A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Chapter 187 Scheming

Maria moved and rested her head on James' lap. She then wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "I know. Otherwise, why would I ask you to join us?"

James was rendered speechless. He realized that Maria was really scheming.

He raised his hand and stroked her long hair. It was a little wet because the showerhead accidentally sprayed some water on it when he washed her just now.

"Please..." Maria acted like a spoiled child in his arms.

James couldn't help but curl his lips. He said in a cold tone, "All right. But I won't do anything else to help you during the dinner."

Upon hearing his words, Maria pulled down his neck and kissed him on the lips.

He didn't dodge. Instead, he pressed her head and deepened the kiss.

But when he pressed her under his body again, she closed her eyes and said in a daze, "I'm sleepy." Then she yawned.

James could only stare at her helplessly. He knew that she did it on purpose.

As soon as she finished using him, she kicked him away.

But it seemed that he was left with no choice. Taking a deep breath, he let go of her and tidied up his clothes.

On James' thirtieth birthday, Maria didn't buy him a gift because she saw Alina's gift to him in her WeChat Moments early in the morning. Hence, she was not in a good mood all day long and lost the motivation to buy him a present.

Before his birthday, Maria had never heard that James was going to hold a birthday party. After all, he had never held a birthday party all his life.

When they were still married, she used to buy birthday gifts for him. But he could only receive them when he got home several days after his birthday. Then he would put them in the cabinet or in the wardrobe. He never used them.

The more Maria thought about it, the more annoyed she became. Finally, she went to the supermarket to buy some ingredients and took them to HQ Road.

She planned to go see Gordon first, then she would visit James' grandparents. She would also ask their permission personally. If they agreed, she would go back to Gordon to pick him up. They would spend the rest of the day in the Xi family and have dinner together.

Maria went to Gordon's house without informing him in advance. As a result, she didn't know that he was not home. She called him and found out that he went back to his hometown early morning the previous day. He wouldn't be back until the day after tomorrow.

She had no other choice but to turn the car around and went to the Xi family's villa.

Of course, Charlotte and Augustine were both at home. And when Tami told them that Maria was coming, Charlotte waited for her at the door.

"Maria, what brings you here so suddenly?" Charlotte asked curiously.

Carrying the bags of ingredients in her hand, Maria answered her honestly, "I'm in a bad mood today, and I don't want to work. So I decided to visit you and Grandpa and have a rest."

Amused by her words, Charlotte said with a smile, "Let's go inside. Then tell me why you are in a bad mood."

"Okay. I bought some ingredients. I'll cook for us later."

"You're such a good girl. You cook every time you come here. Why don't you ask Tami to do it instead?"

Maria helped Charlotte into the living room with one hand and said with an unchanged smile, "Cooking is the only thing I can do for you and Grandpa. So please don't stop me from doing it."

When Charlotte thought of how the Song family had treated Maria and what happened to Maria and James, she felt sorry for Maria. "Okay, okay. Anyway, we both love the dishes you cook so much."

"Who said that I liked them?" An old man's voice was heard from the tea room.

Maria and Charlotte exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.

Maria put the bag of ingredients down and looked at Augustine. "Grandpa, are the dishes I cook really not delicious?"

Augustine was wiping his tea set. When he heard her question, he glanced at her and said, "Do you want me to praise you? That is impossible."

Amused by his words, Maria couldn't help but smile secretly. "No, Grandpa. I know that my cooking skill is far worse than Grandma's."

"Hmm, it's good that you know. But you are not that hopeless. Anyway, where is James? When is he coming here?"

Maria was stunned for a moment. "I don't know. Today is his birthday. He should be with Uncle Sebastian and Aunt Judy." "You don't even know where your husband is. What are you doing? No wonder he can be taken away," Augustine said, looking unhappy.

"Grandpa, we have divorced. He's not my husband anymore. I'm already his past, and he has a new fiancee now."

"His past? You are so disappointing!" Augustine put down the tea set and glared at Maria. He then shouted to the living room, "Charlotte, call your son and tell him to ask his son to come here."

Maria couldn't help rolling her eyes. She complained inwardly, 'Grandpa, why don't you just call James?' For her, Augustine sounded funny when he said the words "your son" and "his son."

Charlotte picked up the landline phone and was about to make a call. But when she thought of something, she put it down.

It was too early to call Sebastian.

She turned around and looked at Maria, who was trying to appease Augustine. Then she called Tami over and said in a low voice, "Check Sebastian's schedule today."

"Yes, ma'am.” Tami understood what she meant.

So she secretly called her friend working in Sebastian's house. She then reported to Charlotte, "Ms. Lan knew that Mr. Xi never celebrates his birthday, so she asked the chef to prepare the dinner. She planned to ask Mr. Xi to bring Ms. Tang over and have dinner together to celebrate his birthday tonight."

Charlotte had already expected that it would happen. She nodded and said, "Tell me as soon as James arrives there."

"Okay."

It was getting dark, so Maria and Tami started to get busy in the kitchen.

In the living room, Augustine frowned and asked, "Why are you not calling James yet?"

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Judy is holding a banquet in the Imperial Villa. She has asked James to bring Alina there, and he has agreed. If we don't hurry, this idiot Maria will shed tears," Augustine answered.

Although Maria didn't say anything, he could figure out why she was unhappy today.

Today was James' birthday, but she had no right to celebrate it with him openly. How could she not feel bad?

Charlotte said nothing and just smiled.

Augustine glared at her but didn't say anything. He knew that his wife must have her own plan.

A few moments later, Tami came over and reported to Charlotte, "Ma'am, Mr. Xi has already arrived in Imperial Villa with Ms. Tang."

Charlotte picked up the landline phone calmly and asked Tami to dial the number in Imperial Villa. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

James had just parked his car in the garage of Imperial Villa.

He didn't unfasten his seat belt until Alina got out of the car first.

When the servant invited Alina in, Maria suddenly came to his mind. He wondered where she was and what she was doing right now.

Alina was about to reach the door when she noticed that James was not following behind her. She turned around and found that he was still standing by the car and lighting a cigarette.

She didn't do or say anything but just entered the villa. After smoking, James waited for the smell of the cigarette to dissipate before he stepped into the villa.

As soon as Judy saw him coming in, she walked over to him and said with a smile, "Happy birthday, James!"

"Thank you," he replied lightly.

"Dinner is ready. Let's go to the dining room."

"Okay."

As soon as all of them sat down at the dining table, the landline phone in the living room rang.

One servant walked over to answer it. When she saw the number on the screen, she said to Sebastian in the dining room, "Mr. Xi, your father is calling."