Divorce and Freedom No More Homemaker for Him novel Chapter 843

Chapter 843 The Sweetness You Can’t Promise

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.

e of everything between you two,” he said carefully, “even after all his screw-ups, you’re not ay? That’s a hell of a lot of grace to give someone.”

sidered that for a moment. “It’s not that I won’t walk away. It’s that the story isn’t finished yet.”

hook his head. “That doesn’t track. You’re too smart and too self-aware for this. Isn’t dragging it out im just wasting your time? Your time should go to someone who’s actually worth it.”

en you don’t know me as well as you think,” Halle said, her voice light and unbothered. “What looks like waste to you isn’t how I see it. Spending time on someone fun and easy sounds right on paper, but that’s hot 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 engager 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.

Thi

she treated Edgar and James so differently. She could control every aspect of

as a different animal entirely.

wn Edgar since they were kids. There was nothing left about him that

which 040 1e sweetness You Can’t Promise

could surprise her.

Finished

“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.

“I believe it completely,” James said. “You’re the one who doesn’t.”

That actually caught Halle off guard. She almost clicked her tongue. The sheer boldness of saying something like that, with that kind of conviction… James had probably never taken a real hit in love his entire life. That was the only way someone could offer up everything so freely.

Halle had spent her whole life trying to learn that kind of openness and never could. But she didn’t envy his honesty or his fearlessness either. Her caution kept her safe. Neither approach was better than the other.

She didn’t argue the point. “So we just think differently.”

“I’m fine with agreeing to disagree,” James said.

“I’m not,” Halle said flatly. “The way I think doesn’t change.”

The dinner with James had started out ridiculous, then devolved into a few rounds of verbal sparring, and somehow, by the end, turned into something unexpectedly real.

Had she actually opened up to James?

It hadn’t felt strange in the moment, but looking back on it now, it definitely was.

Halle didn’t dwell on it. She got in her car and headed home, and her phone rang with an unknown number.

She dealt with enough people in her line of work that she picked up unfamiliar calls out of habit.

“Hello, who’s this?”

Silence on the other end.

“Can I ask who’s calling?”

“It’s Nina Brogdon.”

Halle hadn’t expected that name. Her eyebrow lifted slightly, and a faint, cool smile flickered in her eyes. “Nina? How have you been?”

“Busy lately.”

“Busy with what?”

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Chapter 843 The Sweetness You Can’t Promise

Taking care of the baby.”

Finished!

Halle laughed. “Kids are handful, aren’t they? If your parents can’t help out, just hire someone. What, money tight?”

Nina’s voice sharpened noticeably. “I’m not calling to ask you for money.”

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Divorce and freedom: No More Homemaker for Him