Chapter 289 Locked In


    "Surely, my brother had no idea you were pregnant then, Maria. Otherwise, he would never let a


    single inch of you get hurt."


    "Perhaps. But Cooper, should I just willingly volunteer as a hostage just because I know kung fu?


    Should I just let myself be taken away and wait for him to save me because he is capable?" Months


    had passed since that incident, and while Maria hadn''t gotten hurt in the ident, she still couldn''t


    find it in herself to forgive James.


    It was one thing to choose to be a hostage; it was another to be forced by ine. In Maria''s eyes,


    James shouldn''t have let the kidnappers take her away.


    Cooper remained silent. He chose to be on Maria''s side on this issue.


    "The most absurd of all, is that after everything I had to go through, he even used me of staging


    the whole thing. He probably thought I plotted the incident to serve as a test on who was more


    important to him—me or Alina."


    Cooper said nothing.


    The car finally screeched to a stop in front of a duplex vi. When Maria got out of the vehicle, the


    ck Harkim was already parked in the yard. James was leaning against the hood of his car,


    smoking a cigarette. Since the moment they had driven into the grounds, his eyes never left the


    pair.


    They all entered the vi together, and Cooper made a beeline for the drinks nestled on a table by


    the sitting room. He opened a bottle of red wine and started to pour into three goblets.


    He handed the drinks to his guests, and they clinked sses. "My dear brother and sister-inw,


    cheers!"


    Maria shook her head slightly. "Haven''t I just told you... ?"


    Cooper nodded nonchntly. "Yes, yes, you have, and I''ve heard you. But how I address you is my


    own prerogative."


    She took a deep, steadying breath. So everything she had said back in the car was worthless,


    wasn''t it?


    James shot her his usual cold nce, wondering just how close Maria and Cooper had be.


    With such distasteful thoughts in his head, he threw back the drink and gulped down the wine in one


    go.


    The other two eyed him in astonishment, but neithermented.


    They settled into their seats and the brothers began to chat and catch up with each other. Maria


    would chime in asionally, especially when there was a lull in the conversation. At some point,


    she asked, "How is Coco doing?"


    Coco was Cooper''s poodle, and it had snow-white fur that Maria found particrly lovely.


    "How do you know Coco?" James asked in obvious confusion before his brother could even


    answer.


    Maria''s heart caught in her throat. She had been careless just now. "I stopped by the US during my


    trip a while back," she replied calmly. "I was fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of our dear,


    adorable Coco."


    James bought it.


    In fact, while she was pregnant and staying in the US, she would asionally visit Cooper and y


    with Coco.


    Cooper''s smile widened. "I left it at Stephen''s ce in the meantime." "But isn''t Coco at odds with


    Stephen''s Tibetan mastiff?" Maria blurted out before she could stop herself.


    "They''re being kept in two separate rooms. Stephen has also assured me to take good care that


    Coco doesn''t get hurt."


    The back and forth between Cooper and Maria was perfectly normal, and there was nothing


    suspicious about their words. But at the same time, something was not quite right about their


    conversation.


    Maria seemed to know a lot of intimate details about Cooper, and it made James ufortable.


    Cooper took note of James'' shifting expression, and he casually poured some more wine into his


    own goblet. Then, when both James and Maria weren''t paying attention to him, Cooper subtly


    tossed his goblet and made it look like an ident.


    More than half of the contents of his goblet sloshed into the air, arching perfectly toward Maria''s


    direction.


    By the time she had been alerted by the impending disaster, it was already toote for her to jump


    out of the way. The winended squarely on her and promptly seeped into her clothes.


    "Oh, no! I''m so sorry, Maria. My hand slipped." Cooper''s apology was immediate.


    "It''s no big deal. Hand over those tissues." As Maria tended to her wet clothes, the Xi brothers


    exchanged a meaningful look.


    Amusement was dancing in Cooper''s eyes, making James narrow his own as he caught on the hit


    of mischief in his brother''s expression.


    Maria had wiped most of the wine with the tissues, but she was wearing a light gray, cashmere


    sweater, and the stain was rather distinguishable.


    Cooper charged head-on and voiced a proposal. "James, since you and Maria have both consumed


    alcohol, why don''t you just stay for the night? I just returned and haven''t gotten round to hiring a


    driver yet, so there''s no one to take you home anyway."


    Maria paused what she was doing. She nced down at herself before looking up at Cooper. His


    smile looked innocent enough, but she was feeling something wrong about this situation.


    James, meanwhile, had no objections. "Right, shall I take the room opposite yours then?"


    "Of course."


    "I''ll go upstairs to take a shower first." James removed himself from the room, and Maria leaned


    over to Cooper.


    "I don''t want to stay here! It’s dark outside anyway, no one is going to notice my clothes."


    "Oh, don''t worry about that. I''ll have someone bring you a new set of clothes."


    "No, thanks. That''s not necessary. It''s not like I''mpletely soaked."


    But Cooper ignored her and was already dialing a number on his phone. "Send over a set of


    women''s clothes. Maria, what size do you wear?"


    Maria opened her mouth to protest, but ended up breathing a helpless sigh. "Size 4."


    She had always worn size 2, but she had unfortunately switched over to size 4 after giving birth to


    Bob.


    Cooper put away his phone like he didn''t have a care in the world. "Let me take you upstairs. You


    should take a shower to get rid of the smell of alcohol." "You''re right. Okay." They made their way to


    the second floor, where Cooper stopped in front of a door and opened it for her.


    "Ladies first."


    "Thank you, Cooper."


    Maria walked straight into the bedroom, not suspecting anything.


    The next thing she knew, Cooper was closing the door without following her inside. She even heard


    something click into ce on the other side.


    Confused, she cocked her head and stared at the door, wondering if Cooper had indeed locked her


    in. But he had no reason to do such a thing, so in the end, she decided she must have been


    imagining things.


    She found to her horror that she had been sorely mistaken for trusting that brat! It was toote when


    she noticed the man using the bathroom inside the suite.


    Seeing something she shouldn''t have, Maria averted her eyes, her face heating up. "Why are you in


    here?" she asked crossly.


    James took his time tidying up and fastening his belt before pressing the flush button of the toilet.


    "This is where I stay every time Ie to see Cooper. Why, is there a problem? How about you?


    Why did youe in while I was using the bathroom?"


    Maria couldn''t utter a sound. If she had known that James was staying in this room, she wouldn''t


    have walked inside even at gunpoint.


    She swiveled and strode to the door, intending to ask Cooper to give her another room to use for


    the night.


    But he had well and truly locked the door from outside.


    Maria red at the knob in silent outrage. "Cooper Xi!" she yelled.


    "Stop shouting," James drawled from somewhere behind her. "He''s not going to open that door


    even if you scream all night until your voice turns hoarse."


    She ignored him and furiously pulled out her phone, punching in Cooper''s number. Fortunately, the


    call connected. "Cooper, why the hell am I locked inside this room with your brother?"


    Cooper chuckled. "Yes, well, the lock broke just now. Please make do with the situation and just


    spend the night here."


    "Yes, of course, I''m staying. But give me a different room, please." She didn''t want to share James''


    bed again.


    "No way. It''s only natural that my brother and sister-inw slept in the same room. Changing suites


    is too much of a hassle, andpletely unnecessary. Oh, by the way, the clothes I asked to be


    brought over aren''t here yet. They''ll arrive tomorrow morning, so you''re going to have to make the


    best of what you have at the moment. Well, sleep tight, Maria."


    Maria was at a loss. She had known Cooper for a long time, but this was the first time she had ever


    thought him despicable.


    "If you didn''t want to stay here, then why did youe inside in the first ce?" James asked, his


    voice low. He was leaning against the door frame of the bathroom, his muscr arms crossed over


    his chest.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    "Do you think I wanted this? It''s all Cooper''s fault!" Maria retorted impatiently.


    "I''m just saying, it''s not like he couldn''t have forced you into entering the room if you really didn''t


    want to."