Maria shook her head. "Don't get yourself too worked up just yet, Mr. Du. We still don't know if I'm a match to your son. I'll have myself examined tomorrow."
"Yes, yes," Mr. Du replied, trying to calm himself. "You're quite right. But in appreciation of your kindness and generosity, even if the results come out negative, I give you my word that we will remain friends in the future!"
"Oh, Mr. Du. You think far too highly of me, but it really is my honor." Then Maria made it a point to smile at James.
James wanted to see how far she would go, didn't he? Well, she might not be able to defeat him, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let herself fall behind.
After dinner, Mr. Du offered to drive Maria back to Golden Mansion, and they discussed the kidney donation process all the way there.
Maria watched as his car drove away from her apartment, and her pleasant expression slowly disappeared.
She hadn't lied.
If she was a match, she would donate her kidney.
After all, she wasn't planning to live long.
She let herself in, and no sooner had she gone past the foyer than the doorbell rang. She already knew who was on the other side of the door without having to check.
As she pondered whether to let him in or not, her phone rang. Her uninvited guest was calling. She swiped to answer. "I know you're in there," James growled. "Open the door!" "It's late, Mr. Xi. I want to go to bed, so it's best that you leave."
Her words only fanned his fury. "If you don't open this door in the next minute, I'll break it down myself."
Maria sighed.
She knew he was a man of his word, and that somehow made her even angrier at him. She ended the call and pulled the door open. "Are you out of your mind, James Xi? If so, may I suggest admitting yourself to a psychiatric ward and have an expert take a look at you?"
Bang! He stepped inside and slammed the door close behind him. His rage was palpable in the air around him. "Do you want to die that badly, Maria Song?"
She matched him with a mocking sneer. "How forgetful you are, Mr. Xi! Weren't you the one who's been wanting that all this time? Didn't you say it yourself, that you wanted to kill me?
Why are you asking me such a stupid question now?" James glared at her, the muscle in his jaw working as he gritted his teeth. "Apologize to me. You don't have to go to the hospital tomorrow." He had only wanted to scare her a little, of course, and he had never expected her to make such a promise to Mr. Du.
"I'm afraid I'm about to disappoint you again, Mr. Xi." She strode past him and opened the door. "Like I said, it's late. You'd better go."
In the next second, James grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into his arms. Before he could do anything else, she shouted, "If you lay a single finger on me, I will call the police and file a rape complaint!"
It was still her choice whether to get pregnant or not, and at the moment, having James' baby was the last thing she wanted.
"It won't be good for you to anger me so much."
"You're not a child, Mr. Xi. You know better than anyone else that we should take responsibility for the things we say. Didn't I play according to your intentions back there? I did my best so that you wouldn't lose face during dinner.
What else are you dissatisfied with?" There wasn't a single thing he was feeling satisfied about! James held the back of her head and forced her to look at him. "Make sure you don't live to regret this!"
"Don't worry, I won't."
"You've got quite the nerve, Maria Song!" And with that, he shook her off and stormed out of the apartment.
The door slammed shut into its frame, followed by a deafening silence. Maria's tense nerves gradually eased, and soon she felt the beginning strains of exhaustion.
She went to the bathroom and sluggishly filled the bath with water. She kept telling herself not to dwell on matters, not to think of anything at all, and just take a shower and go to bed.
The next day, Mr. Du sent a car to her apartment to take her to the hospital.
Both he and his wife were waiting for her at the lobby, and as soon as they saw her, they walked over, their eyes brimming with emotions.
Mrs. Du was in tears as she thanked her repeatedly. Maria comforted the couple, and after a wile of reassuring them, she followed the doctor into the examination room.
It took two hours to finish all the tests. Mr. Du requested the hospital to speed up the progress in order to obtain the results sooner.
What was supposed to have taken several days only
took two.
Maria didn't go anywhere during this period and just stayed in the apartment. When Mr. Du called to give her the news, she had been looking out the window in a daze.
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