The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Ben spotted the issue too and, pointing at the computer, he demanded, "What's the deal here?"

The man mumbled quietly, "The surveillance broke on Wednesday, haven't gotten around to replacing it yet."

Ben fired back, "If it broke on Wednesday, why didn't you report it to the company? What if something serious happened?"

The man stammered, "| figured it wasn't such a big deal. Thought | could fix it myself and save the company scash."

Ben retorted, "So you just let it slide until now? Just slacking off and snoozing on the job?"

The man made excuses, "I've been a bit swamped these last couple of days, a one or two-day delay wouldn't really make a

difference."

Ben was so livid he was about to throw hands.

Brandon, with a poker face, had already turned and walked out the door.

Ben hurried after him, apologizing profusely, "Mr. Crawley, I'm really sorry about this mess. The company's poor management

must've caused you strouble."

Brandon didn't say a word, his handsface was tight, like he was fighting to keep his cool.

Seeing Brandon like this, even Kent was a bit perplexed, but as a diligent assistant, he still managed a reassuring smile for Ben,

keeping up the niceties.

Brandon whipped out his phone to try Sophia again, still no answer.

He stubbornly dialed a second and third time, but it was the sstory - no response.

Kent cautiously offered his own phone, "Maybe try with mine?"

He was a bit on edge, wondering if Sophia had blocked Brandon, unsure if that's why the calls wouldn't go through.

Brandon glanced at the phone Kent handed over, grabbed it and was about to dial when Don's call cin.

Brandon picked up immediately, "Talk to me."

Don said, "Someone's checked on her, she's at home, all fine. Just a bit worn out and asleep, that's all."

Kent could clearly see a dimming in Brandon's eyes, a mix of disappointment and worry.

"Got it."

He hung up, handed back Kent's phone, then turned to Ben to thank him.

"Thanks, Mr. Evert, for your help today."

Ben shrugged it off, "No trouble at all."

Brandon managed a half smile, "I've got a plane to catch, so | won't keep you any longer. Let's catch up sother time."

Ben agreed, "Sure thing. Let's do that."

Brandon then turned and walked away, his smile fading as he did.

Kent quickly said his goodbyes to Ben and hurried after Brandon.

In a pastry shop near the mall

Sophia perched Theresa on her knee, her gaze lingering on the missed calls displayed on her phone.

She was somewhat distracted by the list of missed calls.

Ivan glanced at her phone, then at Theresa, who was focused on her bottle, and asked, "When was she born?"

"We were classmates for two years, and | didn't notice you were pregnant."

He added.

The little girl in Sophia's arms appeared to be just over a year old, so she must have been born during their student days.

Theresa's features were quite similar to Sophia's, mother and daughter sitting together were a dead giveaway.

"Back in February the year before last," Sophia said softly. "It was cold then, heavy coats and all, so my bump wasn't too obvious.

By the tit was noticeable, | had her early at 35 weeks."

Ivan chuckled, "That explains it."

He couldn't help but take another look at Theresa and asked Sophia, "Doesn't Brandon know her?"

Sophia nodded slightly, remaining silent.

She'd braced herself to spill the beans when Brandon was about to check the surveillance footage.

"Brandon didn't see the surveillance," Ivan informed her.

Sophia forced a thin smile, "Thanks."

Her feelings were tangled, complex.

It was like being on death row, ready to face the sentence, and suddenly there's a reprieve, but it's just a stay of execution, not a

pardon.

Sometimes she felt it would be simpler to face a swift end rather than this drawn-out torment.

At the mention of Brandon, Theresa's curiosity was piqued.

She didn't know what the n"Brandon" meant, but she couldn't help but look up with her round eyes at Ivan, then confusedly at

Sophia, though she didn't ask.

Sophia soothingly stroked her hair.

Ivan looked at Theresa and then at Sophia, "Is she the reason you've been reluctant to remarry?"

Sophia replied, "Half and half, | guess."

She didn't want to dwell on the subject and changed the topic, "What brings you here?"

"Just sbusiness."

Ivan lightly skirted around the fact he was here to inspect the mall with his father, subconsciously not wanting Sophia to know his

family situation.

After all, she'd married into wealth before and had faced discrimination and mistreatment, which made her naturally wary of such

families.

Sophia simply nodded, not pressing further.

But Theresa, curious, sized up Ivan and finally asked, "Mommy, who is this uncle?"

"He's my colleague, call him Uncle Ivan."

Sophia patiently introduced him, not brushing off the question because of Theresa's young age.

Theresa uttered an "Oh," still not quite grasping what a colleague meant but adorably said, "Hello, Uncle Ivan."

Ivan was amused by her sweet demeanor, "Hey there, cutie."

His gaze on Theresa was complicated; stumbling upon the fact that Sophia had a daughter was quite a shock.

Knowing she was divorced was one thing, but realizing she had a child was quite another.

Sophia noticed the complexity in his eyes but said nothing more, just checked the ton her phone and said goodbye to Ivan.

The outing was disrupted by the unexpected encounter with Brandon, and the little one hadn't gotten to play.

She'd promised to take her to the amusement park, and Sophia didn't want to disappoint.

They had to catch a flight back to West district that evening, so the schedule was tight.

"I'll tag along."

Hearing she was taking the child to the amusement park, lvan stood up, offering to join.

"No need," Sophia politely declined, "I don't want to give the kiddo the wrong idea."

Ivan got her drift. After all, kids are impressionable, and the sight of a man hanging out, having meals, and living with her mom

could easily plant the idea in her head that he's her dad.

He nodded and didn't push it.

He, too, needed tto get used to Sophia's shift from a single gal to a single mom.

"Then stay safe, and hitup if you need anything. I'm just around the corner," Ivan said.

"Sure, thanks a bunch, Ivan."

Sophia said her thanks with courtesy.

Because of the impromptu trip to Starry Mall, Kent and Brandon missed their flight back to the West district and had to book the

next one.

Luckily, there were plenty of flights between the two cities, so the wait wasn't long.

From the Starry Group to the airport, Brandon had a face like thunder, clearly in a foul mood.

He was dead silent the whole way.

The tension didn't let up even when the plane touched down in the West district.

After grabbing their luggage and leaving the airport, Brandon's face was still as tight as a drum, and he had a gloomy aura all

around.

Kent didn't dare to peep a word and just silently accompanied Brandon as they took the elevator straight to the underground

parking lot.

Brandon's car was parked in the airport's lot.

He popped the trunk, turned around to put his luggage inside, rested his hand on the lid of the trunk, paused as if deep in thought,

and then hesitated.

Kent, worried, called out to him, "Mr. Crawley?"

Brandon slammed the trunk shut with a "thud."

"You head back first; I've got something to do."

With that, he walked around the front of the car, got in, started the engine, and the car sped away.

Kent was left speechless.

He couldn't fathom what Brandon could possibly have to do at this time.

Brandon drove straight to the apartment complex where Sophia lived.

He parked the car and made a beeline for her place on the fifteenth floor, the stwo-bedroom apartment he had visited before.

The door was shut tight.

The newly installed peephole camera was blinking with a faint blue light.

Brandon looked emotionless at the camera for a moment and then knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

He knocked firmly and forcefully.

As he expected, there was no one home.

Brandon didn't leave, nor did he call Sophia. He just rhythmically knocked on the door while coldly staring at the camera.

On the plane, passengers were boarding in an orderly manner.

Sophia, along with Theresa and Susan, were already seated and buckled up.

Her phone was still on, and the notification that someone was at the door still hung at the top of her screen. Through the

minimized window, Sophia could tell it was Brandon.

She stared at her phone in silence for a long tbefore finally opening the live camera feed.

Brandon was looking straight through the camera, cold and deep in his eyes, his handsface taut, not saying a word.

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