Chapter 363 Call For Help
It was not Maria''s ce to interfere in this matter-after all, it was his business. "Norman asked me to
go on a vacation with him because he wanted me to chaperone a girl. There''s absolutely nothing
going on between me and him."
James stared at her for a few heartbeats. "He said that he wanted to marry you."
Maria gaped at him. "You mean on that day when I returned to H City?" How could he still
remember?
"That''s right."
"Well, he only wanted to piss you off that time! Look, you two are enemies. You know that. He''s got
a childish streak, and it gives him great pleasure to get under your skin. Do you seriously think that
he likes me?" Maria exined.
James kept silent.
For a while, he didn''t say anything, and neither did Maria. Both lost in their own thoughts, the two of
them listened to soft music and the sea breeze.
When thest course of their barbeque dinner was served, Maria pushed the te in front of James
and rested her chin in her hand. "In honor of youing all the way here, James. A gift."
Hearing the amused implication in her voice, James stared at the sea cucumbers on the te and
said, "I can eat one, but can we go for a walkter?"
"Okay!" ''A walk? That''s all? Fine.''
He picked up a skewer and ced the roasted sea cucumber into his mouth.
Maria watched his expression with a smile. "What do you think? Does it taste good?"
"Yes." The dish wasn''t really to his taste, but he couldn''t call it unptable, either.
After having their fill of the barbecued food and beer, Maria settled the bill.
He took off his shoes and socks and handed them to the bodyguard standing not too far away.
"Don''t follow us."
"Yes, Mr. Xi." The bodyguard turned around and left.
Hand in hand, the two walked along the shoreline.
Maria was wearing flip flops, and she had no problem walking on the beach.
"You haven''t been on a vacation for a long time, have you?" she asked.
"No, I haven''t." Given how busy he was with work all the time, it had been quite a while since he
hadst taken some time off for himself.
Holding onto his arm, Maria said in a soft voice, "Will you get up early tomorrow morning and watch
the sunrise with me? We can also collect some seafood if we arrive here early. I''ll cook it for you
when we get back."
"Have you done this before?"
"Nope, but I''ve seen a lot of peoplee back with all kinds of seafood. I felt so envious of them."
She didn''t want to go to the beach on her own. It was a good thing that James came.
"I see." If he remembered correctly, the best time for watching the sunrise and collecting seafood
was from 5 to 9 o''clock in the morning.
There were only a few people around at that time. Maria suddenly came up with an idea. She let go
of his arm and stood in front of him. "James, how about I dance for you?"
He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her performance. "Okay."
"Mr. Xi, what kind of dance would you like? ssical dance, Mongolia dance, ballet, and... peacock
dance!"
"ssical dance." He could almost imagine her in the long, fiery red dress she was wearing, doing
a ssical dance.
"Okay!" Maria took a few steps back, kicked the flip flops off her feet, andunched into a beginning
pose. "It''s been a while since Ist danced. Don''tugh at me!"
His eyes crinkling into a smile, he reassured her, "Don''t worry." Maria red at him suspiciously. ''He
is going to make fun of me, I''m sure of it!''
Then, Maria started to dance, slowly gaining confidence with every step. She had gained some
weight because of Bob, but she got back her figure after a period of exercise.
She swayed her hips gracefully under the moonlight.
She was obviously rusty due tock of practice, and some of her movements appeared awkward.
Even so, James stood rooted at the spot, fascinated by the woman dancing before him. After a
while, he took out his phone and took several photos without her noticing.
After about three minutes, Maria executed a couple of spins and then, with her skirt fluttering in the
air, fell into his arms.Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.
Sliding his arms more firmly around her waist, he hauled her up against him and imed her red
lips.
After a long, passionate moment, he slowly released the woman in his arms. "When did you learn
how to dance?" He had no idea that she could dance-her movement and form were absolutely
breathtaking.
"All throughout middle school to high school." She had never taken a dancing ss, and everything
she knew, she had learned from Siena. As a professional dancer, Siena passed on all of her
knowledge in dance to Maria while she practiced.
"That was amazing!"
Maria preened at his praise. "Of course, I wanted to..." After a pause, she turned away and
continued, "I''d been studying hard."
Apparently, her mood had gone south.
James noticed it. Grasping her hand, he asked, "What did you want?"
Maria kept a smile pasted on her face, but it wasn''t pleasant. "What else did I want? I just wanted to
leave the Song family. I was so naive back then. I thought if I could dance and cook, I might have a
chance to get to know someone rich like you. Then, maybe that person would take me away from
the Song family."
Now, she could hardly believe that she had ever entertained such thoughts. How utterly childish of
her!
James'' eyes darkened as he stared down into hers.
"Why did you stop my car back then?"
Maria was in no hurry to answer him. After taking some time to organize her thoughts, she
answered carefully, "Because you were rich and powerful. Before you came to the Song family, I
had already heard from my two sisters how powerful you were."
She walked ahead of him, not looking back, and her words were clipped and brisk.
James'' lips tightened into a thin line. He had a distinct feeling that her words couldn''t bepletely
trusted. "They mentioned a man about whom you mmed up even after being plied with three
sses of wine. Who was he?"
Mariaughed and tried to shake him off. "There was no such a man. You actually believe what they
told you?"
James stopped in his tracks. When she no longer felt him behind her, Maria turned around.
He was standing a few steps away, seemingly lost in thought.
Maria asked helplessly, "James, do you still want to walk or not?"
James grabbed her hand and led her to the cliff nearby.
It was not really a cliff, only a rather dangerous-looking outcropping of rocks that formed a ledge
above the sea. The water was about three to four meters below the rocks.
The two stood close to the edge on onerge rock, listening to the sound of the waves hitting the
stones below.
In a sudden flurry of movement, he stripped off his coat, threw it to the ground, and stalked toward
Maria.
Maria turned to see James approaching her with a straight face. A sinking feeling filled her. "James,
what are you doing?"
He continued to walk toward her without answering her question, not stopping until Maria was
standing right at the edge of the rock.
Maria turned around and looked down at the sea, which appeared like a devouring abyss in the
dark night. In a panic, she gasped out, "James, don''t mess around. We''re a bit high up here. And it''s
dark tonight! I could die!"
Gently touching her cheek, he whispered, "Mia, do you know the price to pay for making me
angry?"
"I can exin. The man I never talked about even after drinking three sses of wine was actually
—"
"You don''t need to exin." James had been in a sour mood the entire evening.
Maria felt a twinge of fear as she stared up into those eyes. With her lips trembling slightly, she
asked, "What do you want me to say?" Did he want to kill her? She wanted to call for help, but she
wasn''t sure if anyone would hear her.