A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Chapter 432 I Missed It

This evening, James had learned a lot of things from Rosa.

He now knew all about how far and beyond Maria had gone for him.

In the past, she had only had eyes for him, as if her whole world revolved around him.

She had learned how to cook and make coffee just to please him.

After getting married to him, she had always brought all his laundry to the cleaner's in person. After getting the clean clothes, she had folded them one by one and arranged them in his closet.

Later, James would learn that Maria had spent a lot of time and effort on learning how to tie a necktie, so that she could do it for him one day. When that day finally came and she had the chance to put what she had learned into practice, she had been so happy that she had almost cried.

James would also learn that, in the past, every time Maria heard that he was coming back home, she would cook for him in person.

After saying everything that she wanted to say and getting a satisfactory reaction from James, Rosa ran off, clutching the fabric of her dress to lift her hemline.

James walked back to his car like a zombie, slid into the back seat, and leaned back with his eyes closed. Noticing that he was in a bad mood, Gary asked cautiously, "Mr. Xi, do you want to go back to the manor?"

Silence pervaded the car. After a long time, Gary finally received an answer. "Go to the Leopard Club." "Yes, sir."

With that, Gary drove to the Leopard Club.

At ten o'clock that night, Ethan and another young man from a rich family walked out of a private room, with their arms slung around each other's shoulders, chatting and laughing.

Just then, the manager walked up to Ethan and said in a low voice, "Mr. Nan, I just saw Mr. Xi here."

Ethan's face was red after all the wine that he had drunk. Blinking his eyes, he asked, "Isn't it normal for him to be here?"

"Yes, but he is here alone. It has already been an hour since he entered the private room," the manager explained tentatively.

It was true that James was a regular guest at this club, but there would only be two reasons for his visits. He would come here for a business party, or he would come here to hang out with Ethan or Lawrence.

"He has been in a private room alone for an hour?" Ethan echoed, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Feeling that something was wrong, he quickly took out his phone and looked at the screen. He didn't have any missed calls or messages from James.

"Yes, he asked us to bring him some bottles of liquor," the manager continued. In fact, not only did he find James' behavior odd, but he was also worried. James had ordered so many bottles of alcohol for just him alone. What if he ended up drinking too much without anyone to notice or take care of him? That was why the manager had rushed to find Ethan, who was fortunately here with his friend.

Hearing what the manager said, Ethan turned to his friend and said, "You go ahead. We can meet another day. I'll go and check on James."

"Okay. I am leaving now."

"Okay."

As soon as Ethan opened the door of Room No. 666, the pungent smell of alcohol entered his nostrils.

The dimly-lit room was clouded over with cigarette smoke, making it hard to see anything inside.

It was not until he took a few steps inside that Ethan could make out the decadent man lying on the sofa. His eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "James?"

Next to the man lay several empty bottles. There were still two unopened bottles of liquor, and the ashtray on the table was full of cigarette butts.

James opened his eyes, took a glance at Ethan, and then closed his eyes again without saying a word.

Ethan walked over to him and snatched away the bottle in his hand. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you drink so much?" He had never seen James get drunk like this before. It was not his style. He had always drunk in moderation.

Besides, James had sounded normal when he had called him in the afternoon and asked him to take care of Bob. What could have possibly happened in the span of a few hours to put him in such a state?

James continued to lie there silently without answering Ethan's question.

After thinking for a while, Ethan asked tentatively, "Did something happen to your company?

Or did you quarrel with Maria? No, you look too depressed. I don't think you would be like this because of something as simple as a quarrel. Did Maria cheat on you?" Hearing no response from James, Ethan murmured to himself, "But Maria is not that kind of person, is she?"

James still didn't utter a single word, but took the bottle back from Ethan and drank some more. His phone kept vibrating in his pocket, but he paid no attention to it.

Ethan once again snatched the bottle from his hand and sighed. "All right, all right. Aren't you afraid that you'll have gastric bleeding?"

At the mention of the words "gastric bleeding," James' eyes began to water. He remembered that Maria had also drunk too much and suffered from gastric bleeding because of him back then.

"I'll drive you home. You're already a father, but you still drink like you're in the prime of your youth. Aren't you afraid that Maria will punish you?" Ethan continued, trying to help James up from the sofa.

When James shrugged him off, Ethan sighed and sat next to him on the sofa. "James, don't hold back your feelings. Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it. I promise I won't tell anyone, let alone laugh at you."

James wordlessly took the cigarette pack and opened it, only to realize that there were no cigarettes left. He held his palm out in front of Ethan and said, "Give me a cigarette."

Ethan stared back at him without reaching for his pocket. "If you tell me what's wrong with you, I'll give it to you."

Hearing this, James didn't say anything more. Instead, he closed his eyes again and continued to lie on the sofa like a corpse.

Feeling helpless, Ethan said, "If you're not going to tell me what happened, I'll call Maria." "No!" James jumped up and grabbed the phone that Ethan had just taken out from his pocket. He was too guilty and ashamed to face Maria right now.

Of course, as soon as Ethan saw his reaction, he guessed that whatever had driven James to drink like a fish, it must have something to do with Maria. Shaking his head, he said, "James, don't keep it to yourself. I'm worried about you."

But once again, James stayed silent.

Realizing that there was no point in continuing to press James for an answer, Ethan picked up the bottle and poured himself a glass of liquor. "Fine, it doesn't matter if you don't tell me. Come on, I'll drink for you. You don't have to drink."

After saying that, he took a sip of the strong alcohol, but it was so spicy that it made his face contort. "Whoa, you're really a master at drinking."

"I missed it," James said all of a sudden, looking into the distance with his bleary eyes.

It was only now that he realized what he had let slip through his fingers. He had lost the love of a girl who only cared about him.

Many years ago, when Maria had just married him, she was still a pure and innocent girl, with simple desires. But now, she was like a rose covered in thorns, full of bitterness and hatred.

"What?" Ethan asked in confusion.

"I missed the pure and sincere love of a young girl," James replied, still staring off into space. Back then, Maria had done everything she could for him without expecting anything in return. She hadn't had any

hidden motives or schemes.

Ethan was shocked to hear. Suppressing his urge to cover James's mouth with his palm, he hissed, "James, keep your voice down. If Maria hears what you said, she will kill you."

"I don't mind. If she kills me, at least she won't hate me anymore."

This statement left Ethan even more confused. But since James was really drunk, he just chalked it off as nonsense.

"Ethan," James called out, turning his head to stare at Ethan.

Ethan could not help but shiver under his friend's solemn gaze. "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't look at me like that."

"No matter what happens in the future, you have to help Maria unconditionally, the same way you will always help me." James knew that, just like Rosa had said just now, Maria wouldn't be able to forgive him easily for the things he had done to her in the past. If not for her hunger for revenge, she might never have appeared in front of him again.

If Rosa had told him these things as soon as Maria had returned to H City, James would not have felt the way he did now. He might not even have felt sad at all. But now, he felt like his heart was being torn apart. He had fallen in love with her so quickly and deeply.

After a moment of heavy silence, Ethan hesitantly asked, "James...are you going to kill yourself?" NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.

James almost scoffed out loud. Pinching the space between his eyebrows, he said in a low voice, "Help me up."

"Okay."

Just as James rose up to a sitting position, his phone buzzed again in his pocket. He took it out and, seeing that he was getting a call from Maria, answered the call immediately. "Hi, honey."