Divorce Me I'm Done Serving You (Ayla and Troy) novel Chapter 873

Edgar finished, watched Halle’s silence, and decided tonight’s stunt had worked. His mood improved slightly. “Tonight was uncomfortable for you, but it’s for the good of our marriage. Simple as that. I’ve explained. Think about it. And don’t disappoint me.”

Satisfied, Edgar strolled back to the private room.

Halle knew the world was full of irrational, brain-dead idiots. What she hadn’t expected was for this particular idiot to be someone she’d once been intimately tangled up with. That was a fact she couldn’t process quickly.

She stood there for a while, still nauseous.

She couldn’t digest this alone. She needed to vent to someone immediately.

Halle was about to call Ayla.

That was when an arm appeared in front of her. The next second, a hand circled her waist, and her back was pressed against a solid, warm chest.

“Hey there, gorgeous. My guess is you really need me right now.” James murmured it in her ear with that lazy Zheron drawl.

Halle almost lost it. A “pfft” escaped before she could stop it, and suddenly she was caught between furious and cracking up.

Edgar’s residual anger hadn’t even settled, and James had already made her laugh. Her emotional continuity was completely destroyed.

Halle elbowed him.

James let go immediately. She turned around, giving him a thorough once-over.

Good-looking people really could lift your mood just by existing. If they also dressed well, the visual was a genuine mood booster. That was the science behind why seeing an attractive man made you happy.

Halle’s anger evaporated at record speed. Probably because she’d just survived Edgar’s psychological assault and then suddenly spotted a friendly face—an instant emotional rescue.

Halle asked, “How did you know I was here?”

James replied, “I asked your assistant for your schedule.”

Halle, utterly confident, denied him. “Impossible. Unless she betrayed me. I’m in a bad mood. You’d better come clean.”

James had always thought Halle was adorable. Her angry face had zero intimidation factor on him—in his eyes, she just switched into a little combat-mode cat. The more she bristled, the more he liked her.

“Lemon missed you. He went to your office to wait for you for dinner. By the time I got there, your car was just pulling out, so I followed.”

James raised his hand in a solemn vow. “I swear I didn’t have anyone look into your schedule. Pure coincidence.” He flashed a grin. “Must be fate.”

All day, James had been sending her WhatsApp check-ins—a video or photo every hour. She hadn’t replied, but unlike before, when she’d have ignored them, now she read every single one. She even looked forward to them.

Halle replayed his day in her head. He hadn’t lied.

James poured her a second. This time, he didn’t push. He circled back to the earlier question. “I caught about half of it.”

Halle grimaced. “You heard that much? I’m mortified.”

James studied her through half-lidded eyes and clicked his tongue. “I’m normally a very civilized person. But you have no idea how much willpower it took just now to not come out of nowhere and punch Edgar in the face.”

Halle blinked.

James said it without an ounce of heaviness, then pivoted to lighten the air. “How about you compliment me for my restraint?”

Halle turned her glass in her hands. “Forget complimenting you—I wanted to punch him myself.”

Halle was genuinely disgusted.

“A guy like that? The sooner you dump him, the sooner you’re free."

Recalling what Edgar had said, James was genuinely revolted and deeply sorry for Halle.

The person he wanted to cherish and protect, the person he only wished happiness for—Edgar expected her to sacrifice herself as his emotional punching bag. James felt personally insulted. Where did Edgar get the audacity? Even a pig would have better standards.