A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Chapter 259 I Didn't Lie

"What were your symptoms? Where did you feel unwell?" James pressed.

Maria pretended to lose her patience and snapped, "I felt terrible, James Xi. The baby is gone now. What more do you want from me?"

James sneered. Judging by her reaction, he was almost sure of the answer. "Ms. Song, good job." He had been fooled by her.

Maria raised her head and stared at him. "What makes you think I faked it? I'm telling you, I didn't lie."

With one hand pinching her cheek, James asked in a low voice, "You just don't want to admit it, do you? Tell me which doctor found out you were pregnant and which doctor prescribed the aborticide for you."

He vowed to himself that he'd get the answers from those doctors.

Pak! Maria slapped away his hand harshly and pushed him away. "Get out of my way! A good dog will yield to its master."

A good dog?

After taking but two steps, Maria was yanked backwards by a strong arm. Before she knew it, she was in a tight embrace. James lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers.

"Mmmph..."

After a long time, James finally let go of her, leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Maria Song, apologize to me right now. Then I'll forgive you."

His voice was hoarse and deep, which made Maria think that he was lusting for her.

Maria took a deep breath and came back to her senses. "Dream on!" she spat. How dare he ask her for an apology?

James glared at her coldly. 'This damned woman!'

"Even if I were in the wrong, I wouldn't apologize to you. Besides, I'm not in the wrong, so I refuse to apologize!" Maria would never admit that she lied to him.

And if he found out the truth, she still wouldn't apologize.

James was floored. Her stubbornness gave him a migraine.

Maria wiped any trace of him from her lips and scowled at him. Then she turned around and left without giving him a chance to say anything.

With an expressionless face, he watched as she got in her car and drove away.

The next day

In the CEO's office, Summer had been called in two minutes earlier, but not a word had left James' lips in that entire time. Instead, he just stared at her intently, sending shivers down her spine.

Finally, just as Summer felt like she was going to explode from anxiety, James asked, "Was she pregnant or not?"

"What? Who?" Summer asked, wrinkling her brows in confusion. Then, it dawned on her. "Maria? But Mr. Xi, shouldn't you talk to her about this?"

"Summer, you know what I mean." He seemed to have caught a cold. His voice was hoarsely nasal, but it did not affect the coldness in his tone.

Summer swallowed nervously. She did know what he meant, but she tried to avoid the question. She didn't want to betray Maria. "Mr. Xi, I heard the news that Maria was pregnant. But I don't know why she had the abortion—"

"Summer!" James interrupted her harshly, veins popping out from his temples.

Summer shut up immediately. 'Oh my God! Where are you, Maria? Come and save me! I can't take this anymore!" she prayed inwardly.

"Right now, Lorenzo is the manager of the branch in the West District. I think you are more capable than him. You can be a deputy CEO there."

Summer slowly took a deep breath. "Mr. Xi, it's not wise for you to do this. Joanna isn't able to undertake the tasks alone. Gary's only a genius in the electronic field. And although Kason is capable, he isn't ready yet to take on more responsibility. Please think twice."

"Are you saying I can't work without you?"

"Mr. Xi, do you really think it's worth it to let your personal life encroach upon your professional life?"

James sneered.

He had to admit that Maria was a force to be reckoned with. Her friend was so loyal to her and kept her secret, even at the risk of leaving the HL Group headquarters.

"Get out!"

"Yes, Mr. Xi." Summer scuttled out of the office. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

When she made it back to her desk, her heart was still racing in her chest. Panicked, she sent a quick message to Maria, relaying the events of what just happened.

Just then, the elevator arrived on their floor. She glanced up from her phone and saw Alina approaching.

Alina heard James had caught a cold and came as quickly as possible.

However, before she could take another step, Summer materialized in front of her. "I'm sorry, Ms. Tang. Mr. Xi is not feeling well today, so he won't meet any guest for the time being."

Staring at the woman in front of her, Alina asked, "How dare you stop me? Do you think I'm just some guest?"

Summer smiled. "I stop all the women coming to the HL Group, except Maria."

As a special assistant to the CEO, she had the right to do so.

"How dare you!" Alina raised her hand to slap her, but the blow never landed. Summer caught her hand and was firmly gripping her wrist. "Ms. Tang, if you hit me, it'll be considered an occupational injury. Are you sure you want to make trouble for Mr. Xi?"

Alina yanked back her wrist and hissed through gritted teeth, "James is sick. I have to go inside and take care of him. I advise you to be sensible, Summer."

Summer stood her ground. "There are so many women who want to take care of Mr. Xi. But how many of them are actually capable of doing so?"

"How dare you!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Tang. I have poor memory, but if I recall correctly, Maria is the first and also the only one."

Alina couldn't believe that a mere employee-someone way beneath her-would treat her like this. She tried to slap Summer again, but Summer managed to dodge her. On the other hand, Summer knew it was time to stop provoking the other woman. She turned to her assistant and said, "Go and report this to Mr. Xi. We can't stop Ms. Tang. She insists on seeing him." "Yes, Summer." The young assistant hurried to the

CEO's office.

He repeated Summer's words to James.

Soon, he came out of the CEO's office and smiled to Alina. "Ms. Tang, I'm sorry but Mr. Xi is not feeling well now. If it's nothing urgent, please leave. Mr. Xi said he'll get in touch with you some other day."

Alina felt her face flush from embarrassment. She was James' fiancee, for Christ's sake! Even if he wanted to call off the engagement, it hadn't been done yet. Why was he so cruel?

She didn't dare cross the line, so she had to leave. "Fine. I'll go visit Uncle Sebastian and Aunt Judy then. Please take good care of James. If anything happens, feel free to contact me."

"Okay. Take care, Ms. Tang."

Seeing Alina off, the assistant breathed a sigh of relief.

In her heart, Summer prayed that Maria would turn up soon. If she continued to confront Alina like this, the day Alina married into the Xi family would be the day she would be fired.

Augustine's birthday party this year was different from the previous ones. In the past, he insisted on having only family members over for dinner. But this year, he said that he planned on inviting some good friends over to have a get-together.

Of course, this was no problem with James. He left the matter of the birthday party preparations to Summer.

The venue was a high-end hotel owned by the HL Group. Even though there were not many people invited, James still chose the main hall, which could accommodate over a thousand people.

On the day of the birthday banquet, a few hundred people showed up.

It was so rare for Augustine to celebrate with people other than his family; everyone invited was expected to show up, out of respect.