A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Chapter 19 The Building Acquisition

As she heard James' order, Alina widened her eyes and covered her mouth in shock. "Oh, James! You don't have to do this for me." She choked with a sob as if she was moved by his gesture.

James didn't pay attention to her performance at all. He just closed his eyes, deep in thought. 'Maria Song, you wanted go against me, didn't you? Who do you think you are? It seems you still haven't learned your lesson!' Alina's whining reached James' ears. Annoyed, he frowned and stated, "That's my final decision!"

Alina didn't dare to insist any more. Instead, she came closer to him and said coyly, "Thank you, James. It's so sweet of you!"

James didn't respond to her compliment or her physical proximity. With his eyes still closed, he pretended to take a nap.

Alina didn't mind his attitude. As long as he was willing to screw over Maria, she was happy.

'Maria Song, you idiot! You've completely infuriated James. This time, I'm afraid you won't be able to bounce back!' Alina bent her head slightly to hide a smirk.

She couldn't wait to tell Maria about James decision. She should get ready for a good show.

Once they arrived at the Tang family's villa, Alina invited James in for a cup of tea. She wished he could stay overnight, but he left with the excuse that he had an important meeting later.

After getting fired from HM Group, Maria was still unemployed. Since James' influence weighed heavily on the entire business circle in H City, she didn't waste her time looking for a new job. No company would dare to hire her anyway.

Then she went to her shop and remained busy with the decoration inside until she was informed that the whole building would be acquired soon.

Maria smiled bitterly. Perhaps she had come back to H City kind of late. It seemed that James had really fallen in love with Alina, and she would have to adjust her plan accordingly. She couldn't deny she was a bit surprised, though. She never thought James would be willing to purchase an entire building in the central business district in order to spoil a woman.

One late afternoon, four women walked in Miracle Cafe.

They were well-dressed, carrying a bunch of bags after spending the whole afternoon shopping. There were only a few people in the cafe at the moment, so they soon found a vacant table by the window and sat down.

After ordering a cup of coffee, Stella put the menu aside and looked around the coffee shop. Her eyes lay on a familiar figure, not so distant. Then she pulled Alina gently. "Look, Alina!"

"What's up?" Alina followed her gaze. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

A woman could be seen sitting in an armchair with a laptop and two magazines. A cup of hot coffee was set on the table in front of her.

It'd been two days since HL Group started the acquisition of the building. Alina was dying to mock Maria at the time, but she didn't know where to find her. Now she ran across her cousin spontaneously. Alina couldn't believe how lucky she was.

She ordered something from the menu at random and applied some makeup before standing up. She walked gracefully towards Maria, but her intentions were no good. Stella followed her immediately, unwilling to miss the show.

Working on her laptop, Maria noticed the two women sitting across her from the corner of her eye. However, she ignored them completely.

Alina and Stella exchanged glances. The latter decided to break the silence. "Maria, is your shop still being decorated?" Her question was full of sarcasm as she knew quite well that Maria wasn't able to continue with the decoration.

Without sparing them a look, Maria answered casually, "No, it was suspended." "That's right! Mr. Xi has bought the whole building for Alina!" Stella told her so proudly as if James had bought the building for herself instead.

Maria cast a glance at her and said, "I see." Then she went back to work on her laptop.

Looking at the datasheet, Maria noticed there was something wrong with it but couldn't find out what it was. This was starting to annoy her.

Stella was a bit embarrassed by her indifference. So, irritated, she closed Maria's laptop to grab her attention. "I'd like to remind you to stay away from Mr. Xi! He's been with Alina for ten years! You're nothing besides his rejected ex-wife. Don't get your hopes up about having him back because you don't deserve him!"

Maria didn't seem to mind Stella's attitude. Instead, she took a sip of coffee and leaned back in the chair before giving Stella a reminder of her own. "Don't you forget that an ex-wife used to be the wife once. Also, I did marry James, unlike you, who have no ray of hope to become anything of his one day. What are you so excited about?"

'Ten years?' That confirmed Maria's suspicions that James and Alina already had an affair while she was still married to him.

Without giving the two women a chance to retort, Maria looked at Alina, who pretended to be aloof. "Besides, according to scientific research, if a man has been with a woman for several years and still hasn't married her, there's 99% of chance that he never will."

Alina's face fell at the sound of that. Trying to keep her composure, she said in a low voice, "What do you know? If it weren't you, I would have been married to James already!"

"Then you're wrong, or maybe you've forgotten, but it was the Xi family who asked James to marry a lady of the Song family. James chose his wife on his own. I didn't get involved in your relationship with him. Face the facts, please!" Maria declared confidently.

In fact, years ago, James took the initiative and went to the Song family in person.

Alina had been paying close attention to every move from the Xi family, so of course, she knew about this. However, the night James went to the Song family villa, she was still in the US and couldn't come back in time.

At first, she heard that James was going to choose between Maria's two elder sisters. But in the end, he picked Maria, who was nobody in H City. As the most famous personality in town, Alina was not willing to lose to her!

"How on earth did you defeat your two elder sisters?" Alina blurted out. She wasn't the only one curious to know the answer. Maria's sisters had also been wondering about it for years.

"It doesn't matter. The point is that if a man truly loves a woman, he'll want to marry her immediately. He wouldn't let her wait for a decade. He would want to give her an official title, a stable family, and a reliable marriage. This is not just a man's responsibility but a straightforward way to express his love. As for your beloved, he didn't marry you. Instead, he married another woman and gave her the title of Mrs. Xi. I don't see how important you really are to James."

Her words hit the nail on the head. Alina couldn't help raising her voice, enraged. "Maria!" She was here to mock Maria. But it seemed that Maria got the upper hand now.

"What? I'm warning you, Alina Tang. Don't mess with me anymore. I used to believe you were capable, but now I know I was wrong." Whenever she remembered the past, Maria thought she must have been too stupid. Otherwise, how could she let this woman poison her, leaving her mute?

Resisting the impulse to slap Maria in the face, Alina tried her best to control her voice as she said, "Who do you think you are? A worthless woman dumped by James! How dare you compete with me?"

"It doesn't matter who I am, Alina. But there's something I've been wanting to ask you for some time." Maria leaned forward and whispered to the woman in front of her, "How did you know I was mute once?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she fixed her eyes on Alina and waited for a reaction. Alina became quite agitated. Her eyes twinkled, and she trembled nervously. After taking a few deep breaths, she changed the subject. "If I were you, I would be more concerned about my dead son than asking these questions. He was really unlucky to have you as his mother. If it weren't for you, he might be fine now. Who knows he wouldn't even be calling me 'Mom' in the future?"