A Vengeful Ex-Wife

How did women compete with each other? They were not like men who usually resorted to physical fights. Most of the time, they didn't even need to argue. As long as a woman excelled in her beauty and charm, like having a flawless complexion, perfect figure, elegant aura, and confidence, she would definitely stand out. Outstanding women usually beat other women.

Maria was the best example. On whatever occasion she attended, she could easily steal the limelight from Alina or any other woman. She always became the center of everyone's attention. And in tonight's auction, Alina obviously lost against Maria again.

Whether she admitted it or not, she felt miserable inside. James, who was sitting next to her right now, was her only chance to save her dignity. He was her only way to make everyone fawn on her. Although Maria showed up in a high-profile way, she kept a low profile when she was inside the auction hall. She didn't even greet anyone. Completely ignoring James and Alina, she found her seat, sat quietly, and waited for the auction to begin.

James and Alina were in the first row while Maria was in the third row. Daniela was also present in the auction. She was in the third to the last row with Elaine sitting next to her.

The two didn't look good when they saw Maria. But since they were in a public place, they didn't do anything. They tacitly treated her as a stranger. A few seconds before the auction began, Ethan came in. He didn't see Maria, so he walked up to James and sat next to him.

Maria found the auction quite boring that she didn't even raise her bidding paddle for the first few items. She was about to doze off when something appeared on the stage that attracted her attention at once. In an instant, she sobered up.

The bid caller announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the next treasure is a surprise from Mr. Jiang of YL Group. It is a valuable Paraiba tourmaline necklace called 'Angel's Tear.' This necklace is one of the collections of the royal family of T Country."

The necklace was called "Angel's Tear" because its tourmaline pendant was teardrop-shaped. It was one of a kind. What made it different from ordinary necklaces was that the tourmaline gave off a mysterious color. There seemed to be a magic in it that could intensely attract everyone's attention. Once you laid your eyes on it, you couldn't tear your gaze away from it.

All the women present in the auction got so excited. But since they had to care about their image in public, they could only express their love and longing to possess the said necklace through their eyes. "The starting bid for this treasure is five million dollars," the bid caller announced.

"What? Five million is the lowest price? I have to think twice then," one woman said sadly.

Those women who were not that rich still hesitated. But those rich ones had already started to bid. "Six million dollars!"

"Seven million dollars!"

The price soared up so quickly. Before everyone could notice, the bidding price had already gone up ten times the starting bid when the last bidder shouted, "Fifty million dollars!"

That bidder was Alina.

Almost all of the women there turned and looked at her with admiration. They all thought that she deserved the necklace. After all, she was the most famous celebrity in H City, and she would soon be James' fiancee.

Alina enjoyed the crowd's attention and admiration as a matter of course. Actually, she didn't hesitate to place a bid because she was confident that James would pay for it. In her mind, even if she made it one hundred million dollars, it was just a drop in the bucket for him.

The bid caller called fifty million dollars twice, but no one placed a higher bid. It was not that they didn't have enough money. They just didn't dare to compete with Alina. After all, she was sitting next to James, one of the most powerful men in H City.

The bid caller was about to announce for the third time when a woman's voice was head. "Sixty million!"

The auction hall was in an uproar after the bid. Everyone was wondering who was bold enough to challenge Alina. To challenge James, to be exact.

They all looked in the direction where the voice came from, and their mouths agape when they found out that it was Maria.

People started discussing. The auction hall was filled with different voices.

One woman voiced out, "Why has Mr. Xi allowed a murderer to sit here and compete with Alina?"

"How do you know that she's a murderer?" her husband retorted in confusion. Another woman sitting next to them chimed in, "You've just moved to H City, so you don't know yet. Maria Song, that woman who bid sixty million dollars, killed her own son. It was in all newspapers several years ago."

The man was taken aback. He couldn't imagine such a gorgeous woman to be so vicious. 'What a pity!' he thought and heaved a sigh.

Alina didn't need to look back to see who had challenged her bid. Maria's voice was so familiar to her, and she hated it to the core.

Instead, she glanced at James beside her. He was resting his arm at the back of the chair and lazily supporting his forehead. He didn't have any reaction at all, so she raised her bidding paddle again and yelled through clenched teeth, "Eighty million dollars!"

"One hundred million dollars!" Maria offered immediately. She had definitely attracted everyone's attention this time.

Daniela was silently cursing Maria for her craziness. But she was also anticipating to see Maria in a mess later. After all, she believed that Maria could never afford a necklace worth one hundred million dollars. The woman next to Maria didn't know her but knew Alina. So she couldn't help reminding Maria in a low voice, "Ma'am, the man sitting next to Ms. Tang is Mr. Xi. Do you think you can win against him?" Maria smiled and shook her head but said nothing.

Of course, she knew that she couldn't win against James in terms of wealth, but she could with Alina. And that was actually her purpose. She took out her phone from the purse and sent a message on WeChat. "It's all right that you refused to invest in my business. But if you dare to go against me today, believe it or not, I can cause you big trouble." James' phone had been in his hand all the time, so when it vibrated, he opened it and read the new message.

Alina had all her attention on Maria and didn't notice that he was reading something on his phone.

Ethan was having so much fun witnessing Alina and Maria battling against a necklace. He whispered to James, "Who will you support, your current girlfriend, or your ex-wife?"

James didn't reply to Maria's message. He answered Ethan, "They are both the same." What he meant was, whoever he chose to support, he would still be the one to pay for their bids.

Ethan was amazed by his answer. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Are you not afraid that Maria will scratch your face?"

James just gave him a cold glance. He then said crossly, "She won't be that bold."

The bidding for the necklace continued between Alina and Maria. This time, Alina placed a bid of one hundred twenty million dollars.

"One hundred fifty million dollars!" Maria said calmly. She wasn't worried at all because she knew that James had always kept his promise.

Everyone waited for Alina to speak up again. After a moment of silence, they all assumed that she had already given up.

It had been final. Maria got the Paraiba tourmaline necklace for one hundred fifty million dollars. In an instant, she became the center of everyone's attention in the auction hall.

Alina pretended to look calm on the surface. And to hide her embarrassment, she turned to the socialite diva beside her. "The necklace is beautiful, but I'm not that stupid. It doesn't worth one hundred fifty million dollars at all. Let her take it away."

The socialite diva was rendered speechless. Looking at Alina's pale face, she exactly knew what was going on.

It was James who stopped Alina continue bidding by telling her that there would be a more beautiful bracelet to be auctioned later. Alina understood that he just didn't want her to go on fighting with Maria this way.

Although she didn't know why he had to do it, she had no other choice but to listen to him obediently.

After signing the deed of sale for the necklace, Maria's mood lightened up. Finally, after begging James for so many things, he had done one thing that made her feel really happy.

Alina patiently waited for the bracelet that James mentioned to her. It was a tanzanite bracelet that she liked so much. But much to her disappointment, it was Maria who got it again.

She looked at James, pouted, and said sadly, "James, I want that bracelet."

She wondered if he had seen that Maria was robbing her on purpose. What she wanted from him was his support.

"That's easy," James replied with a nod.

Alina was overjoyed at once. However, she still asked, "But how?"

"I'll give you one hundred million dollars later. Ask her to sell it to you." Maria got the tanzanite bracelet for fifty million dollars. James was asking her to pay it double.

Alina's heart sank again. If she was to ask Maria in person, she knew that Maria would definitely refuse. Biting her lower lip, she asked him tentatively, "Can you buy it for me? Maria may not be willing to sell it to me. You know, we have some small conflicts."

James didn't object. "I'll ask Lorenzo to make an appointment with Maria later. I'll talk to her alone."

This time, Alina was stunned. James wanted to talk to Maria alone. How could she allow it to happen? In the end, she was in a dilemma.

She only had two options now. It was either she chose James, or she showed off in front of Maria.

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Ophelia Q