Chapter 63 Marriage Of Convenience
Although Maria was James' ex-wife, Alina still felt threatened. She didn't want to admit it, but she was insecure when it came to Maria. After all, Alina had always believed that James wouldn't have married Maria if he had no feelings for her.
James didn't say anything. He just stared at Alina with a darkened expression.
After a while, he said, "Once we are married, I will never cheat on you."
He was a loyal man. Although he didn't go home often when he and Maria were still married, he never fooled around with other women.
A teardrop fell from Alina's eyes. She cried, then laughed, snuggled her head down his shoulder, and confessed, "James, I love you so much. I've fallen in love with you from the moment I first laid eyes on you. I was only eighteen back then. I've waited for you for almost twelve years. And finally, I will be engaged to you soon. My dream has come true!"
Unfortunately, James was not interested in love. So he was not moved even a bit by her confession. Just like splashing a basin of ice-cold water on her face, he mercilessly said, "You and I clearly know what will happen between us. We have nothing more than a marriage of convenience. Both of our companies can benefit from this marriage. HL Group has its own interests in Tang Group, and I can also help your family business prosper. Alina Tang, there should be no love involve between us, so you'd better control your emotion."
Ever since James was a child, he had always believed that no one else would love and cherish him but himself.
Because of that, he swore that he wouldn't give his heart to anyone.
For him, if he couldn't even manage his own emotions, how could he manage the huge HL Group effectively?
However, Alina had already fallen with him so deeply. It was too late for her to remove him from her heart. "It doesn't matter. I will do my best to make you fall in love with me." She believed that there was always a way to everyone's heart. As long as she fulfilled her duties as a good wife and she treated James well, there was a chance to change his mind.
For a moment, silence filled James' office. Then Alina let go of him and wiped her tears. "Go ahead with your work. I'll go now. Just don't stay here too late, okay? Go home and go to bed early."
As Alina went out of James' office, the pungent smell of her perfume that irritated his nostrils finally dissipated. And the frown on his face gradually loosened.
After leaving HL Group, Alina thought for a long time. She came up with a conclusion that Maria could always find a reason to get close to James because of their dead son. She couldn't think of any other reason for Maria to get near him.
Inside the Night-Out Bar, the night had just begun.
More than a dozen young men and women in a luxury private room were having so much fun, shaking their heads to the tune of the ear-splitting music played by the DJ.
But not long after, the big screen where the music videos were being shown went black, and the music abruptly stopped.
Everyone got vexed at once. One of them shouted, "What the fuck?! What's going on?"
"Ben, what's wrong with you?" another one asked.
The young man who was in charge of the projector was harshly scolded. But he also felt frustrated as he didn't know what happened either.
He was about to call someone in to fix it when the big screen lit up again. They all thought that the music video would resume playing. But when they took a look at the screen, they noticed that it was something else.
"Holy shit! Isn't that you, Mr. Tang?"
"Hey, Ronald! That's really you. Whoa! Who is that chick with you?"
When Ronald heard everyone mentioning his name, he walked to the front and looked at the screen in confusion.
It was a video of him and the girl he had sex with in a hotel last week. On the screen, he saw himself impatiently taking off his clothes. Ronald was stunned in disbelief and embarrassment. He had never taken a video of himself in such a scene, so someone must have recorded secretly.
Standing beside him now was his current girlfriend, whom he had exerted so much effort to win the heart. They had only been together for less than two months. And since the video clearly showed the date and time of the recording, which happened last week, it was clear that he cheated on her.
"Ronald Tang! What is the meaning of this?" his girlfriend muttered through clenched teeth. The young woman flushed with anger. She knew that Ronald had a bad reputation, especially when it came to women. But he had spent so much money on her and bought her everything she wanted. Eventually, she was not able to resist him anymore, and she accepted him to be her boyfriend. Besides, she thought that he would change once she became her girlfriend.
"Marsha, let me explain." Ronald had spent millions of dollars on Marsha Zhao, but he still couldn't convince her to have sex with him. He couldn't let go of her just like that.
"You are caught in the act with a woman in bed. What else do you want to explain?" Marsha shook off Ronald's hand and rushed out of the private room.
The screen continued to show the video of Ronald and the woman. Even their lewd conversation was too audible. Ronald got so furious and shouted, "Screw you!"
He then picked up an armchair at the corner and smashed the screen, ignoring everyone's dissuasion. A cloud of smoke rose up from the back of the screen, and the video disappeared.
Ronald threw the armchair heavily on the floor. With his hands on his hips, his chest heaved up and down. He couldn't find a way to vent his anger because he didn't know who did such humiliation to him. He roared, "Go and find out who did it! I will kill him!"
"Mr. Tang, calm down. Don't be angry. She's just a woman. I'm sure you can find someone much better than her," one of his friends comforted him.
Ronald fell into silence. After thinking for a while, he pointed at his friend and ordered, "Find Marsha and bring her to me. I've spent millions of dollars on her. I can't let her run away just like that. Take her upstairs. That bitch will definitely learn a lesson she will never forget. Kent, let's enjoy her together."
Kent Jiang, the young man with a green ponytail tied at the back of his head, often shared women with Ronald. Since Ronald was rich, the women he could get were hot and gorgeous.
Kent knew that Ronald was not serious about Marsha. As a matter of fact, he had already planned that he would take over Marsha after Ronald got sated of her. He didn't expect that his opportunity would come this soon. So upon hearing Ronald's words, he nodded happily, made a thumbs-up sign, and said, "Okay!" Outside the bar, Marsha Zhao stood at the side of the road.
Before she could even hail a taxi, two men stood beside her and took her away.
Soon enough, Ronald received a phone call that Marsha was already in a room upstairs. He and Kent were about to go upstairs, but the door was pushed open from the outside. Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment upon seeing a woman appear at the door.
She was wearing a sapphire Venus cut dress, light makeup, and flaming red lipstick. A lit cigarette lay between her slender fingers.
"Maria Song? Damn it! Did you do all this?" Looking at Maria standing in front of him, Ronald realized that it was she who had played the tricks on him.
Maria puffed out a cloud of smoke from her cigarette, folded her arm across her chest, and admitted his accusation without hesitation. "Yes, it was me." "You're such a bitch!" Ronald rushed towards Maria furiously. But before he could get close to her, she kicked him, and he flew out. "Ouch!" Ronald felt the pain, but he didn't want to show defeat in front of his friends. He hit the group of men behind him, knocking down several of them. But Maria was still standing there safe and sound, looking so elegant and charming. Her face looked so innocent as if she didn't beat Ronald.
This time, Ronald couldn't take it anymore, so he ordered, "Call my men to come here!" He was now half lying on the floor in pain.
Kent immediately took out his phone and made a call.
Maria gracefully walked closer to the crowd.
Her moves were quick and accurate, and it made everyone gape their mouths in awe. Those young men, who got intimidated by her presence, quickly stepped back.
Maria was like a queen who looked down on Ronald and said disdainfully, "Your girlfriend's name is Marsha Zhao, right? She's in my hands now, and I'm here to warn you. You'd better withdraw the lawsuit against me. Otherwise, the Tang Group will die with you."
"The Tang Group will die? Ha-ha! You're too hilarious." Ronald laughed wildly. He then sat up from the floor and said with a ferocious look on his face, "Do you think you can defeat Tang Group with Kung Fu? You must be dreaming!"