A Vengeful Ex-Wife novel Chapter 289

"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 accident, 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 Elaine. 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 accused 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 villa. When Maria got out of the vehicle, the black 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 villa 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 glasses. "My dear brother and sister-in-law, cheers!"

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

Cooper nodded nonchalantly. "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 glance, wondering just how close Maria and Cooper had become. 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 neither commented.

They settled into their seats and the brothers began to chat and catch up with each other. Maria would chime in occasionally, 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 particularly 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 occasionally visit Cooper and play with Coco.

Cooper's smile widened. "I left it at Stephen's place 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 uncomfortable.

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 accident.

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 too late for her to jump out of the way. The wine landed 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."

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 I come to see Cooper. Why, is there a problem? How about you? Why did you come 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 glared 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-in-law slept in the same room. Changing suites is too much of a hassle, and completely 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 you come inside in the first place?" James asked, his voice low. He was leaning against the door frame of the bathroom, his muscular arms crossed over his chest.

"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."