Chapter 142 Lawrence''s Grandmother
After calming down, James answered, "Yes."
Maria clenched her fists, her fingernails piercing her palms. She sneered, "Do you really need a
marriage to prop up your career, James?"
The man stood up and walked to the window. He stared outside into the night, but the view offered
nothing but concrete walls and alleyways. The hotel was not known for its scenery. "I don''t need it,
HL Group does." This was an important project. If HL Group teamed up with Tang Group, they''d
have twice the profit for half the effort.
He evaluated this from every angle. The benefits extended beyond mere profit.
"So you gave up your own happiness to help HL Group?" Maria asked.
The man fell silent.
She continued to look daggers at him, despite the fact that he couldn''t see her. She was sure he
could feel it, though. "It''s so ridiculous! This can''t all be about business. You care for Alina, right? If
you don''t, then why marry her? And sleep with her?"
Without turning his head, James replied in a calm voice, "I didn''t like you back then, either. But we
still had sex."
Maria was speechless. He was too blunt.
Sure enough, men were animals driven by their desires; even James was no exception.
At the mention of sex, they both paused awkwardly.
Maria felt a sharp pang in her heart as if it were pricked by needles. Why had she tried so hard?
Even if she had gotten Lawrence to go along with her n, James would still be with another
woman.
Even if she embarrassed Alina again and again, what was the point? James didn''t care if Alina
made a fool of herself. He was still going to marry her.
Maria started feeling sorry for herself. Was she always going to be a loser?
"Go! Leave! I don''t want to see you again." She didn''t want him to see the cracks in her armor. She
was afraid that she would get physically ill if they kept talking.
And with that, Maria pushed James out of her room. And she wasn''t kind or subtle about it. He had
no time to resist, nor did he care to.
He had the door mmed right in his face. That night, Maria kicked him out twice.
In the Harkim, James closed his eyes and took a nap. When he was about to arrive at his ce, he
sent a message to his subordinate. "Lawrence is getting married. Find a way to inform his
grandmother."
Since they were getting married, Lawrence''s family would find out sooner orter. He didn''t mind
letting Elizabeth know the good news ahead of time.
"Yes, Mr. Xi."
If James told his men to ry a message, it would get there quickly.
The very next morning, Elizabeth was taking a walk around the neighborhood. It was early morning,
and few others were even up yet. She liked it that way, just her and the crisp dawn air. But it wasn''t
just her, this time. Two men were also out for a jog, and she heard them mention Lawrence and how
he was getting married soon.
Elizabeth felt a little out of sorts. Why did she have to hear it from others, rather than from her
grandson himself? Of course, these two "joggers" worked for James. It was all part of his n.
She had been hoping Lawrence would settle down and marry a nice girl. She''d been looking
forward to that for many years. Some time ago, she was urging him to get married. Why didn''t he
tell her he had a girlfriend?
Keeping that in mind, Elizabeth came back to the Lu family vi. She called Lawrence to figure out
what was going on.
"Lawrence, what are you doing?"
As soon as Lawrence swiped to answer the call, Elizabeth''s stern voice came from the other end of
the line.
"I''m not sure what you''re asking, Grandma." Lawrence was confused.
"You''re getting married? Why didn''t you tell me?"
"I''m getting married? Oh... How did you find out?" Lawrence was puzzled for a moment. He wasn''t
going to tell his family about the fake marriage.
Elizabeth sneered. "You meant you didn''t want me to know?"
"That''s not what I meant. I wasn''t going to tell you... Um...l mean-"
"All right! So you weren''t going to tell me! Why not? I don''t deserve to know you''re getting married,
is that it? Well, then I''m not your grandma anymore!" Elizabeth yelled at him and hung up the phone
without giving him a chance to exin.
Staring at his phone, Lawrence felt a migraineing on. He thought about this carefully. The only
other ones who knew were Maria and James.
Maria didn''t know his grandmother at all. There was no way she said anything.
He certainly didn''t tell anyone. That left James.
Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.
He shook his head helplessly, wondering why James sold him out like this.
After hanging up the phone with her grandson, Elizabeth immediately asked someone to look into
her grandson''s girlfriend.
James had prepared everything ahead of time. As a result, Elizabeth soon found out that Lawrence
was going to marry James'' ex-wife.
She also figured out that Maria had been with James not long ago.
Elizabeth flew into a rage. She had been hoping he''d settle down for a long time, but she wanted
him to marry the right woman.
It didn''t matter what she looked like, or whether she was wealthy. But Lawrence was going to marry
his best friend''s ex. That was where Elizabeth drew the line.
Maria killed her kid, too. He was less than a year old back then. Why would Lawrence fall in love
with a woman like that?
That night, Elizabeth didn''t sleep well at all. Marriage was a seriousmitment. It was a lifetime
deal. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she couldn''t let her grandson do this.
The next morning, Maria was in the hospital, having her stitches removed. Her phone buzzed and
she picked it up. She didn''t recognize the number, but she still answered it.
That afternoon, at three o''clock sharp, a distinguished guest visited Miracle Cafe.
Maria came out to wee her in person. A ck
Bentley stopped at the door of the coffee shop, and a grey-haired elderly woman emerged.
Her bearing was very simr to Charlotte''s. One could tell this woman was either rich, powerful, or
both.
Maria walked forward with a smile, slightly bent down and nodded to greet Elizabeth. "Good
afternoon, Mrs. Lu!"
Elizabeth looked the woman up and down secretly and smiled back. "You must be Maria, right?"
In fact, Elizabeth was obsessed with good-looking youngsters. When she first caught sight of Maria,
she was deeply impressed by her beauty and charm.
Maria was beautiful, but Elizabeth thought she was way too good-looking. Her grandson was not
always home. She worried that Maria might stray, be desperate for malepany and fool around
behind Lawrence''s back. She gave Maria a negative mark there.
Maria nodded gracefully without any nervousness, "Yes, I''m Maria Song. This way, please, Mrs. Lu."
The twodies entered Miracle Cafe, nked by several bodyguards.
There were two private rooms on the first floor of the coffee shop. One of them was already taken.
So Maria took Elizabeth into another room.
A shop assistant brought in the coffee prepared in advance. Maria personally took a cup of
steaming coffee and handed it to the old woman. "Mrs. Lu, this is the coffee I brewed in advance.
Please enjoy it."
The old woman didn''t take it immediately, but looked at the cafe assistant beside her.
Maria understood immediately. She put the two cups of coffee on the table and asked the assistant
to leave.
There were just the two of them in the private room, as well as one of Elizabeth''s bodyguards.
Elizabeth dispensed with pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Tell me, why did you approach
my grandson?"
Maria smiled and sat down opposite her. She answered with a question of her own. "I understand
your concerns, Mrs. Lu. But what if I tell you I really like Lawrence?"
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