Chapter 21 Fighting Alone


    Alina was furious, so she asked Norman harshly, "Mr. Shen, don''t you think Maria should apologize


    for hitting us? Besides, I''m going to get engaged to James soon. If my face can''t recover before the


    ceremony, he won''t be happy. I''m afraid it might cause problems between you and him."


    Everyone could tell that Alina wanted to scare Norman by name-dropping James. Instead of getting


    angry, Norman smiled mysteriously and said, "Maria is Mr. Xi''s ex-wife. She even gave birth to his


    son. What about you, Ms. Tang? Do you really think Mr. Xi would take your side in this fight?


    "You tell me. James is going to buy the whole building where Maria''s shop is. He also cklisted


    her at everypany in H City." As she said that, Alina nced at Maria proudly. Her face was


    swollen, but she wouldn''t pass up a chance to boast how good she had it with James.


    Norman didn''t retort. He asked again, "Ms. Tang, if you go to James with this, do you think he''ll


    hush it up for my sake?"


    Alina couldn''t think of what to say next, aplicated look in her eyes.


    She heard that Norman and James were half-brothers, sharing the same mother. Although they


    were currently sworn enemies in the business world, they wouldn''t let it affect their private lives.


    After all, they were rted by blood. Since Norman was so protective of Maria, would James really


    do anything to Norman just to make Alina happy? Alina couldn''t guarantee that.


    But how could she let those ps slide? If others heard about it, she''d be humiliated. "Okay, I can


    forget this, but Maria should apologize. Let''s both be mature about this. I''m her cousin — she can''t


    simply hit me. It would hurt her reputation. What do you think, Mr. Shen?"


    "What do you mean by ''her cousin''? I''m not dumb. The Song family disowned Maria. Since you''re


    her cousin, why didn''t you stop them? In the past six years, you never fulfilled your responsibility as


    a cousin. Cut the crap, will you?" Norman said bluntly.


    Alina''s face turned from red to pale. How could she be willing to take care of Maria? James had


    divorced Maria. Her sisters cut ties with her, too. So why should her cousin, Alina, do anything


    different?


    "So what are you saying, Mr. Shen? You mean Ste and I should take this lying down? How does


    that make any sense?"


    In Alina''s view, this was not only apetition between her and Maria now, but also apetition


    between James and Norman. If she lost today, it would bring shame on James as well. Norman sat


    down casually in the chair and said, "It''s not cool that she pped you. But why do you need more


    than a dozen guys to deal with her? How is that fair? How about this? I''ll let you p Maria back.


    You can take it as revenge. If you can''t do it, I''ll pay your medical bills."


    Neither Ste nor Alina had practiced martial arts. If they could beat Maria, they wouldn''t hesitate to


    fight back.


    Alina pushed away the ice pack her bodyguard handed her and said, "Mr. Shen, Ste and I don''t


    know martial arts. Maria does. Shouldn''t it be a fair fight? Let''s have two bodyguards p her


    instead." ''This has to happen, even if I need help to do it! Is she better than my bodyguards?'' Alina


    thought with hatred.


    "Okay. I agree, Ms. Tang. Please go ahead." Without any hesitation, Norman stood up and moved


    aside to make room for them.


    Alina winked at the bodyguards, and two muscr men came out at once.


    Gulping nervously, the onlookers worried for Maria.


    With a faint smile, Maria said, "I ept. But please, I''m just one girl. One at a time." She was afraid


    they would lose miserably. Maria was hoping they wouldn''t lose their jobs over this.


    She looked worried, so everyone else was, too.


    But they were wrong. The first bodyguard ran up to her, hand raised. He looked pretty strong. If he


    connected, that might do worse than leave a mark.


    Maria leaned back to avoid the p, and his hand sailed past her.


    Next, before the bodyguard could figure out what happened, she pped him —hard.


    p! The sound was clear and sharp.


    Alina''s heart skipped a beat. Then she looked at Norman. The man kept looking at his phone, as if


    this had nothing to do with him. He didn''t seem to be concerned for Maria''s safety.


    The bodyguard was enraged. He couldn''t believe that he missed the target. Nor could he believe he


    got pped. He stared at Maria, who looked as if nothing had happened. He rushed up to her


    again.


    Maria sidestepped and caught him on both cheeks this time, but the bodyguard refused to give up.


    Gritting his teeth, he insisted on trying to knock her down.


    Just then, Norman butted in. "You''ve been pped three times. Why don''t you give up? Just stop


    before something worse happens."


    And something did. Maria grabbed the bodyguard''s wrist and locked it. She tossed him to the floor,


    still holding his arm. Then she dropped to one knee, and broke his arm over it. Crack! It was the


    sound of a bone cracking.


    Everyone took a closer look and saw that Maria had broken the bodyguard''s arm forcibly. Then she


    kicked him, and he tried to cover his body to prevent further damage, howling in pain.


    That was when they noticed that Maria was wearing high-heels.


    ''What an evil woman!'' Everyone was taken aback.


    Alina trembled with anger. ''When did she get so good? Even my bodyguard couldn''t touch her!''


    The other bodyguard was smart. He decided to give up after being pped twice by Maria.


    Alina didn''t want to admit defeat this time, but she couldn''t do anything. At that moment, another


    man showed up at Miracle Cafe.


    It was James!


    He came here with Lorenzo. Since Lorenzo was parking the car, he rushed in alone.


    Although he came in all by himself, Mr. Xi was always domineering.


    Seeing him, Norman smiled broadly. ''Wow! Things just keep getting better!'' He enjoyed the show


    very much.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Alina was so relieved. She burst into tears and cried "James!" Her voice trembled with excitement.


    James cast an indifferent nce at her face. "What happened to you?"


    She looked at Maria, wiping her tears. Her meaning was clear.


    As expected, James grabbed the coffee cup next to him and tossed it at Maria. The fragments


    scattered on the floor around her. "Pick them up!


    Right then, Lorenzo walked in the door. He pulled it shut. It was so quiet that no one dared to speak.


    Both Alina and Ste, who had been extremely arrogant just now, quieted down, waiting to see


    Maria getting owned by James.


    Norman didn''t want to meddle in the couple''s affairs. He just sat there calmly, watching the fun.


    He knew that Maria would handle it quite well. She wouldn''t let him down.


    Everyone gazed at Maria, waiting for her to pick up the ceramic fragments on the floor. Alina


    couldn''t wait to see how bloody her fingers would get.


    However, most people in the coffee shop were disappointed.


    Instead of gathering the fragments, Maria stared at James expressionlessly in silence. It was a


    battle of wills, and she was determined to win.