Chapter 118 Broken Up
Maria said she was pregnant again. James felt a migraineing on, and massaged his brow. He
was tired of this trick. He wondered if Maria were just trying to cause drama.
"Do you believe what she said?" James stared at Ethan, pondering whether he''d always been that
stupid.
Ethan nodded, his face serious. "Of course. You slept with her a lot. Why wouldn''t she be
pregnant?"
"Who told you that?" James felt like his head was going to explode.
"Why, Maria, of course! She told me and Lawrence. Even Lawrence bought it. Why shouldn''t I
believe her?" Ethan had a point.
James reminded him, "Don''t believe a single word she says!"
"Okay, gotcha. But this is my first offense. Give me a break, okay?" Ethan said. He grinned, trying to
look innocent.
"Your first offense?" James cast a cold nce at him. Ethan also brought Maria into HL Group
through the CEO''s exclusive elevator.
"That''s right. Let me off the hook and I promise I won''t ever believe Maria again," Ethan swore,
raising his hand.
James was too angry to let them off without some kind of punishment. "How many valid credit cards
do you have now?" he asked.
"James! I''m your brother! You can''t do this to me!" Ethan cried out, knowing James was going to
suspend his credit cards.
"I only have one brother. His name is Cooper," James said icily.
"James, I was wrong. I''m sorry! Please!" Ethan kept whining.
Regardless of his whining, James pressed the button for his office internal line. "I need you to
suspend all lines of credit for Ethan Nan."
"James!"
"For six months."
Ethan was desperate. Looking at the cold expression on James'' face, Ethan gave in. ''It''s not as bad
as it could be,'' he thought.
But he knew he had meddled in James'' love life. That was something the CEO wouldn''t forgive
easily.
Maria might listen to him more readily than James would. Maybe that was who he needed to go to.
At the University of Arts in H City, sses had just let out for the day.
Around noon, a pink BMW slowly drove along the campus streets.
Everyone stared as the BMW came to a stop in front of the girls'' dormitory.
A woman in a striped long dress got out of the car. She picked the right time. Ste had just
emerged from the dormitory, and Maria called her name.
Ste was looking quite lovely today. She asked the beautician to re-draw her eyebrows. No one
could tell that Maria had shaved those same eyebrows off. They''d gradually grow back, and as long
they were nicely maintained, no one would be the wiser.
Ste was talking andughing with her ssmates. When she heard someone say her name, she
turned reflexively.
However, before she could do anything else, a woman pped her. Hard. The woman pped her
so hard that Ste''s head rocked.
Everyone gasped, now interested in what was going on. They stood nearby to watch the fun.
When she recovered from the p, Ste saw it was Alina that had pped her. She looked hurt at
the betrayal. "Alina? What the hell?"
"You should know!" Alina sneered, pping her again.
She hit her former friend without mercy. After that, Alina''s hand was numb.
She wanted everyone to know what Ste did. She said resentfully, "You stupid bitch! You slept with
my man! You were my bestie, but you betrayed me!"
Some of them recognized Alina, and knew who she was talking about. Alina was supposed to be
engaged to James. When they figured that out, they began to whisper among themselves.
Covering her burning cheek, Ste blushed and tried to exin, "It''s all Maria Song! She set me up!
You gotta believe me!"
"Believe you?" Alina was mad, and had every reason to be. She took a step forward and said, "You
were in the same bed with James! Why should I trust you?"
There was no denying it. She had a pic that showed them in the bed together. When Alina first saw
the photo, she totally lost her mind. She tipped over her table, and smashed everything in her room.
Alina had never imagined Ste would do this to her.Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.
She was mad enough to beat Ste senseless, and she could probably do it. The only other woman
who had bested her was Maria.
"But nothing happened! Ask Mr. Xi," Ste said.
She was really framed by Maria. Why did no one believe her?
When Maria called her that night, Ste knew there wouldn''t be a free lunch for her. She quested
Maria if she wanted to set her up.
Maria answered, "Your father med me for what I''ve done to Qin Group. I''m so scared and I know
I was wrong. I shouldn''t have dragged you into this and asked James to deal with Qin Group."
Ste bought it. In her opinion, Maria might have some power in H City, but she was far less
powerful than her father was.
Listening to Ste''s exnation, Alina sneered and wanted to p her again, but she had a
reputation to protect. She exposed her lie with clenched teeth. "You still went to the hotel, didn''t
you? You didn''t call me or anything. That means that you were still up to something! Did Maria
kidnap you and take you there?"
Ste didn''t know what to say. When she heard that Alina was going to marry James, she
fantasized about how great that would be. James was a catch. Maria dangled James in front of her
like bait. She didn''t have to kidnap Ste and take her to the hotel. Ste did that on her own.
But when she got there, James was already asleep. She couldn''t even wake him. It waste, so she
decided to just go to bed herself. What else should she have done?
Before leaving, Alina clenched her fists and said, "Ste Qin, you''re dead! And so is your family
business!"
James had already bought out Qin Group. Alina would deal with Ste herself.
And that was how the toxic friendship between the two women ended. They had officially broken up.
Not long after, there was a post on the university forum. "Alina Tang pped Ste Qin for hitting on
her boyfriend, James Xi."
Soon it became the most read post on the forum and caused a stir in the University of Arts. Later,
someone forwarded it to Weibo, spreading it worldwide.
Netizens mocked Ste, and they were cruel and crude. They dug into Ste''s family background
and disparaged anything they found.
Finally, Qin Group suffered from the negative publicity and dered bankruptcy in two days.
yton had just finished his phone call with Alina.
He sipped his tea calmly while he watched the TV news. Qin Group was going bankrupt.
Alina filled him in on what was going on.
Qin Group might not have been the biggestpany, but it wasn''t small, either. When they
dered bankruptcy, everyone involved in finance knew about it.
He had to admit Maria was a cunning woman who killed two birds with one stone.
She caused Qin Group to fall, with no small amount of help from James. And she used Alina to
destroy Ste''s reputation.
No one in the city talked about Qin Group or Ste anymore.
yton had a hunch this was just the beginning, and he always trusted his instincts.
Maria was now very close to Colby and James. Even if she pissed James off, she could still rely on
Colby. And Norman was also her backer.
Keeping this in mind, yton took out his phone and called Alina again. "Alina, remember, Maria
has changed a lot. Don''t mess with her before you and James get married."
"But, Dad, what if Maria messes with me first?" Alina was not really willing to make peace, so
yton''s advice wasn''t wee. She remembered all the times they shed, and Alina lost every
time.
yton knew it was possible for Maria to gain power in the city. After thinking for a while, he said,
"Don''t worry. When you get engaged, Sebastian and Judy will certainlye back. Know what I
mean?"
Sebastian Xi was James'' father,
and Judy was James'' stepmother.
The two had been traveling and were holed up in France for a time. yton had gotten a hold of
them and knew that they were nning to return for James and Alina''s engagement. They weren''t
going to miss that for anything.
When he mentioned Judy, Alina understood everything. She snorted. Maria should be grateful for
the good times, because things were about turn sour for her.