Chapter 22 Stop The Acquisition


    If James didn''t see it wrong, the woman''s eyes were full of anger and resentment. Although he


    could understand why she was angry, he wondered what could have caused her to resent him so


    much.


    Nevertheless, no matter how this woman felt, James shouldn''t care about it. All he needed to do


    now was stand by Alina''s side. After all, they were about to get engaged.


    The next moment, under everyone''s gaze, Maria raised her high-heeled foot and stretched it


    forward.


    Instead of picking up the shards on the floor, she kicked them out of her way.


    Her rudeness startled Alina and Ste. Thetter shivered and even went to hide behind Alina,


    afraid of being hit.


    Regardless of the dark look on James'' face, Maria stared at him and warned coldly, "Ask your


    girlfriend to watch hernguage in the future. My baby wasn''t unlucky to be born!"


    Her words made Alina''s heart skip a beat. Flustered, she hurried to exin, "James! No! I didn''t


    mean to say that." However, no one listened to her exnation.


    James'' eyes darkened. He didn''t look at Maria as viciously as he did a second ago.


    "As his mother, I''m the one who loves him the most in the world." Every word Maria said touched


    James'' heart deeply because that child was their own flesh and blood.


    A trace of sadness shed in Maria''s eyes. "My baby has been gone for over six years, and Alina


    dared to use him as an excuse to insult me." All the sorrow she held in her eyes was gone, leaving


    only coldness and ruthlessness behind as she continued, "As a mother, I pped her to protect the


    memory of my son. James Xi, tell me, did I do anything wrong?"


    James kept silent.


    Alina tried to defend herself once more. "James, I didn''t mean that. Maria misunderstood me. After


    all, that child is my cousin''s son. How could I-"


    "Shut the fuck up!" Maria looked sharply at her, shocking everyone present.


    Then, ncing at James, she added, "I know you don''t love that boy. I don''t me you for that. But


    if you''re willing to ignore the fact that this woman insulted my son today, do you even deserve to call


    yourself Arthur''s father?" In the end, her eyes turned red.


    If James still insisted on defending Alina today, then this man couldn''t even be called a human.


    ''James has always been heartless. But if he remains indifferent to his own flesh and blood, he''s


    really not worthy of my love,'' Maria thought to herself.


    In that case, if she kept pushing him to fall in love with her, she would be a fool.


    At that moment, Alina let go of James'' arm and rushed to hold Maria''s hand, pretending to be sorry.


    "Maria..." She couldn''t allow anything to get between her and James before the engagement, or the


    whole Tang family would be ruined.


    Without giving her a chance to speak, Maria shook off her hand fiercely.


    "Ah!" Alina lost bnce and fell to the floor.


    A bodyguard and Ste rushed to hold her up, but James didn''t make a move as he watched her on


    the floor.


    Norman smiled to himself, thinking that the events today proved that Maria was no longer the lively


    and innocent girl she was six years ago.


    After a while, James ordered, "Don''t ever bother me again with this kind of matter, Lorenzo!"


    Then he turned around and left.


    After ring at Maria, Alina ignored her own swollen face and hurried to catch up with the man on


    his way out.


    "James, please wait for me!"


    He was about to get in the car when he turned to look at the woman chasing after him.


    Staring at her, he couldn''t help but remember something from seven years ago. Maria''s face had


    also be swollen like this after being pped by someone.


    That day, when he went back home from work, he couldn''t find Maria or Arthur at first. In order not


    to let him see the handprint on her face, Maria held the child and hid in the guest room.


    However, Arthur was hungry and started to groan. He followed the baby''s cry and soon found them.


    Maria had her back to him, so he walked around in front of her and saw her swollen face.


    He asked casually, "Who pped you in the face?"


    He could clearly remember her reaction at the time. With reddened eyes, she answered gently,


    "Nobody. I hit my face on the door frame by ident."


    The handprint on her face was quite obvious despite anything she said.


    He knew that except for his grandparents, no one in the Xi family really liked her. He was also


    aware of the way Judy treated her at the time.


    Seeing her swollen face, he knew that no other person in the Xi family would dare toy a finger on


    her besides Judy.


    Yet, back then, Maria would neverin about how mistreated she was in the Xi family. Instead,


    she would only offer him a gentle smile.


    Alina, on the other hand, called him toin that she was hit and wouldn''t spare him her


    aggrieved looks once he got there. None of it tempted him enough to protect her. In fact, he was


    beginning to feel disgusted by her behavior inparison to Maria''s.


    Suddenly, Alina''s voice pulled him back from his thoughts. "James, I''m sorry for what I said. It was


    nonsense. It won''t happen again. I was mad because she told me that you had sex with her before.


    She provoked me on purpose, and I couldn''t help it."


    James didn''t owe her any exnation about that. He had been married to Maria, so of course, he


    had been intimate with her.


    "Stop the acquisition!" James ordered Lorenzo, ignoring Alina. The building acquisition was entirely


    up to his mood. He wasn''t doing it for her.


    The blood drained from Alina''s face. At that moment, she finally realized how unusual Maria''s


    methods had been. "Yes, Mr. Xi," Lorenzo nodded.


    James then turned to Alina and stated coldly, "This is thest time something like this happens.


    Otherwise, HL Group will never cooperate with Tang Group again."


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    "James..." Alina''s legs were so weak that she almost fell on her knees.


    Due to her younger brother''s ipetence, Tang Group had been going downhill for some time. If


    HL Group stopped cooperating with them, it would be their end. Most importantly, her marriage to


    James might be called off.


    If she never hold the title of Mrs. Xi, she won''t be able to continue to be the most prominentdy in


    H City.


    After James got in the car, Lorenzo drove off towards the HL Group''s parking lot, leaving Alina


    alone under the scorching sun.


    With everything that had happened that day, Alina realized that the child wasn''t just Maria''s weak


    spot, but also James''.


    Learning from her mistake, at least before her engagement, she would not take the initiative to


    provoke Maria. She could teach her a lesson after she was married to James and became Mrs. Xi.


    After everyone left, the Miracle Cafe was silent again. Maria sat back in front of herptop quietly.


    Sitting opposite her, Norman sped his hands over his stomach and said straightforwardly, "Maria,


    it''s time for you to stop mourning."


    "Stop mourning?" Although she understood that he meant it in a kind way, Maria couldn''t help


    smiling bitterly. She looked into the distance nkly and answered, "Arthur''s my son. How could I


    stop mourning him so easily? I may never stop for the rest of my life!"