A Vengeful Ex-Wife novel Chapter 288

Maria shot James an angry glare before turning on her heel to check on Sandra. She hurried to the girl's bedside. It wasn't until she saw Sandra's face that her expression softened. "Sandra, are you okay?”

Hearing the concern in her voice, Sandra's eyes started to glisten with tears. "Maria, I'm so sorry."

James and Cooper took this as their cue to leave the two women alone, so they quietly exited the ward.

"What are you sorry for? This is all my fault. They wouldn't have done this to you if it weren't for me. Did they...?" Maria trailed off, as though she was too scared to finish the question.

However, Sandra understood what she meant to ask. "No. They were about to, but that man came just in time."

Just then, it dawned on Sandra that the two men outside her ward looked extremely similar. Putting two and two together, she figured the man who rescued her was James' brother, Cooper.

"Well, that's good." Maria felt relieved. "Anyway, I've called your parents. They're on their way here."

"Okay.”

Maria reached out a slender hand and smoothed out Sandra's tangled hair. She looked at the blue bruises on her face and felt another wave of guilt. "Don't apologize to me, okay? If I hadn't hit Joslyn Zheng, she wouldn't have done this to you."

It never occurred to her that, while she was invulnerable to Joslyn's threats, those around her weren't as untouchable.

"Maria, you were there because I asked you to. If I hadn't insisted on getting that stupid bag, you wouldn't have crossed paths with Joslyn Zheng at all." Sandra's lower lip trembled. She blamed no one but herself for what had happened.

Maria shook her head. "Sandra, you are too naive. Even if I didn't meet you at the mall yesterday, I would've crossed Joslyn's path, sooner or later."

Even if they didn't meet in the mall, they would've met somewhere else in the future. Whatever happened yesterday was meant to happen eventually.

A couple of minutes later, Sandra's parents arrived at the hospital, only to be greeted by the two brothers at the door to Sandra's ward. Recognizing who they were, Sandra's father immediately bowed. "Good evening."

James nodded slightly in response.

Cooper, on the other hand, received them more warmly. Shaking Mr. Shen's hand, he said, "Please, go in and be with your daughter!”

"Okay, thank you. We're going in now."

After excusing themselves, Sandra's parents went inside the ward. When they saw how badly beaten and bruised their daughter was, they felt a wave of remorse washing over them. "My child, who did this to you?"

Sandra's father sighed heavily. He only regretted not being able to protect his own daughter.

"Mom, I'm fine, thanks to Maria and Mr. Xi's brother." Sandra smiled at her parents weakly.

Just as Sandra's parents were thanking Maria for her bravery, Maria explained what had really happened.

However, the Shen couple didn't blame her for what happened. Instead, they thanked her profusely for saving their daughter.

After doting over their poor daughter, the Shen couple went outside to properly thank the Xi brothers.

When Maria saw that Sandra was going to be taken care of, she decided to take her leave.

At the hospital entrance, Cooper had his hands in his pockets and was staring thoughtfully into the night sky. "James and my dear sister-in-law, we're not too far from my place. Let's go to my house and have a drink. Think of it as my own welcoming party!"