A Vengeful Ex-Wife

James burst out laughing. "That makes sense."

Maria flashed him a smug grin. "Of course! In the future, you should learn more from me."

"Learn what exactly?"

With a playful wink, Maria replied, "How to court women, of course."

"Do I need to learn that?"

"Why, you don't think you need it?"

"It's unnecessary. After all, any woman I like will automatically be with me once I confess to her," he joked.

Maria rolled her eyes at him. "It's a miracle that someone like you even has a girlfriend. Why didn't I think it through before I agreed to be with you?"

He looked down at her with affection in his eyes. "That's an easy question to answer. It's because you like me."

Maria didn't deny these words. "What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like me?" Her tone was casual, as if the answer didn't matter to her at all.

"No, I don't," was his decisive answer.

The words were like knives stabbing into her heart.

"You should let me teach you, then," she said lightly, trying to mask her pain.

"No, thanks."

With a huff of anger, she put some distance between them and muttered, "Forget it!"

Pulling the angry woman into his arms once again, James whispered in her ear, "I don't like you because I love you. Maria Song, I love you."

The words echoed in her head.

She had been with James for so long, but it was the first time she had ever heard him say those words.

"I love you." Three simple words, yet they had the power to shake her world.

Her eyes turned red-rimmed with tears, but she looked up at him with a radiant smile. Pretending to be unaffected, she said, "Well, it looks like you've learned enough, so you don't need me to teach you anything."

James was not satisfied with her reaction. "Shouldn't you give me a proper answer?"

'A proper answer?' Maria thought, taken aback. Not knowing how to respond, she froze in her tracks.

After a long time, James sighed and finally stopped teasing her. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. After a long, pleasant while, he pulled away and asked, "Didn't you want to get some ice cream? The store's just up ahead. Let's go!"

"Okay!" With a happy smile, Maria followed him to the ice cream shop.

Back at the villa, the couple got out of the parked car.

As they headed out of the garage, Maria suddenly said, "I think I know how the answer now."

James looked at her with a confused expression.

Stepping forward, Maria stood on tiptoe and pulled him down by the collar to kiss him on the lips. "Mr. Xi, I am honored to be loved by you."

James didn't say anything in response.

Instead, he leaned forward and pressed Maria against the car. "I think you're being too perfunctory."

She slid her arms around his neck and asked in a low, sultry voice, "What do you want, then?"

"Something like this." James kissed her hard on the lips, and his big hands roamed every part of her body that he could reach. The atmosphere inside the garage quickly became heated with desire. Knowing what he was doing, Maria pulled away and reluctantly stopped him. "Wait! There are cameras here."

Without stopping his seductive assault, James took out his phone and dialed a number. "Turn off the monitoring cameras in the garage." "Yes, Mr. Xi!"

James' daring took her breath away.

Then, she saw the red dots of the infrared light from the monitoring cameras disappear.

The next morning, Maria didn't sleep in. Instead, she got up early and had breakfast with James before heading to the company.

James dropped her off and then watched her disappear from sight.

He didn't leave immediately. Taking out his phone, he called Maria's doctor to update him about her recent condition.

The doctor replied, "Mr. Xi, if you're sure that Mrs. Xi hasn't been taking any medicine lately, then it appears that her condition has improved. Any kind of disease, mental or otherwise, requires the appropriate treatment. In Mrs. Xi's case, it seems that the best way to cure her is to untie the knots in her heart. For now, don't put too much pressure on her, and pay attention to her emotions. Extreme emotions should be moderated..."

Ten minutes later, James ended the call. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a slow drag.

Inside Miracle Cafe

Sebastian arrived at the cafe at around noon and entered a private room.

Inside, a woman dressed in all black stood waiting for him. When she saw him come in, the expression on her face did not change.

In contrast, Sebastian looked distinctly guilty when their eyes met.

After ordering a cup of coffee, he invited the woman to sit down.

Gabriela sat opposite him, still not saying anything.

"We have a grandson named Boston-"

Gabriela immediately corrected him in a flat tone, "There is no 'we.""

Sebastian sighed. "Gabriela, it's been years since we've parted ways. I heard that things aren't working out between you and Mitchell..." "What does that have to do with you? Or do you want to boast to me about how you and Judy love each other?"

Sebastian choked at her words. "No! I asked you to come here today to apologize to you."

Gabriela remained silent.

"It was my fault. Instead of trusting you, I believed Judy's baseless slander and ended up betraying you. Gabriela, divorce Mitchell!" "Divorce?" Gabriela asked with a sarcastic little laugh. "Mr. Xi, why do you think that I will divorce him just because you say so?"

"Whose child is Norman?"

The sudden change in topic stunned Gabriela. Still, she managed to answer, "His father is Mitchell."

"Really?" Sebastian stared at her.

The implication carried by that single word annoyed her. "Or else? What do you want me to say?"

Sebastian went straight to the point. "Is Norman our child? James and Cooper's younger brother?" When he first heard that piece of information by accident, Sebastian panicked.

Gabriela quickly rose to her feet, and her expressionless mask finally showed a tiny crack. "I don't know what you're talking about. Who the hell has been feeding you such nonsense and making you think that Norman is your child? Sebastian, if you don't have anything else to say, I'm leaving now."

"Gabriela! You usually try to escape whenever you feel anxious. If you won't admit it, fine. I'll have James investigate the lead that I have. I believe he will be very interested to know whether Norman is his own brother or not." Sebastian himself was incompetent, but thankfully he had an extremely capable son.

Gabriela whirled around to face him, her eyes ablaze with anger. "What the hell do you want? Can't we just leave each other alone?"

"Gabriela, don't be angry." Sebastian took the opportunity to block the exit. "Our children are all grown up. I'm sure you know that James has been at loggerheads with Norman for a long time because of Maria. If James finds out that Norman is his brother, he will definitely treat him the same way he treats Cooper. Don't you want to see our three children getting along with each other?"

"Norman grew up alone, and he's used to living without any siblings. I don't think he needs James to care about him."

A waiter came in with Sebastian's cup of coffee. He took it and then asked the waiter to leave.

Staring down at the dark liquid in his cup, he said, "This is Maria's cafe. Two years ago, she opened up this cafe with Norman's help. Gabriela, I'm afraid that you haven't grasped the current situation yet. Norman hates James, and he wants to use Maria against him. He is Maria's benefactor so she won't betray him. If the two brothers would come to blows one day over a woman, I'm afraid they would both lose."