The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Marian really showed up right on the dot, half an hour later.

Don himself went to greet her.

As the two of them made their way over, Sophia was zoning out by the fire, chin in hand.

Marian spotted Sophia by the fire from a mile away. Out of all the people around, she only knew Sophia, so she was super stoked

and called out, "Sophia?"

Sophia looked up at the sound of her nand saw Marian standing in the crowd.

She hadn't dressed up or anything, just rocking a simple burgundy tee with navy blue denim shorts and her hair tossed up in a

casual bun. She looked youthful and chill.

Sophia gave her a polite smile in return, just to acknowledge her.

Marian turned to whisper something to Don and then headed towards Sophia with a spring in her step, clearly loving life.

You could tell she was having a good run lately.

Sophia had lost touch with Marian after grad school and didn’t really know what was up with her these days, only heard from Don

that she had headed back to the Frost family.

"When did you get back home?"

Marian sat down next to Sophia and hit her with the question, "It's been ages since | heard from you, had no clue you were back in

town."

"Just got back not too long ago," Sophia replied, then turned the question back, "What about you? When did you make it back?"

"Right after graduation," Marian said, pouting a bit, "Martin toldgrandpa wasn’t doing too well and kept pesteringto come

back, so | had to jet as soon as | finished school."

Sophia thought back to the scene two years ago at the entrance of the academic building, where everyone was fawning over

Marian, and of the old man with white hair. Maybe subconsciously craving that kind of family recognition and not getting it made

her a bit resistant to the topic, so she just offered a polite smile and didn’t bite.

Marian didn’t seem to mind and, thrilled to have a familiar ear, spilled her guts.

"lI was actually hoping to find a job and stay there a while longer. But they kept pushing me, throwing around guilt trips about

Grandpa's regrets and all that jazz. | felt bad, you know? | hadn't visited in two years, but they were pretty good to me, sent me

loads of stuff, helpedout a bunch. | felt like not going back would be biting the hand that fed me."

Marian sighed and pouted again, "And now look at me, back hand bored out of my mind every day. I'm seriously thinking

about getting a job."

Then, curious, she asked Sophia, "So, what about you? What are you up to these days? Where are you working?"

"Just architectural design," Sophia said, sidestepping the whole Frost family topic.

She'd thought about finding her own family as a kid but didn't know where to start and had no means to do it, so she had to press

that desire down.

In college, she was too busy studying and making ends meet to even think about it.

After college, she married Brandon, spent the first half of the year pregnant and recuperating, with no tfor anything else.

Even when she finally had stin the next year and a half, without any memories or leads in the vast sea of faces, she got

nowhere, even after several fruitless trips to the police station.

The past couple of years, juggling studies and taking care of the kids, she was way too swamped to look for anyone and had lost

the drive to do so.

"Ah? Doesn't that get boring?"

Marian, despite her own high education, didn't have that strong of a career drive and kinda looked down on design work as tedious

and dull.

Both her adoptive parents and the Frost family had given her a cushy financial cushion, so working was neither here nor there for

her.

Sophia just smiled, "It's alright."

"I really admire your tireless work ethic."

Marian said, genuinely envious of Sophia's hustle.

Sophia smiled but didn’t respond.

What tireless? She was just a kid without anyone's protection, running as hard as she can.

Just then, there was a stir in the crowd, and the lively chatter turned into hushed, surprised murmurs of "Mr. Crawley?" "Mr.

Crawley’s here."

Sophia, who had been idly poking at the fire with a stick, paused at the commotion, then nonchalantly went back to what she was

doing.

Marian, already looking in the direction of the voices, saw Brandon walking through the crowd and grabbed Sophia's arm in

surprise, "Hey, what's he doing here?"

Sophia reluctantly looked up, and there was Brandon amidst the throng of people.

Brandon saw her too, his gaze calmly swept over her and then away, turning to greet Don.

Don greeted him with a slap on the shoulder, "Thought you weren't gonna make it."

Brandon managed a tight-lipped smile without saying a word, his eyes shifting back to Sophia by the fire.

Sophia had already turned her attention back to the fire and wasn't looking his way anymore.

Marian, clearly excited, waved at him, "Hey!"

Brandon glanced at her and then calmly back to Sophia.

Marian scooted over, making room next to her, "Csit over here."

She wasn’t Brandon's employee and didn’t have to tiptoe around him.

Brandon looked at her and walked over but didn’t sit next to her. Instead, he took a seat beside Sophia.

Almost as soon as he sat down, Sophia stood up with her phone in hand, smiling apologetically at Marian, "I gotta take this call."

Brandon's expression had cooled, he didn’t look at her, but suddenly reached out and, just as she turned to leave, grabbed her

wrist with an expressionless face.

Instantly, the buzz of the crowd quieted down, and everyone looked over in confusion, their eyes shifting from Brandon's stoic face

to Sophia and then back to Brandon.

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