Chapter 195 At Your Side


    James stared at Maria in silence. He had only meant to kiss her; he never said anything about


    having sex.


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    He relinquished her and said, "Go to bed early. Good night."


    Then he turned around and left the room.


    Maria watched him disappear through the door, her thoughts running wildly in her head. ''I knew it.


    I''m nothing more than a ymate in bed for him.


    After learning that we wouldn''t have sex, he just left like that.


    Surely, he is the biggest scumbag in town,'' she thought to herself.


    In the days that passed, Maria wasn''t really in a mood to make any contact with that bastard, but


    she needed his help to deal with various issues. She had no choice but to curb her personal


    sentiments.


    It was something that she had to do again today. After keeping her temper in check, she sent him a


    text message. "What else should I do with thend in the South District?"


    James was a generous man and wasn''t bothered by her attitude. His reply was quick. "Once the


    has been cast, all one needs to do is wait for the fish toe. Don''t overdo your efforts, your


    schemes will risk exposure. Just stay still and wait for the time being."


    His words did make a lot of sense. Jonathan had already been preparing for the bidding, and it


    wouldn''t be long now until the results came in.


    Maria was quite happy with how things were turning out, and if she was happy, that meant that


    James had a shot at being happy as well. "Do you know which side my heart is?" she asked.


    "Huh?" James didn''t understand what she was saying. Did her heart happen to be on the right side?


    "You''re thinking it''s on the left side, right?"


    Well, of course. James was getting confused. Wasn''t it true for most human beings? Just what on


    earth was she getting at? Was this her way of letting him know that she had some physical


    abnormalities?


    Maria sent another message. "It''s not. My heart is at your side."


    James didn''t know how to respond.


    Was she teasing him just now?


    Pleasure coursed through his veins at the realization, and his eyes sparkled with glee.


    He put his phone down, only for the message alert tone to ring. "James, will you oblige me to a


    candlelight dinner tonight?"


    He replied, "I can''t. I have an important dinnerter."


    Though disappointed, Maria knew he was a busy man. If he said he had an important dinner, then it


    must be so.


    Night fell, and since her invitation had been turned down by James, Maria didn''t have much else to


    do but concentrate on her work.


    It was almost nine in the evening when she exited the cafe and walked to her car. She ced her


    laptop on the passenger seat, thinking to grab something to eat before going back to her hotel and


    mulling her options.


    She was alone anyway, so she could have anything she wanted. Maria drove to a shopping mall


    and parked her car, then went to the building''s food court on the third floor.


    She was looking around when her eyes snagged on a man and a woman sitting inside a Western


    restaurant. She knew the man, of course, but she could only see the side of hispanion''s face.


    Nevertheless, Maria could tell for certain that it wasn''t Alina.


    Maria was furious. ''This son of bitch said he had an important dinner, and here he is enjoying the


    company of a woman!''


    It was alreadyte at night and they were still at it. So this was what he meant when he said he had


    no time.


    He was probably hooking up with another woman since she herself could not tend to his needs.


    She whipped out her phone and took two photos of the scene.


    She now had irrefutable defense. ''Let''s see how you wriggle your way out of this.''


    Maria''s appetite was now gone, but then how could she hope to get a fight on with James if she was


    hungry? She needed all her strength toy it on the bastard.


    She resolved to put off storming downstairs and smashing his head, and get some sustenance first


    instead.


    By the time she walked out of the mall, the couple were gone from the restaurant. So they had left.


    Maria dialed James'' number? "Where are you?" she demanded, her tone unpleasant.


    "The manor," James answered.


    The manor? He had just been here. She supposed he might have taken the woman back to his


    manor then. Maria was itching to expose his lies and humiliate him, and she ended the call without


    saying anything else.


    James stared at his phone, confused.


    Half an hour after that, James was in the middle of another phone call and sipping his water when


    his doorbell rang. He walked over to check on the security monitor.


    When he saw Maria outside, he went to open the door for her.


    The first thing she did was push her way into the foyer, kicking off her shoes and storming into the


    living room without bothering with slippers. "Where is that woman?" she asked while walking


    around.


    James frowned, wondering what she meant.


    Then Maria swiveled in his direction. "Is she upstairs?" She looked every bit like a wife who had


    come to catch her husband in an adulterous act.


    "What woman?"


    Maria''s jaw hung open. Was he not going to admit it? "The woman you brought back home!" Gritting


    her teeth, Maria strode over andnded a punch on the table beside him.


    She miscalcted, though, and ended up putting her fist through one of his artworks that had been


    perched on said table.


    James was silent as he eyed the smashed piece of art. Then he looked at the seething woman,


    saying nothing.


    Maria''s hand was stinging, and she discovered toote that she had missed her target and


    damaged something else.


    ''How did that happen?'' She had been going for the table, nothing more.


    Then she looked back up at James to check his reaction, but he remained silent.


    She decided to brush her guilt aside and put all the me on him. "I''m sure you don''t know this, but


    that was the first time I ever invited someone out to a candlelight dinner. You reject my invitation


    with nonchnce, saying you were busy, but then you go out on a date with some other woman. I


    know you don''t have any romantic feelings for me whatsoever, but you could have been truthful to


    me at least!"


    ''Went on a date with another woman?'' James echoed her words in his mind. Then something


    clicked; Maria must have seen him on his dinner with a client.


    But he didn''t exin himself. Instead, he quietly took her hand. Maria immediately pped it away


    of course, stepping away from him with burning eyes. "What do you think you''re doing?"


    For the moment, James couldn''t find the right words to speak, so he maintained his silence. He took


    a step forward and reached for her hand again, examining her wound. She wasn''t able to shake him


    off this time.


    Then he took out his phone and called someone. "Bring me a first aid kit."


    Maria had been waiting for him to say something in his defense, but none hade. "Won''t you say


    something? Aren''t you feeling guilty at all?" she asked in a sulking tone.


    James put away his phone and asked casually, "Why should I feel guilty?"


    "Because you refused my invitation and went on a date with another woman, of course." The photos


    she had taken came to mind and she scrambled to show them to him, so he wouldn''t be able to


    deny anything.


    Well, it turned out that she had been practically outside the restaurant earlier that night. "This


    woman is a client of HL Group. I was supposed to meet two clients tonight, but the other person had


    a car ident on the way and was sent to the hospital," James exined.


    It was her turn to go quiet. She wondered furiously if that really was all to it. "Who knows if you''re


    actually telling me the truth?" she muttered under her breath.


    James looked at her with a nk expression. "I''ll be visiting that other client in the hospital


    tomorrow. Do you want to go with me?"


    "Forget it, I''m busy." Maria supposed she could believe this liar for now.


    "Go and wash your hand." Her injury was nothing serious, but ceramic shards were still stuck on her


    skin.


    She obeyed and went to the bathroom to run her hand under the tap, taking the opportunity to calm


    herself down.


    "The wound isn''t that bad. Who did you call? Just tell them to disregard your request," she told him


    when she returned.


    She found it weird that he didn''t have a first aid kid in his residence to begin with.


    But he was ignoring her again. Of course he knew she wasn''t seriously injured.


    Otherwise he would have driven her to the hospital.


    The doorbell rang again, and Ethan came in bearing the first aid kit in question.


    "Hey, James. What''s up? Oh, Maria is also here." Ethan rushed inside in a hurry.