A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Listening to what Maria said, Colby hesitated. HL Group was a big organization that could offer a lot of projects, and tons of profit potential. It was another income stream, and only a fool relied on merely one stream. Maria let him make his own choice-woman or profit.

Colby was not stupid. He answered her with a question. "Mr. Xi is young and handsome. There are a lot of women crushing on him right now, including Alina Tang. Why does it sound like you don't love him anymore?"

He looked Maria straight in the eye to see if she were lying.

Maria's red lips trembled, and she returned his gaze. Tears rimming her lovely eyes, she said, "Mr. Zheng, we've known each other for a long time. You should know me by now. Do you think I would continue to love a man who not only divorced me when I needed him the most, a man who stepped on me and pushed me into a bottomless chasm? Does that sound like me? Love him? I want to kill him."

She had charms and she knew how to use them. Colby's heart hammered in his chest, spurred on by her morose look. The slightest change in her expression could do things to a man. Colby touched her long hair and softly comforted her. "Don't be sad, Maria. When I'm done with HL Group, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

As he spoke, he removed his arm from around her and took a bank card from his shirt pocket. "There's twenty-million on here. It's all yours."

When Maria saw the card, her eyes lit up. She took the card from him and hugged him. Putting her chin on his shoulder, she sobbed, "You're too kind, Mr. Zheng! I'd like to be the hidden power behind your throne. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, but only you and I need to know."

The man didn't see the irony in the woman's eyes. He patted her on the back to comfort her, "It'll happen soon."

"Thank you, Mr. Zheng!"

Colby returned to his seat and asked the waiter to serve the dishes.

During lunch, the man put down his chopsticks. "Maria, do you know Norman Shen?" he asked, casually.

Maria sneered in her heart. Colby wasn't as dumb as he looked. He'd done a thorough job looking into her background. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Are you two close?"

"Kind of." Maria stopped eating and confessed, "I'm a relative nobody. He's a big shot. So what kind of relationship is that?" They could be lovers, friends, or even just convenient for each other. Maria didn't clarify. In fact, she and Norman were friends after a fashion.

Colby was misled by her ambiguous explanation. But her answer sealed his trust in her. He knew Norman took Maria to Alina's birthday party. They definitely knew each other.

But Maria loved money. Colby knew that. So he figured she was Norman's mistress.

He had fooled around with a lot of women, and he didn't care if the woman he was dating was a virgin or not. He was not picky. A virgin was fine, but experienced ones were better in bed. Maria was the latter.

So Colby was serious about everything. He was already thinking up schemes where he could use Maria as an "in" with Norman.

After lunch, the two walked out of the restaurant together. When they bid each other farewell, Colby asked Maria if she wanted to go shopping in Italy. He could make the travel arrangements if she wanted. "I'd love to," Maria said, mustering a regretful tone. "But I promised James I'd hang out with him tonight. Another time, maybe?"

Colby nodded firmly. He didn't see anything wrong with it. The two separated. Maria went back to the hotel and took off her clothes that Colby touched. She tossed them in the trash. Then she took a shower and washed her hair.

She found Colby repulsive, and this was the best way to feel clean after he pawed her today. She couldn't just push him away-he was too useful as long as he was enamored with her.

But it wasn't just Colby. She'd been having second thoughts about James since the night he raped her.

She didn't have any romantic inclinations now. She just wanted to work hard and make money.

However, on the third day after that miserable night in Fairview Villa, James came to her.

At the sight of the man, all the vows Maria had made turned into bubbles. Bubbles which the man popped by his very presence.

Looking at the arrogant man sitting opposite her, she didn't want to focus on her career now. Maybe she could spare some time for this guy. He was definitely easy on the eyes.

James never beat around the bush. "Show me the evidence you have on Alina."

With one hand on the back of the sofa, Maria looked at the man with a faint smile. "Why should I give it to you?" Did he want to get slapped again? "What do you want?" He was trying to negotiate with her. "What a question," Maria said. "Give me what I want, and you can have the evidence."

That evidence was hard won. It was secondhand.

Now that James had come to her in person, how could she not give it to him? Even if he did it for another woman, Maria could still fulfill his wish.

James kept silent.

He remembered that this woman once said seriously that she wanted everyone to die with her.

"I want..." Maria started to say something, but she thought of a better way to put it. "The doctor said I have hypoglycemia."

The man frowned. Was she sick?

The woman's smile widened. "I need you to talk to me sweetly. Or I'll pass out."

James was speechless. She was flirting with him.

At the same time, he understood what she meant. If he wanted the evidence, he had to talk to her nicely. Flatter her.

However, he had never felt intimidated by her, so he wasn't in a hurry to say anything. Looking around him, he could see the coffee shop had been restored to its original state. There were quite a few obvious surveillance cameras, too. He asked, "Did you call the police? What did they say?"

Knowing what he was referring to, this bothered Maria. The police didn't have a suspect, and had no leads. She looked at the man quietly. "What are you talking about? You know the cops couldn't find anything."

"I'll have someone look into it for you. Give me the evidence."

"And if I don't agree?" He was extremely good at bargaining. But Maria was no pushover.

James took a leisurely sip of coffee. "Then you'll never know who smashed up your cafe." As soon as he finished speaking, he put the coffee cup back on the table.

Maria burst into laughter. This man was still an asshole. It was as natural to him as breathing. He couldn't do a better job of being an ass if he worked at it.

Obviously, he didn't know that she still hurt from his rape.

She sneered, "James Xi, don't forget that I didn't say yes that night. In fact, I said no. You ignored my feelings and hurt me. If you keep threatening me like this, I will press charges." After finishing, he put his pants back on and left immediately. Instead of accepting the consequences, he continued to provoke her. Maria wished that she could crush his head like a grape.

The woman's words soured James' mood. That night, he was really out of his mind. Heedless of her resistance, he did something he shouldn't have.

"And how do you think that's going to play out?"

"I don't have a chance of winning, but I can let the whole world know that James Xi is a scumbag. He raped his ex-wife and even sent her to prison to cover up what he did. What do you think that will do to HL Group? I can see your stock prices hitting rock bottom. They might even force you out to fix their image..." The most important thing for a listed group and its owner was reputation. Once their reputation tanked the company was all but finished. That was why Maria could threaten James like that. He knew it all too well, because he'd done that to other companies.

The man didn't retort this time, but the anger in his eyes was visible.