Chapter 196 I Want to Kill Her!
James wanted to push Maria away, but she clung to him so tightly, like vines wrapping around him, that he couldn't budge her. He had no choice but to give up.
Maria, still holding him, poured out her heart, releasing five years' worth of longing. James felt deeply guilty after listening to her confide in him. He knew Maria would miss him, but he hadn't expected her longing to be so profound. After all, when James left, Maria was only sixteen, an age prone to fleeting affections. She should have quickly fallen in love with someone else and gradually forgotten him. But to his surprise, not only had Maria not forgotten him, but her feelings for James had also grown even stronger.
James hadn't anticipated this. While he was moved, he also felt a headache coming on.
James was already married, and even if he hadn't been married, he would never have been with Maria. He had always seen Maria as his sister, and the thought of anything happening between them made him feel disgusted and perceive a moral decay.
In fact, just thinking about it made James shiver; he felt like vomiting.
"Maria, stop crying. I'm not dead," James gently patted the back of Maria's head and said. "Alright, let go of me. You're squeezing me so hard that I'm going numb."
"No!" Maria pouted, shook her head, and hugged James even tighter.
"Why did you leave without a word? You have no idea how I've lived these past five years. Now that I've finally found you, don't think you can leave me again!" Maria said domineeringly.
James said sternly, "Are you going to let go or not?"
"No!"
"Then don't blame me for using my secret move."
"Are you finally going to make a move on me?"
James sneered and pressed a certain point on Maria's waist with his finger. Maria let out a light cry and released James as if she had been electrocuted.
"James, you use your skill again! Why do you poke me?" Maria said angrily.
James, imitating the exaggerated heroes in movies, blew on his index finger and said, "I had to use my secret move."
Maria, with tears in her eyes, looked at James with a heartbroken expression. "You bully me! I came all this way to find you, and instead of comforting me, you poked me."
She started to sob.
She looked so pitiful that any man who saw her would feel the urge to protect her.
But James remained unmoved. He sat on the sofa, smiling as he watched Maria's performance. As someone who had watched her grow up, James knew her better than anyone. Not only would she not cry if he poked her, but even if he pinned her to the ground and beat her, she might not shed a tear.
Her current behavior was purely an act.
Seeing that her act wasn't fooling James, Maria gave up and returned to her normal self in an instant, pouting as she sat next to James.
"Go on, why did you stop crying?" James said with a forced smile.
"Hmph, James, you don't care about me at all." Maria pouted even more.
James said, "Wasn't that enough care? Do you want me to give you another dose of care?"
As he spoke, James moved to act, scaring Maria into hugging herself and shouting, "No!"
Her shout was so alluring that it made James shiver.
'How has Maria become so seductive?' he exclaimed inwardly.
"Why do you always wear a veil? Isn't it uncomfortable?" James said disdainfully.
Her eyes rolled, and she looked at James with a shy expression, softly saying, "James, can you help me take off my veil?"
"Why don't do it yourself?" James frowned.
Maria suppressed the urge to punch James and said dejectedly, "We haven't seen each other in five years. Don't you want to see how I've changed?"
Indeed, after five years, Maria had grown from a little girl into a beautiful woman.
James was curious as well, purely from a brotherly perspective, and he removed Maria's veil.
As the veil fell, it revealed an exquisitely beautiful face. Her almond-shaped face, with every contour seemingly crafted by God, was stunningly beautiful. Especially her eyes sparkled as if they could speak. Her long eyelashes added a touch of sensuality without being overly seductive.
After seeing it, one would never forget the face. Even James was momentarily stunned. He was truly amazed.
Maria kept staring at James. As she saw his reaction, a smug smile appeared on her face; she was quite confident in her appearance.
Unexpectedly, James's next words made her explode.
"Did you get plastic surgery?" James asked with a peculiar expression.
"How do I need that? This is my natural face!" Maria's eyes widened, and she almost wanted to hit James.
"Wow." James wore a skeptical expression. In truth, he was quite surprised. He could tell Maria hadn't had plastic surgery, but he hadn't expected her to become so beautiful.
"If you don't believe me, you can pinch my face!" Maria grabbed James's hand and brought it to her face. James didn't hold back and pinched her cheeks hard, pulling her nose up to make a pig's snout.
"Ouch, ouch, it hurts, stop!" Maria's eyes were almost tearing up from the pain.
After a bit of roughhousing, Maria tried to snuggle into James's arms, but he pushed her away roughly. Suddenly, she remembered something and, dropping her playful demeanor, said seriously, "By the way, that woman outside said you were married. What's going on?"
James's heart skipped a beat. He had deliberately avoided this topic, but Maria still pointed it out.
He tried to dodge the question, saying, "She was talking nonsense. By the way, how long do you plan to stay in Lindwood City this time? Who is that Mr. Jackson outside? When did you get another dad?"
But Maria wasn't so easily distracted. As childhood sweethearts who grew up together, James knew her, and she knew James even more. Whenever James stammered and avoided eye contact, she knew he was lying.
"Don't think you can change the subject!" Maria exploded. She violently grabbed James's shoulders and pinned him to the sofa, staring straight into his eyes. "You're lying. You are married, aren't you?"
James knew he couldn't hide it from her, so he nodded and admitted. "Sort of. I'm at the age of getting married. It's normal. Like Jeffery, he might be having his third child by now."
However, upon hearing this, Maria's eyes instantly reddened, and tears began to fall one by one. Her face was filled with sadness and pain. This wasn't an act; it was her true feelings.
James had anticipated this scene, but Maria's tears still made his heart ache. Maria was too infatuated with him.
"Hey, why are you crying? I'm married, not dead," James said, deliberately putting on a stern face.
Maria's tears flowed even more, like a dam breaking, and large drops fell. This made James panic.
"Your idiot, James, you don't want me anymore. You promised me you'd never get married in this life. You promised you'd only protect me. Now you're married, you liar."
Maria cried so heartbreakingly, and it tore at James's heart. He feared nothing more than Maria's tears, and once she started crying, it would last a long time until she was comforted.
James panicked. He hurriedly grabbed some tissues to wipe Maria's tears. "Alright, alright, stop crying. Look at you, a grown woman crying like this. If people outside see this, they will laugh at you! Besides, I'm just married. How could I not want you? Stop crying, please."
But these words didn't comfort Maria. She cried even harder, her tears almost drowning James. His clothes were soon soaked.
"If you keep crying, I'm leaving," James tried to comfort her, but when he saw it didn't work, he said sternly.
"Don't go!" Maria immediately grabbed him, her face full of panic and reluctance. She looked so pitiful, no longer possessing the previous indifference. In his eyes, she was just a helpless and love-deprived little girl.
James became more compassionate. He sighed, sat back down, and gently stroked Maria's hair.
"You've grown up. You shouldn't rely on me anymore. You should embrace your own life."
"But I love you! I only want to embrace you!" Maria hugged James again.
"What do you know about love?" James said sternly. "Besides, I'm like your big brother. Can you like your big brother, you fool!"
Maria's eyes were full of tears as she said sadly, "You've changed. You never used to be mean to me. You really don't want me anymore. Is that bad woman who made you do this? She dares to steal my boyfriend; I'll kill her!"
At this, a strong urge to kill someone flared in her gaze, making him shudder.
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