A Vengeful Ex-Wife novel Chapter 142

After calming down, James answered, "Yes."

Maria clenched her fists, her fingernails piercing her palms. She sneered, "Do you really need a marriage to prop up your career, James?"

The man stood up and walked to the window. He stared outside into the night, but the view offered nothing but concrete walls and alleyways. The hotel was not known for its scenery. "I don't need it, HL Group does." This was an important project. If HL Group teamed up with Tang Group, they'd have twice the profit for half the effort.

He evaluated this from every angle. The benefits extended beyond mere profit.

"So you gave up your own happiness to help HL Group?" Maria asked.

The man fell silent.

She continued to look daggers at him, despite the fact that he couldn't see her. She was sure he could feel it, though. "It's so ridiculous! This can't all be about business. You care for Alina, right? If you don't, then why marry her? And sleep with her?"

Without turning his head, James replied in a calm voice, "I didn't like you back then, either. But we still had sex."

Maria was speechless. He was too blunt.

Sure enough, men were animals driven by their desires; even James was no exception.

At the mention of sex, they both paused awkwardly.

Maria felt a sharp pang in her heart as if it were pricked by needles. Why had she tried so hard? Even if she had gotten Lawrence to go along with her plan, James would still be with another woman.

Even if she embarrassed Alina again and again, what was the point? James didn't care if Alina made a fool of herself. He was still going to marry her.

Maria started feeling sorry for herself. Was she always going to be a loser?

"Go! Leave! I don't want to see you again." She didn't want him to see the cracks in her armor. She was afraid that she would get physically ill if they kept talking.

And with that, Maria pushed James out of her room. And she wasn't kind or subtle about it. He had no time to resist, nor did he care to.

He had the door slammed right in his face. That night, Maria kicked him out twice.

In the Harkim, James closed his eyes and took a nap. When he was about to arrive at his place, he sent a message to his subordinate. "Lawrence is getting married. Find a way to inform his grandmother."

Since they were getting married, Lawrence's family would find out sooner or later. He didn't mind letting Elizabeth know the good news ahead of time.

"Yes, Mr. Xi."

If James told his men to relay a message, it would get there quickly.

The very next morning, Elizabeth was taking a walk around the neighborhood. It was early morning, and few others were even up yet. She liked it that way, just her and the crisp dawn air. But it wasn't just her, this time. Two men were also out for a jog, and she heard them mention Lawrence and how he was getting married soon.

Elizabeth felt a little out of sorts. Why did she have to hear it from others, rather than from her grandson himself? Of course, these two "joggers" worked for James. It was all part of his plan.

She had been hoping Lawrence would settle down and marry a nice girl. She'd been looking forward to that for many years. Some time ago, she was urging him to get married. Why didn't he tell her he had a girlfriend?

Keeping that in mind, Elizabeth came back to the Lu family villa. She called Lawrence to figure out what was going on.

"Lawrence, what are you doing?"

As soon as Lawrence swiped to answer the call, Elizabeth's stern voice came from the other end of the line.

"I'm not sure what you're asking, Grandma." Lawrence was confused.

"You're getting married? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm getting married? Oh... How did you find out?" Lawrence was puzzled for a moment. He wasn't going to tell his family about the fake marriage.

Elizabeth sneered. "You meant you didn't want me to know?"

Her bearing was very similar to Charlotte's. One could tell this woman was either rich, powerful, or both.

Maria walked forward with a smile, slightly bent down and nodded to greet Elizabeth. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Lu!"

Elizabeth looked the woman up and down secretly and smiled back. "You must be Maria, right?"

In fact, Elizabeth was obsessed with good-looking youngsters. When she first caught sight of Maria, she was deeply impressed by her beauty and charm.

Maria was beautiful, but Elizabeth thought she was way too good-looking. Her grandson was not always home. She worried that Maria might stray, be desperate for male company and fool around behind Lawrence's back. She gave Maria a negative mark there.

Maria nodded gracefully without any nervousness, "Yes, I'm Maria Song. This way, please, Mrs. Lu."

The two ladies entered Miracle Cafe, flanked by several bodyguards.

There were two private rooms on the first floor of the coffee shop. One of them was already taken. So Maria took Elizabeth into another room.

A shop assistant brought in the coffee prepared in advance. Maria personally took a cup of steaming coffee and handed it to the old woman. "Mrs. Lu, this is the coffee I brewed in advance. Please enjoy it."

The old woman didn't take it immediately, but looked at the cafe assistant beside her.

Maria understood immediately. She put the two cups of coffee on the table and asked the assistant to leave.

There were just the two of them in the private room, as well as one of Elizabeth's bodyguards.

Elizabeth dispensed with pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Tell me, why did you approach my grandson?"

Maria smiled and sat down opposite her. She answered with a question of her own. "I understand your concerns, Mrs. Lu. But what if I tell you I really like Lawrence?"

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