"No!"
Easton Holmes was absolutely sure he never loved Valentina. When he was dating her, he just thought she was alright. He was also at an age where his grandfather was desperately hoping he would settle down soon, so he thought about buying a house and getting married.
But after the wedding house was bought, she unexpectedly broke up with him and left without a trace.
The day Valentina left without a word, Easton stumbled upon Lily Turner. At that time, Lily suddenly barged into his car, and he genuinely thought she was one of those open women who came to seduce him deliberately.
Having just been rejected by a woman and feeling dejected, he saw this situation and pulled Lily in and had his way with her.
To his surprise, Lily was a virgin, something he truly hadn’t anticipated, and a surge of joy flashed through his heart.
It was also his first time with a woman. Before, he was only focused on training, carrying out missions, and then back to training, never having any other thoughts.
His life, strictly revolving between the camp and home, led his family to believe he had issues with his sexual orientation.
Back then, his mother frequently discussed this with his grandfather. Hearing it numerous times, even his grandfather started worrying that something was wrong and began nudging him, subtly or not, to get married.
When he brought Lily home, his grandfather didn’t entirely dispel his doubts about Easton. Initially, he thought Easton brought Lily home just to dismiss his suspicions.
It wasn’t until later when Lily got pregnant that his grandfather was finally convinced Easton wasn’t gay.
Easton’s straightforward, unhesitating "no" felt like a sharp knife piercing into Valentina’s heart, leaving her too stunned to react before the pangs of pain hit her.
"No?"
Valentina shook her head, unwilling to believe Easton Holmes’ words. "I don’t believe it. If you didn’t love me, would you have bought a wedding house and wanted to marry me back then?"
After all, they had bought a wedding house. Although he never formally proposed to her, she felt that the wedding house was a true expression of his intentions.
The house was there, physically present, undeniable.
"I’ve already started dealing with that house."
In the afternoon, after parting ways with Lily Turner, Easton called Luke Crowe to handle that house. To dispose of it quickly, he instructed Luke to sell it far below market price.
Valentina stared at Easton in disbelief, realizing just how cold and almost heartless the man she loved was.
"Why are you so heartless to me? Why? I love you so much, yet this is how you treat me." She pressed him, stepping forward in big strides and confronting him directly.
Seeing this, Easton quickly retreated a step, not forgetting to express his stance while backing away from the woman closing in on him, "We completely broke up half a year ago. From the day you left, we were over. Now you are you, and I am me. We have no ties anymore."
He maintained his usual cold demeanor, emanating a distant and aloof aura.
"I don’t believe you and I have ended. We weren’t together for just one day or two, or one month or two." Valentina still couldn’t believe Easton would be so heartless towards her and didn’t believe he had no feelings for her at all. After all, they were in a relationship for over a year. She couldn’t believe it ended so abruptly.