\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 85 Not Your Business\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 85 Not Your Business\u00a0<\/p>\n
James pulled in a sharp breath. His whole posture said he was about to blow up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven said, \u201cStop. This isn\u2019t your problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
James turned toward him and looked stunned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven didn\u2019t flinch at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James stayed silent for a second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy said, \u201cYou heard him. Move.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
+10 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
James felt a cold weight hit the center of his chest. Draven\u2019s indifference shook him more than Troy\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
anger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He started to wonder if he had imagined their earlier tension.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe Draven truly didn\u2019t care about Ayla.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought made his irritation spike. His face tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cDraven, you don\u2019t need to care about your assistant, but don\u2019t hold me back. I\u2019m her friend. I\u2019m not watching her get dragged around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven kept his lips sealed. He refused to answer him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James realized Draven meant every bit of that silence. He had no intention of stepping in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James let out a short, humorless laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He thought cold men like Draven deserved to die alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked back at Ayla. He held her gaze and said, \u201cIf you don\u2019t want to go with him, I swear I won\u2019t let him take you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla felt the sincerity in his voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It settled deep and steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy only showed annoyance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He never paused to ask what she wanted. He never cared about her feelings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla gave James a calm look. She said, \u201cGive me five minutes. I\u2019ll tell him what I need to say.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some things between a married couple had to be said face to face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James nodded once. He said, \u201cIf you\u2019re not back in five minutes, I\u2019ll come get you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
17:07 Fri, Dec 26 JOM\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 85 Not Your Business\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla said, \u201cAlright,\u201d then turned to Troy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice stayed even. She said, \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy\u2019s hand tightened around her wrist again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He refused to accept she dared speak to him on equal ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His expression darkened, and he moved quickly toward the exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His stride grew faster, and soon they walked with several feet of space between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla watched the back of his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She understood why he was furious. He had always held the control in their marriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her refusal shook that control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was like a docile pet suddenly baring its teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy had no idea how to handle that shift.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla planned to make him understand that he didn\u2019t get to dictate their relationship anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven saw the way she stared at Troy\u2019s back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He remembered she had said she wanted a divorce, yet she still looked at Troy with old feelings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven looked away like it meant nothing to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He grabbed a tennis ball and squeezed it too tightly. Then he said, \u201cWho\u2019s playing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
James asked, \u201cYou\u2019re still in the mood to play?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven said, \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I be?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
James let out a sharp laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He lifted his thumb in disbelief because Draven\u2019s stone-cold calm was unreal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+10 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
James said, \u201cAlright, Mr. Storm. You\u2019re built out of steel. I\u2019m not. I actually care about Ayla. Troy dragged her off like a crazed mutt. I can\u2019t pretend it didn\u2019t bother me. I am not in the mood for tennis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
James pointed his racket toward Herman. He said, \u201cThat guy who watched the whole circus without blinking can play with you. I\u2019m going to pick Ayla up in five minutes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Herman smiled and lifted his racket. He tapped the ground lightly and said, \u201cLet\u2019s go, Mr. Storm.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
James shot him a glare.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He cursed under his breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
17:07 Fri, Dec 26 JOM.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 85 Not Your Business\u00a0<\/p>\n
Herman looked like a gentleman but stirred trouble more than anyone else on the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will stayed quiet and scrolled through his phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James looked around and felt thrown off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone seemed colder than usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t act like this in the past. They used to step in for each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+10 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven had been overseas for years, and Herman rarely played against him. Now Herman struggled to return Draven\u2019s swings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James watched closely and noticed the extra force in Draven\u2019s wrist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He smirked because Draven was clearly irritated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will typed a message to Halle. He asked, \u201cDoes Troy ever hit her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle replied, \u201cWhy? Did he hit Ayla? Did you see something?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will typed, \u201cJust asking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halle said, \u201cShe never said that. If he was that awful, she wouldn\u2019t have stayed three years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Physical violence snapped people awake the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emotional cruelty cut deeper. Troy had known Ayla loved him. He used that to bend her until she broke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She only freed herself after everything inside her collapsed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will didn\u2019t know that part, but he felt relieved that Troy wasn\u2019t physically abusive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy pulled Ayla all the way into a rest room and finally released her wrist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The walk cooled him off. His face held nothing, and his eyes were sharper than usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door stayed open. Ayla felt a little safer, so she stayed near the exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wanted to feel safer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy watched her for a moment. His stare was heavy and dark. He asked, \u201cYou did that on purpose?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice held no obvious anger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He always put himself above her. He always adapted to her changes and then dismissed them like they meant nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
17:07 Fri, Dec 26 JOM.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editorial Board Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.<\/p>\n
Unwritten Feelings Drift by Austen 85 \u00a0 Chapter 85 Not Your Business\u00a0 Chapter 85 Not Your Business\u00a0 James pulled in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retired-from-your-heart-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}