Divorce me I'm done serving you (Ayla) novel Chapter 843

Thinking was one thing. Actually doing something was another. James's moral standards were too high to cross certain lines, and he knew it. The most he'd ever push was a joke here and there. If he ever tried to force anything with Halle, forget a relationship. They wouldn't even be friends anymore. He didn't need to test that theory. Halle radiated that energy clearly. Her boundaries were carved in stone.

He found her attractive, sure, but he'd never thought of her as cute in some diminutive way. He didn't even like cuteness. He was drawn to women with depth and presence, which meant there was never any element of teasing in how he treated her.

If Halle truly wouldn't have him, there wasn't much he could do. But as long as she hadn't actually married Edgar, James wasn't giving up. He still had a shot, and he intended to hold onto it.

"So because of everything between you two," he said carefully, "even after all his screw-ups, you're not walking away? That's a hell of a lot of grace to give someone."

Halle considered that for a moment. "It's not that I won't walk away. It's that the story isn't finished yet."

James shook his head. "That doesn't track. You're too smart and too self-aware for this. Isn't dragging it out with him just wasting your time? Your time should go to someone who's actually worth it."

"Then you don't know me as well as you think," Halle said, her voice light and unbothered. "What looks like a waste to you isn't how I see it. Spending time on someone fun and easy sounds right on paper, but that's not what I'm after. I like being tangled up with difficult people."

James leaned forward, genuinely curious. "What's the ideal for you, then?"

"Pain and pleasure, all mixed together."

"Why would you voluntarily sign up for suffering?"

"Because without the pain, I'd never realize how much happiness I already have. I'd never feel satisfied. What Edgar does, most people couldn't stomach. But I can, so it's not really suffering."

Because the truth was, Halle didn't care. Not in the way people assumed.

Of course, nothing was absolute. If the day ever came when Edgar started genuinely bothering her, when his presence shifted from irrelevant to irritating, she'd cut him loose without blinking.

Right now, nothing Edgar did touched her emotionally. Whether or not they dissolved the engagement wasn't even a real question. Halle didn't solve problems that didn't exist.

So if anything, James cared about Edgar a lot more than she did.

She kept that observation to herself, though. She understood exactly why James fixated on Edgar, and saying it out loud would only ruin things.

This was also the root of why she treated Edgar and James so differently. She could control every aspect of her dynamic with Edgar. James was a different animal entirely.

Familiarity was safer. And she'd known Edgar since they were kids. There was nothing left about him that could surprise her.

"I get the pain-and-pleasure thing," James said, his tone turning earnest. "Sweetness means more after something bitter. But with me, it could just be sweet. All the time. I can do that."

Halle burst out laughing. Not a polite laugh. A real one, loud and unrestrained. When she finally caught her breath, she looked at him. "Mr. Reagen, do you even believe that yourself?"

She didn't believe in sincerity. Not from anyone.

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