Chapter 234 An Outburst Of Anger
The moment James appeared, many people in the room greeted him.
Maria didn''t turned around and pped Alina two more times. "That was for what you did to my
shop assistant! I''m paying you double today."
At that point, Miranda paid no heed to James and rushed over. "Maria Song, you bitch! Don''t touch
my daughter again!"
Judy, on the other hand, ran to James. "James, hurry! You need to stop Maria, or she might beat
Alina to death!"
Alina spat a mouthful of blood, feeling more wretched by the minute.
Maria forcefully pulled Miranda away from her daughter andnded her third kick on Alina. Just
then, her wrist was grabbed from behind.
She swiveled to find James standing there, his face devoid of any emotion.
"Mr. Xi!" Miranda sobbed and pleaded. "Please save my daughter. This bitch is crazy!"
"Get your hands off me, James Xi," Maria said in a cold and steady tone.
She was determined to teach Alina a lesson here and now.
"That''s enough, Maria," James said tly.
Enough? Who was he to say when it was enough? Maria yanked her hand from his hold and
screamed, "It is not enough! It will never be enough!"
Then she turned around and gave another kick to Alina, who had just been helped up by her
mother.
"Mr. Xi, please help Alina!" Miranda was hysterical.
Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
"Maria Song!" James thundered in a dangerous voice.
Maria turned and red daggers at him. "Don''t you dare say my name, James Xi! These people
need to learn that I, Maria Song, am not some pushover they can just trample on to their hearts''
content!"
A tense silence fell over the room.
Judy was fuming. She couldn''t believe that Maria would go against James. "It looks like your time in
prison hasn''t taught you your ce!"
Maria cocked her head in the woman''s direction and took a deep breath to reign in her temper.
Then a bright smile lit up her face. "That''s right. Mr. Xi should have asked the authorities to lock me
up for a few additional years instead of letting me go after two years."
Two years in prison? James frowned, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. "What are you
talking about?"
"What am I talking about?" Maria sneered. Was he so forgetful that he didn''t remember he had
thrown her into jail right after divorcing her?
Now faced with James, Maria''s emotions wed into the surface. She could still manage keeping
up a strong front before her enemies earlier, but not anymore.
Tears slipped from her eyes, and sheughed derisively at herself. "Stop pretending to be innocent,
you bastard.
He stared at her in silence, his eyes swirling with unnamable emotions. He had just been called a
bastard in public, and he didn''t refute it.
Just then, a couple of security guards came into the scene and grabbed Maria by the arms.
She did not struggle; instead, she looked deep into James'' tormented eyes. "Didn''t you say that I
was crazy, ruthless, and what was the word—inhumane? But you''ve never actually been kind to me,
have you? ine asked me to be generous.
She said let bygones be bygones. Why the hell should I? My Arthur would have died in vain then!
I''ve suffered a lot in prison and trained so hard for my revenge. I won''t let it all be in vain!
Did you know, James Xi? When you forced me to gulp down three bottles of that damn strong
liquor, I had a bout of stomach hemorrhage. Alina came back and kicked me in the stomach. She hit
me when I was already dying! It would never be enough even if I kicked her dozens of times today."
yton jumped to his feet and muttered an order to the guards. "Coverthat woman''s mouth!"
As they were going to do so, James raised a hand to stop them. "Go on," he said in a hoarse voice,
nodding for Maria to continue.
It was like a dam inside of her had been opened, and she no longer cared if she became the
laughingstock for what she was about to admit. "After we married, Alina would always call and brag
that she was with you. We divorced, but she wasn''t satisfied. She had someone poison me, and
while I lived, I ended up bing mute. You made me surrender the proof that I got drugged so
you could protect her. Answer me, James Xi, are you not the more ruthless of us two?
You threw me away and the Song family cut all ties with me. Then your beloved stepmother hired
people to torture me in prison, I was practically half-dead those entire two years! I''d already lost my
child, I had nothing then. Why did you still treat me like this?" Then, without warning, Maria broke
free from the guards and hit James in the chest, hard.
Judy chose that moment to hurriedly clear her name. "Don''t try to nder me, Maria Song!"
"Me, nder you? Then tell us where the three-hundred-million-dor alimony James provided for
me went! You would know more than anyone else, wouldn''t you?" Maria stared daggers at the older
woman, her eyes brimming with hatred.
The three hundred million? James listened quietly, his own eyes growing ominous as he seethed.
"There was nothing between me and Cooper, but you used me of seducing him. Don''t you know
why he''s noting home? He just wants to avoid arousing any further suspicion.
I only married James because I wanted to leave the Song family. He agreed to marry me of his own
ord. I didn''t force him. I didn''t y any dirty tricks. So why were you all ganging up against me?
What did I ever do to you?" In the past, if James had refused her proposition, she would have dly
found another way to leave Song family. She wouldn''t have bothered him anymore after that.
But he hadn''t refused.
Maria took a deep, ragged breath, and stepped away from him. Because of her high heels, though,
she stumbled and fell awkwardly on the carpeted floor.
James instantly leaned over to help her up. "Don''t touch me!" She pped his hand away.
Then she removed her heels and threw them aside before staggering back to her feet. "All I wanted
was to leave the Song family. Why were you all doing this to me?"
She cast ast look at the people in the room, then walked toward the door. She would be better off
alone at the moment.
James strode after her, ignoring the mor of the other
guests who tried to stop him. He caught her up to her soon enough, and only then did he notice how
Maria''s back was exposed to the cold air. Despite that, her bare skin was red and raw.
His expression darkened even more. He grabbed her hand. "Maria—"
She shook him off and quickened her pace, entering one of the elevators just as its doors opened.
She turned back to James before he could follow her inside. "Don''t you dare follow me, or you will
watch me die today!" He remained rooted on the spot.
The doors of the elevator closed, and he rushed to the one next to it and pushed the button.
When he arrived at the first floor, Maria was nowhere in sight. He ran out of the hotel, ignoring the
appalled nces from the crowd milling around the lobby.
It was snowing outside, but she didn''t seem to notice it. Maria held onto the hem of her dress as she
trudged barefoot on the snow.
James caught her, of course. He took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. Despite her
struggles, he took her in his arms and held her close to his body.
"Let go of me!"
He only held her tighter. "I really didn''t know what you went through," he said, his voice low and full
of regret.
There he was, a man who had never believed in having to exin himself to anyone, baring his
transgressions to Maria for the first time in his life.