Chapter 80 Beyond Redemption


    James didn''t like to eat Chinese yam with osmanthus syrup. But as he watched Maria enjoying


    some mouthfuls of it, he felt the sudden urge to taste it too. Eventually, he picked a slice of it with


    his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.


    As the yam touched his tongue, the fragrance of the osmanthus flower spread in his mouth


    entwined with the taste of Sprite. It was sweet, but not too greasy.


    They soon had a quiet dinner. James must admit that Maria was an excellent cook. From the


    French mutton sprinkled with ck pepper, braised tofu with eggs, Chinese stir-fried vegetables


    with garlic, to the stir-fried shredded chicken with chrysanthemum, each dish conformed to his picky


    taste.


    When Maria was already full, she opened two cans of beer and put one in front of James. She then


    looked at James, whose face was full of confusion, and said, "It''s good to have beer after a meal,


    isn''t it?"


    James replied, "If my memory serves me right, your arm is injured." What he meant was Maria


    shouldn''t drink alcohol because the wound on her arm had not healed yet. Maria was a little


    stunned. She nced at the pink scarf on her arm and said indifferently, "Oh, it''s just a small cut.


    And it''s almost healed anyway."


    "I came here alone." What James meant was he drove going to Fairview Vi by himself, and he


    couldn''t go back hometer if he drank alcohol.


    Maria picked up the beer can in front of her, stood up, and walked around him. She then bent over


    beside him and reminded him in a soft tone, "This is your house, remember?"


    As she tilted her head, the strap of her dress on the right shoulder slid down, exposing her fair skin


    and swanlike neck. James couldn''t help swallowing hard secretly, restraining himself from reacting


    to the strange burning sensation in the middle of his chest.


    Maria acted like she didn''t notice anything. She casually took a beer mug, poured some beer into it,


    and leaned against the table. She then handed it to him and said, "Here, take this mug. I''m not


    picky, anyway. I can drink straight from the can."


    James took the beer mug and held it in his hand.


    Maria didn''t force him to drink. She went back to her seat and gulped down some beer from the can.


    With a smile, she looked at him and said, "You know what? I''ve been dreaming of this before. That I


    can cook some dishes for you like this, and we can eat together sitting opposite each other. But


    unfortunately, you have always been busy. I haven''t even gotten an opportunity to have you taste


    any of my cooking.


    n


    She was smiling, but there seemed to be a subtle sadness on her face.


    James could also tell when he looked into her eyes. He didn''t say anything as if he was willing to


    listen to whatever she would say.


    "In the whole Xi family, only Grandpa, Grandma, and Cooper liked me. And maybe Arthur as well.


    After all, I''m his mother." She took another gulp of her beer and continued, "To be honest, there are


    so many things I''ve wanted to tell you long ago."


    Their eyes met. Then Maria held James'' hand that was resting on the table. She just held it quietly


    for a while before she blurted out, "James, I had always been very grateful to you that you took me


    away from the Song family. Their vi was like a bottomless abyss to me. You just didn''t know how


    difficult it was for me to pluck up all my courage to ask you to marry me. I took the risk even if I


    knew that you might already have someone else in your life. I didn''t give up because I thought it


    was much better than killing myself.


    Even if our marriage wouldn''tst that long, I knew that I didn''t have the right toin. At least


    you chose me to be your wife. I didn''t intend to, but as time went by, I started to fall for you. I


    learned to love you so much that, in my eyes, you were the most handsome CEO in the world.


    There were so many sessful and good-looking CEOs, but I couldn''t ept it if someone would


    say that someone else was better than you. For me, you were the best, and you were always


    number one."


    In her childhood, Maria had longed for family affection until she grew up. When she got married, she


    longed for a husband''s love.


    But no one knew that she loved James that much. Her love for him was the secret she was willing


    to keep, even if it would mean that she had to drink three sses of wine in one go. She could


    never forget him. However, she couldn''t make him love her the way she loved him. That was her


    biggest failure in life.


    James withdrew his hand and asked indifferently, "Did you ask me toe here so you can confess


    your love to me?"


    "Whoa! You''re too quick to see through me!" Maria eximed.


    However, despite her dramatic confession, James remained calm as if he was not affected at all. He


    even said in a cold voice, "Stop your tricks and stay away from me. I will never like you."


    Why he remained calm because he could tell Maria''s words seemed to be affectionate, but in fact,


    she didn''t show much emotion. He didn''t believe a single word she had said.


    He wasn''t sure if she was really serious or she was only faking it. Maria got a little annoyed.


    "Humph! I know that I can make you love me. I''ll find another way to make you fall in love with me."


    This time, her face looked stern again. She fell silent as if she was really racking her brains for


    some ways.


    James annoyingly rolled up his sleeves, revealing his powerful arms.


    Maria stood up with the can of beer in her hand. She walked around the table and hugged him from


    behind. "James Xi, I have a secret."


    She tilted her head and slowly approached his ear.


    Her warm breath tickled him a little. He turned around to push her away, but their lips met


    unexpectedly.


    "Hmm..." Maria had really wanted to kiss him. But this time, she was not ready. It was James whose


    lips bumped into hers.


    She could tell that he didn''t mean it either. Perhaps she was just lucky that God blessed her with


    such a chance to be this close to him.


    Instead of distancing herself from him, she smiled and said, "I have a secret to tell you between


    kisses. Hmm..." She then closed her eyes, pressed her lips against his, and kissed him deeply.


    James'' face turned gloomy at once. He didn''t intend to kiss her. If she wasn''t that close to him, their


    lips wouldn''t have met when he turned around.


    At this moment, only his and Maria''s rapid heartbeat could be heard in the quiet dining room.


    Maria decisively put down the beer in her hand and wrapped her arms around his neck. She then


    boldly sat on hisp.


    They shared another passionate kiss. Maria couldn''t help but wonder if she would seed this


    time.


    Soon enough, she got the answer.


    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    What she didn''t know was, James had mentally prepared himself not to fall from any of her traps


    before he came here.


    So despite that sweet kiss, he immediately came back to his senses and pushed her away.


    He then stood up and walked towards the door. Upon seeing that things had started to drift away


    from what she had nned, Maria quickly drank up her remaining beer.


    She rushed to James, jumped on him, and kissed him again crazily. While he was stunned, she


    poured the beer in her mouth into his.


    James reflexively wrapped his arms around her waist, afraid that she would fall down. But upon


    realizing what she wanted to do, he tightened his grip as if he was trying to squeeze her to death.


    Maria ignored his strength. She cupped his face in her hands and forced him to swallow the beer


    down.


    She didn''t give him a chance to get rid of her. When she seeded, she slid down from his body,


    wiped her mouth with the back of the hand, and proudly said, "You''re drunk. If you drive now, I will


    call the police and report you. You will be charged with DUI. And if it wille out on the news, I''m


    sure that HL Group will be affected. Think about it. Are you still driving away, or are you staying here


    tonight?"


    James'' face looked terribly dark now. Maria didn''t only kiss him twice, but she also even poured


    beer from her mouth to his. As a neat freak, he couldn''t ept what she did. So he said between


    clenched teeth, "Maria Song, you''re dead meat!"


    "Oh, it''s okay. You can kill me if you want, Mr. Xi," Maria replied with a wink, not showing any trace


    of fear on her face at all.


    James took out his phone to make a call. Since he couldn''t drive by himself now, he would ask


    Lorenzo to pick him up.


    Maria didn''t stop him. She just leisurely watched him with her arms crossed over her chest.


    He red at her while waiting for Lorenzo to pick. As soon as he heard a voice from the other end


    of the line, he said, "Lorenzo,e pick me up in Fairview Vi now."


    It took a while for Lorenzo to reply. He stammered, "Mr. Xi...l''m sorry. My driver''s license was


    confiscated by the traffic police earlier."