Chapter 46 Battle-Hardened Man


    If James fell into her hands someday, first she would strip him off his clothes, whip him, and then tie


    him on the bed.


    "What would you do to me?" Although Maria didn''t finish her sentence, James was curious to learn


    what she had in mind. In his entire life, a woman never had the guts to talk to him like she did.


    The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Maria swallowed them back. In order to survive the


    night, she changed the course of the conversation. "Mr. Xi, I wasn''t serious. How could you fall into


    my hands? I''m just an inexperienced woman, while you''re a battle-hardened man. I was just


    kidding."


    James squatted down and looked into her eyes as if he was searching for something. Then he


    reached out his slender fingers and pinched her chin before whispering in her ear, "If you dare to


    trouble me again, I''ll skin you alive or throw you into the sea to feed the sharks. What do you


    choose?"


    "I choose thetter," Maria answered obediently. Given that she could swim, she had a chance to


    escape. Of course, if she wasn''t tied up.


    "Then I''ll skin you alive first. What do you think about female circumcision?" Knowing what she had


    in mind, James refused to give her what she wanted.


    ''Holy crap! What did he say? Female


    circumcision?'' Maria''s eyes widened in horror. How could such an abnormal idea cross this man''s


    mind? This was the twenty-first century, for God''s sake!


    Anyway, Maria would keep his suggestion in mind. Once James fell into her hands, she would


    definitely consider male castration as an option for her revenge ns. She would turn this man into


    a eunuch!


    Atst, James saw a hint of fear in the woman''s eyes. Satisfied, in a rare moment of kindness, he


    loosened the tie wrapped around her wrist.


    As soon as she was free, Maria rubbed her wrists. The next moment, she stretched out her arm and


    held James'' neck flirtatiously. "Thank you, ex-hubby. Muah!" Ignoring the man''s scowl, she kissed


    him on the lips out of gratitude.


    Then she fled the room as fast as she could.


    James froze in ce. Only after hearing the door m did hee to his senses. Touching his


    freshly-kissed lips, he thought about asking someone to tie Maria up again so that he could cut her


    into pieces.


    However, something Maria said made him hesitate. It was one single sentence among so many


    others that she uttered that James couldn''t seem to ignore.


    "Even if Arthur died because I didn''t take good care of him, I didn''t mean it." Maria words echoed in


    his mind. Rubbing his chin, James wondered whether there was any secret reason behind Arthur''s


    death that he didn''t know of.


    But if that was the case, why didn''t Maria straightforwardly share her suspicions with him while she


    confessed that she still loved him?


    ording to his stepmother, when Arthur had the ident, Maria was alone with their son at home.


    The nanny had gone out to buy some supplies. Maria was cooking in the kitchen, leaving the child


    in the baby walker on his own in the living room. As Arthur walked, he hit the cab in the corner,


    which fell onto him. He died immediately.


    Recalling what happened to his son, James closed his eyes.


    It was Maria who insisted on moving to Fairview Vi. They had been staying in the Xi family''s


    mansion since they got married. They didn''t move out until Arthur was three-month-old.


    When the ident took ce, they had been living there for over a month. Since there were no


    surveince cameras installed yet, James had to learn about what happened through someone


    else''s mouth. At the time, James was still attending a conference in France. As he rushed back


    home, he was met with Arthur''s corpse.


    Taking into consideration Maria''s behavior after she married into the Xi family and his grandparents''


    regard for her, James decided to let her go. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have let her go.


    Once Maria walked out of James'' suite, she found two strong men and Lorenzo standing at the


    door. They seemed a bit surprised to see her leaving the room safe and sound.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Maria cast a nce at Lorenzo and mocked, "Lorenzo, you are so efficient!" She remembered the


    doorbell ringing less than two minutes after James hung up the phone. Obviously, Lorenzo had


    everything prepared in advance, knowing that James was going to teach her a lesson.


    Lorenzo replied nonchntly, "Thank you, Ms. Song. I''m ttered! As a special assistant, this is my


    duty."


    Maria looked at him fiercely, ignoring the bodyguards around, and warned, "Then Lorenzo, you''d


    better start praying I won''t get to remarry James. Otherwise, I won''t allow you to stay in HL Group


    any longer."


    Ever since she had been back to H City, almost every time she had met with James, Alina would


    find out and rush to where they were in an instant. Lorenzo must be the one behind this. The


    special assistant didn''t say anything this time. He realized Maria had changed a lot over the years.


    Besides, if she coulde out of James'' room safe and sound tonight, Maria must be really


    something. It seemed that he had underestimated her.


    Unwilling to continue talking to him, Maria straightened up her dress and went back to her own


    suite.


    Once the corridor was quiet again, Lorenzo stared at the door of Maria''s room in a daze. He was


    about to report to Alina that her cousin had alsoe to T Country. But on second thought, the cold


    way Maria looked at him just now and how James had been treating her recently made him


    hesitate.


    The next day, at noon, Colby had just left a series of meetings he had been attending throughout


    the morning and asked his assistant to inform Maria to apany him to a formal lunch.


    This time, the luncheon was hosted by a government officer. James sat on his left, while the big


    shot from the Mu Group took the seat on his right.


    After a few rounds of drinks, Maria heard Colby introduce her to the host, "Mr. Wang, this is Maria.


    She''s a great drinkingpanion. Come on, Maria, have a drink with Mr. Wang."


    Seeing the unconcealed enthusiasm in Mr. Wang''s eyes, Maria was slightly taken aback. Then she


    nced at Colby, who met her gaze with a casual smile. "Why are you still sitting there? Aren''t you


    happy to join Mr. Wang for a drink?" Colby asked.


    Maria also smiled. "Sure! It''s my honor, Mr. Wang." She raised from the chair with a ss of liquor


    in her hand and deliberately walked past Colby to stand between Mr. Wang and the silent man on


    his left.


    She should have guessed this was what Colby had in mind when he decided to bring her to T


    Country. In fact, she mistrusted Colby so much that she believed it was best to turn to James for


    help if necessary. So, in search of some sense of security, she chose to stand beside her ex-


    husband.


    After gulping down two sses of liquor, Mr. Wang stretched out his hand and touched Maria''s


    waist before slowly sliding it downwards. As if nothing happened, Maria dodged the man''s indecent


    touch to open another bottle of liquor. "We finished a bottle already. Let me open another one."


    Sitting right next to where Maria stood, James could see clearly every time the man moved his hand


    from her waist to another part of her body.


    He watched the scene with contempt. Colby was really capable of doing anything for money.


    He wondered if Norman and Lawrence knew how Maria was humiliating herself. In the following


    toasts, as every woman in such social activities, Maria was inevitably harassed, either verbally or


    physically.


    In the end, Mr. Wang and Maria seemed to have had a pleasant conversation. They even


    exchanged their contact info after the luncheon.


    Most of the attendees came out of the restaurant to see Mr. Wang off, including Maria and Lorenzo.


    Only a few bigwigs such as James and Colby remained in the private room.


    After getting in his car, Mr. Wang rolled down the window and said to Maria, "Ms. Song, we had a


    good chat today. See you tonight in the dinner party. Don''t miss it!"


    Maria still had a bright smile on her face. "Of course. I''ll be waiting for you tonight, Mr. Wang.


    The next moment, the low-key silver Audi drove away as the smile on the woman''s face gradually


    disappeared.


    She didn''t return to the private room or her suite in the hotel. Instead, she sent Colby a text


    message and left.


    The weather in T Country was not much better than that in H City. Outside, it was as hot as a


    sauna. At this moment, except for some workers rushing back to their offices after lunch, no


    pedestrians would be found walking under the scorching sun. As the Audi drove downtown, passing


    by a shabby old house, a figure suddenly came into sight and blocked its way.


    Creak! The sound of the car''s brake was earth-shaking. However, besides an old, uninhabited


    house on the roadside, there was nothing else around, let alone someone who could have heard


    the noise.


    The driver cursed when a woman in ck sportswear showed up in front of them.