Chapter 190 Reprimanded


    James was always backing Alina up. Maria would put it past him to do something if she ever took


    action against Alina. There was no way she could defeat that man.


    And so, Charlotte was right, in a way. She needed to win James'' heart first, then the rest would run


    along smoothly.


    Besides, the woman she had been waiting for hadn''t shown up yet. Maria was aware that she had


    managed to provoke a good number of people. It would definitely make matters more difficult if her


    enemies somehow decided to band together.


    She had already analyzed the key yers involved in her ns.


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    People like Ste, Dani, and Jonathan amounted to nothing more than appetizers.


    Judy and Colby ranked a bit higher, because while they weren''t as tough as James, they were


    definitely harder to crack than the other three. After all, Judy was James'' stepmother. Colby, on the


    other hand, was not as simple as he portrayed himself to be.


    Alina couldn''t afford to stir up any trouble at this point anyway. The most she could do was probably


    to deliberately annoy Maria. Maybe some verbal altercation here and there, but those still counted


    as trifles. Maria was confident she could handle things well for the time being.


    "Don''t be afraid of doing anything, Maria. Just do what you want to do. How can you stand firm by


    James'' side without any means?"


    Charlotte reminded her. Maria kept silent for a while.


    The truth was that she had no intention of staying by James'' side any longer than necessary for her


    to exact her ns.


    But she still had to get there. She stood her ground and didn''t refute Charlotte''s words. "I''m afraid


    he will always defend Alina anyway."


    "If he does that, then you can juste to us." Charlotte believed that James wasn''t stupid enough


    to fall out with his grandparents for some worthless woman.


    Maria linked her arm with Charlotte''s and spoke with sincerity. "Thank you so much, Grandma. And


    I''m grateful to Grandpa, too."


    "Don''t be so formal with me. You''ve been a member of the Xi family since you married my


    grandson. You''re just like my own granddaughter. And so will Cooper''s wife be in the future. I do


    believe that boy also has good taste." With that said, how could she, as an elder, just stand by and


    watch as her granddaughter faced a daunting undertaking?


    But Maria''s attention snagged at the mention of Cooper. "I haven''t been able to contact Cooper for a


    good while. Will he being back anytime soon?"


    "Not in the near future. He still has a lot of things to take care of. He also has to help James with the


    management of the branchpany and go to college. I will ask about his return when the Spring


    Festival draws near though." Charlotte was quite satisfied with her two grandsons.


    Thedies carried on with their walk, chatting all the way.


    In the end, Maria worried that the old woman might get too tired, so she took her back to the vi.


    Inside, James and his grandfather were still discussing business affairs.


    When the women entered, James turned to Maria and stared for a moment before looking away. He


    said nothing.


    "Augustine, it''s gettingte. We should go to bed," said Charlotte.


    "Okay." Augustine rose from the sofa.


    At their age, they rarely sleptte.


    James and Maria helped them back to their room; then thetter fetched some warm water for the


    elders to wash their feet with.


    Sitting next to them, James watched Maria tend to his grandparents as Augustine kept on berating


    him.


    Heined how Maria was so much better than James in every aspect, and insisted that he


    learn from her on how to be a filial grandson. The most irritating of all was how his grandfather


    repeated his reminders that James be good to Maria, and call off his wedding with Alina as soon as


    possible.


    James stewed and sneered at Maria. She had willingly acted on his own duties as the grandchild,


    so why was he the one getting scolded for that?


    In all honesty, he had his suspicions that this woman was more cunning than Alina. After all, she


    knew well enough to focus on the two elders and gain their favor. Alina, on the other hand, was


    more focused on winning him and Judy.


    They remained in the room until his grandparents were finally all set for bed.


    Once they were alone in the corridor, James snorted. "How filial you are, Ms. Song."


    His way of addressing her somehow jarred Maria to attention. Was he being sarcastic just now?


    "Not at all. Certainly not as good as you, Mr. Xi."


    "Stop joking around, Ms. Song. You know Grandpa is very satisfied with you. One can tell from his


    simplest reactions that you are doing so much better than I can ever hope to do myself."


    Maria rolled her eyes, resisting a sudden urge to give him a kick. "I''m grateful, Mr. Xi, but with all


    these praises you keep singing, I think it''s natural to expect you to learn from my example and strive


    to be filial yourself."


    "You don''t really know how to be modest, do you?"


    "Why should I be? Mr. Xi''s praises are few and far between. I have to cherish what few I get."


    Then Maria hastened her pace, too annoyed at him to y nice any longer. Just as she was about


    to take a step at the stairs, James grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms with little effort.


    She looked up at him in confusion and he leaned over until their faces were close to each other.


    "You''re so glib. See you in Fairview Vi?"


    Maria gaped. ''See you in Fairview Vi?'' The way he had spoken made it sound like he was saying


    something else entirely. "Why don''t you just say see you in bed? It''s not like it''s your first time, you


    don''t need to beat around the bush."


    His grip tightened at her waist as he glowered at her, looking like he wanted to have sex with her at


    that moment. "Dare you go or not?”


    "Ha! Why don''t I dare? You''re the one who''s going to be worn out then."


    Her response stunned him speechless. He felt even more furious; this woman just had the gall to


    provoke him in such a way.


    James let go of her and straightened his clothes.


    "Today I''ll let you see who is going to be worn out."


    "Sure! Let''s go then! Do you think I give a damn?"


    James stepped past her and bounded down the stairs first, and Maria followed at his heels. But


    then she felt something was wrong.


    She wondered btedly if she had let herself be goaded by his words. She must have fallen into his


    trap.


    They stopped at thending on the foyer and James asked, "Have you seen my car keys?"


    "No." She had no idea where he put them, and she didn''t care. She reached over to grab her own


    car keys, only to discover that they weren''t on the key rack by the door either.


    James looked for Tami and demanded where their keys were.


    "There''s no need for you to search for the keys. James'' grandpa took them away. I have prepared a


    room for you as per his request. He was afraid that you might get noisy through the course of the


    night and disturb their rest, so he arranged for you to stay on the first floor."


    James'' and Maria''s jaws hung open, the both of them at a loss for words.


    Augustine was indeed trying his best for his pursuit of a great-grandchild.


    They exchanged a look, then Maria made a decision. "I''ll go upstairs and get the keys," she


    announced, her voice firm. The vi was located near the outskirts of the city, so taking a taxi wasn''t


    much of an option. Plus, it was alreadyte into the night. If they had nothing to drive, they would


    have no choice but to walk all the way back downtown.


    She was about to go up the stairs when James grabbed her hand. "What are you doing? Do you


    want to stay here?" she asked.


    The man gave her a cold look. "You don''t have to waste your energy. Grandpa won''t give them to


    you anyway."


    "How do you know if you don''t try?"


    "I know him best."


    Maria couldn''t argue with that.


    She conceded and finally followed James to the guest room. It was spacious, at least.


    She pondered the arrangement. They were in Augustine''s house, and she didn''t want to have sex


    here. "Excuse me, Tami. May I sleep in another room?"


    Tami smiled. "The other rooms have been locked by James'' grandpa, and the keys are all in his


    safe. Well then, have a good night."


    Maria had to give up then.


    She ventured into the room, annoyed at running out of options.


    The door closed behind her and it was just James and her, He began to take off his clothes, asking,


    "Do you know what day it is today?"


    "It''s your birthday," she answered nonchntly as she surveyed the room.


    It was quiet all of a sudden.


    Maria pulled herself together and looked James in the eye. "I didn''t buy you a birthday gift." In fact,


    she hadn''t expected to see him today.


    "It doesn''t matter, you''re here. I don''t care whether you have a present for me or not." He could just


    take her as his birthday gift.


    Maria stared at him with wide eyes. She took a shower first. After shower, James pulled back the


    quilt and held her in his arms. Maria rolled over and looked at him with a serious expression. "I don''t


    think it''s a good idea


    to be doing...this thing in someone else''s home."