I’m the Obsession of My Cold-Hearted Ex

Chapter 341: The Heart of the Matter

Easton asked Taylor about her romantic history. This… unexpected?

Taylor candidly responded, “It’s kind of a blur.”

After living more than thirty years, from her student days to over a decade of working, she had her share of long and short relationships. Her ex-boyfriends almost numbered in the double digits. She couldn’t recall what some of them looked like or even their names, as those memories had faded. For the moment, she couldn’t count how many times she had been in love.

“What do you hate most about the ways your exes have tried to get back with you?” Easton threw another question at her, and Taylor got it.

Easton was in a romantic bind! He is looking for practical advice from me to avoid the common pitfalls?

While it seemed he was asking her personal questions, Easton had another agenda, and she responded thoughtfully to avoid misleading him, risking a massive dismissal package.

After some reflection, Taylor said, “I hate it when exes are clingy! A clingy man loses a lot of appeal…”

That wasn’t quite right. She was being detailed, but perhaps not diplomatic enough. What if Easton thought I was implying something about him?

Taylor rephrased, “I dislike it when an ex shows up uninvited and fails to grasp the core issue of our breakup, not seeking to resolve it, but rather, to ‘resolve me.’”

The core issue? Easton frowned. The main problem with his and Ellis’s divorce was her kidnapping, which he hadn’t managed to prevent in time. He had apologized many times, but she eventually ignored his apologies completely; they were futile!

Everything he did now seemed wrong to Ellis! He couldn’t rewind time to receive the kidnapper’s call and rescue her right away. His head throbbed with pain as he pressed on, “What if the core issue is unresolvable?”

After asking, he felt desperate, as if clutching at straws. Everyone’s experiences were unique, and Taylor’s might not be applicable to him.

“Generally, core issues are solvable,” Taylor counted on her fingers slowly, “provided the man’s character is sound and he has no bad habits.”

Ellis had criticized his character before, but Easton couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with it. As for bad habits, he didn’t have any. He signaled Taylor to continue, then unconsciously touched his forehead.

Easton had faced big challenges at the company for years, always dealing with them with calculated calm.

Seeing Easton visibly distressed, Taylor thought to herself. Even heroes struggle with matters of the heart. In trying to win back his ex-wife, Easton seemed just as helpless as anyone else.

Since Easton is consulting me, why not be more straightforward?

Taking a deep breath, Taylor ventured, “What women care about is whether a man is loyal enough, whether she is his only one, and whether he loves her. If all these boxes are checked, getting back together shouldn’t be too hard.”

Easton believed he had been entirely loyal to Ellis; she had been his only woman, emotionally and physically. Of course, this didn’t erase his previous engagement to Victoria; he meant in terms of emotional and physical fidelity.

“It didn’t help,” he thought, feeling almost mad enough to speak plainly about his troubles.

“Mr. Hudson, you…” Taylor glimpsed Victoria’s figure in her mind, “If I may be so bold, you might think you’ve achieved these, but in Ms. Harper’s eyes, it might not seem so.”

He had never told Ellis he loved her, but she had always been fearful of losing her spot as Mrs. Hudson. Wherever he went, she clung to him, almost as if to declare her claim over him to the world. She would also frequently check in on him, look through his phone, and so forth, to eliminate any risk of being replaced.

Lost in thought over his dilemma, Easton didn’t notice his assistant steering the conversation toward more candid territory and pursed his lips, “What, are you suggesting Ellis caught me cheating? That I’m not faithful?”

“Not at all!” Taylor quickly denied.

Seeing the slight fear in his assistant’s eyes, Easton’s thoughts scattered, and he realized what he had just implied.

“So what are you trying to say?” he asked, his expression darkening.

“Well…” Taylor cleared her throat apprehensively, “Have you noticed that besides the rumors of you marrying Victoria soon, there have been talks within the company that Victoria might become our new boss?”

The Brooks family’s fall from grace was now a settled fact, aided by Easton’s own actions. Moreover, when Victoria was apprehended by international police, Easton had specifically accompanied them. The things Easton did were for Ellis, never showing leniency toward the Brooks family or Victoria.

From her perspective as a woman, Taylor observed that Victoria likely wasn’t the first love that rumors made her out to be; maybe Easton himself didn’t realize it.