!'

She stayed here secretly without James' permission. If he found out it was her, she would never be able to come here ever again!

Maria froze. She was planning what to do next.

James had probably guessed she was the one hiding behind the curtain. He just needed to confirm it. Somehow, despite guards both human and electronic, she could still sneak in and stay here unnoticed. James couldn't help wondering if it were because his monitoring equipment was too lousy, or this woman was really skillful.

Maria whipped the heavy curtain aside. She was hoping to make the end of the curtain fly onto James' face, fouling his vision and letting her escape.

But it wasn't going to happen. James was just as skilled as she was, if not more so.

As soon as she moved the curtain aside, he grabbed her wrist tightly. Maria bowed her head immediately to try and hide her face, but the moonlight flooded in and betrayed her.

James looked at the woman he grabbed. She wore a slip dress, and her long hair spilled over her face. He couldn't see who it was. He could tell she was barefoot, so she probably left the bed quickly. He pulled her wrist hard and spun her around. He would see her face soon enough.

Maria knew that she was about to be exposed, so she reached out and tried to cover James' eyes.

But the man moved his head, and she missed.

James stretched out his right hand at the same time trying to brush her hair away from her face. Maria shook off his right hand violently. Meanwhile, she raised her free hand to strike the hand holding her wrist. James was too quick for her. He knew exactly what she was trying to do, so he let go of her wrist. Maria missed again.

'Great! My martial arts training is useless. I can't even beat a guy who sits in an office all day!'

Despising herself, Maria stepped back angrily. Eventually he'd see her face and know who she was. Then she'd be in even more trouble.

As Maria stepped back farther, James moved to close the distance. He kept moving closer, and she kept retreating. She miscalculated and fell on the big bed behind her. Maria had planned to turn over and jump to the other side of the bed, which could bring her closer to the bedroom door. She pushed herself up with one hand, hoping she could do this quickly enough.

In an instant, James pulled her down, and jumped on her, pressing her down on the bed.

The long hair that hung over the woman's face gave way. He could see it clearly in the moonlight. James' guess was finally confirmed. He had the advantage as he moved her hands to either side of her head, pressing them on the bed.

The more Maria thought about it, the angrier she became. She thought she was quite talented in martial arts. She should have been able to beat James easily. But she ended up like this. She mocked herself for underestimating James as well as her naive fantasies.

Not only was she unable to get rid of this man, but she was pinned tightly under his body and unable to move at all. If James had a knife in his hand, it would be a piece of cake for him to cut her throat. The thought sent her into a rage.

James could clearly see the flames of fury in the woman's eyes. He sneered. "So you get angry when you're the one trespassing?"

'Shouldn't I be the angry one? She's not supposed to be here. She defeats my security. What am I paying these people for? If I hadn't decided to drop by, how long would she have continued to stay here? I'm not running a hotel. First thing tomorrow, I'm firing everyone who's supposed to be watching the place!' James made up his mind, concealing his anger perfectly. Maria couldn't tell anything from his facial expression.

Realizing she sounded upset, Maria reined in her anger and smiled gently. "Not at all, Mr. Xi. I just crashed here for the night. It's not like I'm moving in. I didn't touch anything." She just slept in the bed and used the bathroom.

'You didn't touch anything?' James didn't believe her at all. "You touched the keypad on the coded lock." He grabbed the quilt that she used. "And where did you get this?"

Maria just stared at him with her innocent eyes, blinking from time to time. In her heart, she cursed, 'Bastard!' But she told herself not to fight back. She was in the wrong. Putting on a smile, she stretched out her arms to wrap them around the man's neck. Then she tried to appeal to his charity. "Mr. Xi, I know I was wrong, but I just wanted to see the old house again. Since you wouldn't let me, I had to sneak in."

Getting closer to the man, Maria inhaled his scent. Secretly, of course. Usually men stank in this kind of weather. He should, since he wore a suit all day. But James didn't smell like that at all. In fact, he had a kind of minty smell.

"Cut the crap," the man ordered expressionlessly. He wasn't buying it. She was trying to butter him up, trying to make him feel something for her. His right hand closed around her neck like a vice.

However Maria didn't react to his violent gesture. Instead she kissed him on the cheek. She adopted a hazy, dreamy look, gazing at him with bedroom eyes. Then Maria winked at him. "Well, you know... I've been aching to do this since we saw each other at the party!"

Obviously, she was trying to seduce him. James' gaze was ice-cold. He rudely removed her arms from his neck, and then glared at her. There was danger in those eyes. "Don't make me hit you. You know the consequences."

He didn't feel he was making an idle threat. Everyone knew that James was a man of his word. Maria wouldn't back down. She curled up her lips provocatively and placed her hands on his stout chest. "Really? You'd hit me? Wouldn't you rather do something else?"

James lowered his head to look at the pair of hands on his chest. However, he was not interested and remained unmoved. A murderous look flashed in his eyes. "Try me!"

He never thought that he was petty, but he couldn't forgive the woman who killed his child. 'You may not have done it on purpose, but he died because of you. You never should have come back!' When he thought about it, he decided not to waste any more time on this woman.

Fighting the urge to throw her out, James got to his feet, tidied up his clothes, and returned to his usual indifference. He warned the woman one last time, "I told you not to come here. Now get out! If you're not gone in three minutes, I'll pick you up and throw you out the door!"

Although Maria still wanted to stay, she knew that she should leave graciously. Anyway, she was happy she got to stay here all week.

She got out of bed, turned on the bedside lamp, and calmly made the bed. Then she went to the bathroom, where all her things were.

At the two minute and 55 second mark, she heard James counting down. "5, 4, 3..." He was staring at his watch the whole time. Maria continued to gather her stuff and sneered. 'What an asshole!'

At the last second, Maria walked slowly to the bedroom door with a backpack on her shoulder. "I'm leaving the villa, not the city. I just thought I'd let you know, Mr. Xi. See you later!" She was back, and she'd stay there till she died.

As if he didn't hear what she said, James strode towards the door. Afraid he would hit her, Maria's heart beat like a drum. She rushed out of the bedroom before he could lay a hand on her.

As soon as she stepped into the hallway, he slammed the door behind her. Bang!