Chapter 98 Don't Touch Her
Ethan didn't respond to Ronald. 'Ronald Tang, you seem to think too highly of yourself. Who do you think you are?' he sneered inwardly.
When Ronald noticed that Ethan remained silent, he added, "I don't understand you, Mr. Nan. Why are you protecting a murderer? Don't you know that Maria killed her own son? She...Ouch!" Ronald wasn't able to finish his words. He cried in pain, surprised that Maria had suddenly made a move against him.
Everyone was taken aback when Maria walked towards Ronald, pulled him, and pressed him on the table. She then took out a dagger under her skirt, threw its scabbard, pressed it against his neck, and shouted coldly, "Apologize!"
In Maria's eyes, Ronald was like a dog who couldn't change his bad habits. She had already taught him a lesson last time, but he still didn't know how to mind his language.
The reason why Ronald acted so brave right now was because of Elaine. He had seen Elaine slap Maria during the family gathering. So he thought that Maria wouldn't dare to fight back as long as she was with him. He didn't expect that Maria would hit him unscrupulously this time.
"Aunt Elaine! James! Please help me!" As he felt the cold blade touched the skin of his neck, Ronald felt so scared that he nearly wetted his pants.
But James was just leisurely smoking as if he hadn't heard anything. It was Elaine who rushed over and snapped, "Maria Song! Let go of Ron!"
However, Maria totally ignored Elaine. She stared at Ronald with eyes emanating a murderous intent and repeated, "Apologize!"
She was demanding an apology. Ronald didn't deserve to mention her late son, so he must apologize to her and to Arthur.
Elaine tried to pull Maria's hand. But the harder she tried, the louder Ronald screamed. "Ouch! Aunt Elaine, don't touch her. It hurts!" Elaine's interference angered Maria more. The dagger went deeper into Ronald's flesh, and blood started to ooze out.
This time, Elaine was panic-stricken. Seeing the trace of blood on Ronald's neck, she felt like she was going crazy. Left with no choice, she turned to James, who was just watching the scene, to ask for help. "Mr. Xi, Ron is Alina's younger brother. Please don't just sit there and watch. Please help him."
With an expressionless face, James flicked the ash from his cigarette and casually stretched his feet on the table. He then said something that stunned everyone. "He needs to pay the price for what he has said. Why should I help him?"
Ronald had the audacity to use Arthur as an excuse to condemn Maria. For James, he deserved more than just a small cut on his neck.
Upon hearing James' words, Ronald felt helpless. If James wasn't willing to help him, and Maria didn't let him go, no one else could save him. So although it was against his will, he was forced to apologize to her. "Maria, I'm sorry."
He thought that it would be over. But instead of letting him go, Maria ordered, "Kneel down and apologize!"
"Maria Song, you're going too far. I'm warning you...Ouch! James, help me! Mr. Nan, ask someone to take this madwoman away! Ouch! Okay! Okay! I'll kneel down and apologize now. Just stop it!" Pain and fear forced Ronald to kneel down.
Ethan didn't care about Ronald at all, so he just stood aside and watched. He had kindly reminded Ronald earlier, but the latter didn't listen. Ronald only deserved to be punished this way.
With James and Ethan's presence, even Kent and the pretty young woman with him dared not to help Ronald. Instead, they hid in the corner a little far away, afraid that they would also be implicated. They didn't want to experience Maria's rage at all.
Since no one was willing to help him, Ronald had to beg for mercy to save himself. "Maria, I'm sorry. Please let me go."
Ethan almost burst into laughter when he saw this. Elaine couldn't believe her eye either. Rage surged up in her heart, and she roared, "Maria Song, how dare you!"
Maria felt satisfied after getting what she wanted, so she put away the dagger. Totally ignoring Elaine, she warned Ronald, "If you dare to provoke me again, I'll cut your lipstick next time!"
Some turned to Maria and gave her a questioning gaze. What did she mean by Ronald's lipstick? Ethan instantly got Maria's point. This time, he failed to hold back his laughter, so his chortle resounded through the room.
James, who was an old-fashioned man, couldn't understand what she meant either. But when he saw Ronald subconsciously clamped his legs together, he finally got it.
Elaine was totally at a loss. In her mind, Maria was just trying to rebel against her. She got so furious that her body trembled all over.
Maria cleaned her dagger with a tissue paper, picked up the scabbard, and put it back in it. She then strode towards the door and walked out of the room without glancing at anyone. No one dared to stop her. Tonight, Elaine only came here to Leopard Club to meet a friend. Then she found out that her friend's daughter was looking for a boyfriend, and she thought of Ronald. Hence, she called him to come over and introduced him to her friend's daughter. She didn't expect that so many things would happen before the two could even sit down and have a good talk.
And now that the young woman had witnessed Ronald's cowardice just now, she might not want to consider him to be her potential boyfriend anymore.
At the thought of Ronald losing an opportunity, Elaine was afraid that Alina would also lose her chance to become James' wife. She calmed herself down and hastily walked towards James. "Mr. Xi, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I didn't teach Maria well enough. That's why she keeps on offending you again and again. I..."
James interrupted her. "Mrs. Song, you don't have to apologize. Maria has nothing to do with you."
For a moment, Elaine was in a daze. She wasn't sure what he exactly meant. She didn't dare to make any conjectures either. "Then we'll leave now. Sorry for bothering your night, Mr. Xi." "Hmm," James responded nasally. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray without even casting them a glance.
Right now, only James, Ethan, and the two young women were left in the private room. The two young women, who were also startled by the scene that Maria created a few moments ago, were still in a daze. Ethan looked at them first before asking James, "James, do you still want to continue?"
James didn't respond. But he stood up from the sofa, took out his wallet, and threw a bank card to the two young women before walking out of the room.
After everything that happened, he was no longer in the mood to continue fooling around with them.
As soon as she came out of Leopard Club, Maria called Norman. "Norman, I'm out of here. Have fun."
"What happened?" Norman asked with confusion. He had been calling her earlier, but she didn't answer her phone.
Maria looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and honestly answered, "I met James and the Song family."
Actually, she was here in Leopard Club tonight because Norman had called and invited her. She didn't expect to see James and Ethan here. And never did she think that she would have an encounter with Elaine and Ronald either.
"I see. So, have you showed James your business plan?"
"I did. A few days ago," Maria replied with a trace of disappointment in her voice.
Norman raised his eyebrows. "And then?" He knew that the business plan itself was bullshit. He just wanted to know James' reaction.
"He is... not stupid."
Norman immediately understood that Maria had failed.
And he was not surprised at all. As a matter of fact, even if James accepted her business plan, it still didn't mean that he was stupid. It only meant that she had succeeded in gaining his heart.
But since James didn't accept her business proposal, it meant that Maria still needed to try harder.
After hanging up, Maria sat on a bench beside the road. She wondered if James was already rolling with the two young women on the couch.
She also thought about what was the use of making a fuss over it. After all, James didn't love her. He wouldn't possibly listen to her.
When Elaine and Ronald insulted her in front of him, he didn't even utter a word.
She didn't believe that he was afraid to say something. He was James Xi, the most powerful man in H City. No one would dare to ignore his words. Obviously, he deliberately didn't say anything because he didn't want to defend her.
A strong sense of frustration swept over Maria. Every time she lost against James, she had the urge to give up. But if she admitted defeat now, Alina would definitely become Mrs. Xi pretty soon. If that happened, the ugly truth would never be revealed, and the culprits would still be free from the law. All the pains and sufferings she had gone through would be in vain.
This was what motivated her not to give up. She needed justice at all costs.
The black Harkim slowed down. Then the window of the back seat rolled down, and Ethan poked his head out. He yelled, "Maria! Maria! It's me!"
When Maria raised her head, she saw Ethan waving at her, but the car didn't stop. James was sitting beside him with eyes closed. Lorenzo was in the driver's seat, and the passenger seat was empty.
Maria's eyes lit up. Since James was with Ethan inside the car, it only meant that he didn't hook up with those two young women in the club.