The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Susan chuckled and gave her shoulder a pat, "Chill out, don't overthink it. Trust that everything happens for a reason."

Sophia cracked a smile and nodded gently, "Yeah."

She carried Theresa back upstairs, tucked her in, took a shower, and then hit the sack.

When lights out came, Sophia habitually glanced at her phone and noticed a message from Brandon.

Puzzled, she picked it up.

His message was short and sweet. [Got home.]

Sophia stared at that message, kinda lost in thought.

Back when she and Brandon weren't divorced, their exchanges were pretty much limited to this sorta stuff.

[Working late, hit the hay without me.]

[Got a client dinner, don't wait up.]

And it would always end with her replying, [Okay.]

Seeing a message like that now, Sophia still felt a twinge of that old resistance.

But she replied anyway with one word. [Okay.]

She was about to set the phone down when it buzzed again with a new message.

[Still up?] It was Brandon again.

That kind of small talk was something he would never have wasted ton in the past.

Their interactions were all about keeping each other posted.

Sophia's gaze lingered on the phone, slightly torn, but she eventually responded. [About to sleep.]

She thought about texting back, [How cyou're not asleep yet?] After typing it out, Sophia deleted the message, not really

wanting to drag out the conversation.

In the past, she tried following up with messages, cautiously asking things like, [Working late again?] But she'd just get his cool,

reasoned explanations in return, making her queries seem a bit childish by comparison.

Back then, she was still head over heels for Brandon, easily fretting over every little thing. A simple inquiry could make her

anxious, afraid of coming off as too inconsiderate, worried that it might turn him off. So eventually, she stopped asking.

Now, there wasn't that ssense of anxiety, just a feeling that there was no need to prolong the discussion.

She muted her phone and put it down without giving it another thought.

That night she didn't sleep well - her dreams were full of the polite distance of those two years of marriage and Daniel and

Patricia's sharp tongues.

In the wee hours, she woke up in a cold sweat from a nightmare, startling Theresa, who was sleeping next to her.

Theresa peered at her with bleary eyes, uncertain, "Mommy?"

Sophia held her tight and whispered soothingly, "It's okay."

Theresa quickly fell back asleep with her mom's reassurance.

But Sophia couldn't catch any more Z's.

It had been almost two years since she last had a nightmare, especially one about that marriage.

She dozed off just before dawn and was rudely awakened by her alarm not long after.

Totally beat, Sophia turned off the alarm and decided to snooze for a bit, not realizing she'd oversleep.

Waking up with barely any tbefore work, she bolted upright, skipped breakfast, rushed through her morning routine, threw on

sclothes, grabbed her phone and bag, and dashed out the door, making sure to hail a cab.

Standing at the entrance of her complex, waiting for the ride that hadn't arrived yet, she was about to make a call when a car horn

"beeped," interrupting her.

Instinctively, Sophia looked over and caught sight of Brandon's car parked at the complex entrance.

She was taken aback.

Brandon had already stepped out of the car and was looking at her, "Hop in."

Sophia hesitated, then looked at him, "What are you doing here?"

"Just passing by," he said, already opening the passenger door, "Get in."

Sophia hesitated, eyeing his car.

Brandon's gaze was firm, "Sophia, we can't cut ties that cleanly. You said before, let's be friends, so let's be friends," he continued,

"Giving friends a lift is the most normal thing in the world."

Sophia didn't know what to say.

Brandon's hand still rested on the car door, "Sophia, | don't want to force you. Or we can just stand here and wait, I'm fine with

that."

Sophia looked at him.

His eyes were calm, but there was an undertone of firmness that brooked no argument.

Sophia pursed her lips and finally gave in.

She opened the passenger door and got in.

As she buckled up and the car pulled away, a warm breakfast was handed to her.

"Have something to eat first."

His voice was steady.

Sophia glanced at him; he was focused on driving, his handsface composed as if the assertiveness from moments ago had

never happened.

"Thanks."

She murmured her thanks and took it.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" Brandon glanced at her tired face and asked softly.

Sophia shook her head slightly, "No, just went to bed late."

Brandon hummed in acknowledgment and went silent.

Sophia didn't say anything more, just opened the breakfast bag and started eating.

Having skipped breakfast, she was starving.

While munching, she finally had a chance to check her phone.

Then she saw Brandon's reply from the night before.

[Okay, sleep early.]

[I'll pick you up in the morning.]

Looking at the message, she felt a mix of emotions and turned to him.

"Sorry, | put down the phone and went to bed after replying last night, didn't see it."

"No worries," Brandon replied lightly, glancing at her tackling breakfast, "Haven't had breakfast?"

Sophia felt a touch embarrassed and nodded, "Yeah, overslept this morning."

She couldn't help but look at him again, hesitated, but finally asked, "Did you cover really early?"

"Not really," Brandon said, "Just got here a little while ago."

As they spoke, he looked out the car window, catching sight of a breakfast spot near a mall, and turned to ask her, "Is that enough

for you? Want to stop and grab smore?"

Sophia shook her head slightly, "No need, there's plenty."

She showed him the bag, "I can't finish all this."

Brandon glanced at the bag in her hand, nodded, and didn't press the issue.

He knew Sophia wasn't a big eater, especially for breakfast - an egg, a glass of milk, and a sandwich were usually enough for her.

At home, she'd maybe add a seafood congee.

Back when they were together, breakfast was mostly taken care of by Sophia. Nothing fancy, but it was tasty and nutritious.

"Tomorrow, | can head to the office on my own. No need for you to cpickup for such a short distance," Sophia softly said

as she closed the lunch bag. "It's just a waste of your time."

Brandon glanced at her, not a yes, not a no.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow," he said coolly.

Sophia nodded gently. "Mhm."

Soon, the car arrived at the underground parking of the company.

Brandon accompanied her to the employee elevator.

It was the rush hour so the elevator was crowded and they didn't exchange a word on the way up.

It wasn't until the elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor that Sophia whispered to Brandon, "I'm off to work," and was about to

leave.

Brandon stopped her. "Let's have lunch together."

As soon as he spoke, all eyes in the elevator were on Sophia, curious about her relationship with Brandon.

Sophia wasn't comfortable being the center of attention and awkwardly smiled, throwing his words back at him. "We'll see."

With that, she walked away first.

Brandon didn't follow, taking the elevator straight to the top floor.

Kent was already there, filling up his water bottle. He greeted as Brandon walked in. "Good morning, Mr. Crawley."

Curiosity got the better of him since Brandon was usually the first one in the office, and it was rare for him to arrive just on time.

But as a working stiff, he didn't dare to ask more.

Brandon nodded slightly. "Morning."

After that, he headed towards his office, but halfway there, he stopped, turned back to Kent. "Keep an eye out for any properties

for sale in River-View Community."

Kent was taken aback. "Mr. Crawley, are you buying another place?"

He was puzzled. While the community was decently located near the company and was relatively upscale, it still paled in

comparison to where Brandon lived.

Brandon neither confirmed nor denied. "Just keep an eye out."

That meant a 'yes.'

Kent's brow furrowed in confusion, then suddenly remembered the little girl Brandon had brought to the office.

To stop her from ripping up Sophia's design, he had casually asked where she lived, and she had pointed in the direction of River-

View Community.

He thought she was just pointing randomly. Could she be living there?

And Brandon was going out of his way to buy a place there—could it really be his secret love child?

Kent looked thoughtfully at Brandon.

Brandon caught his gaze. "What's on your mind?"

Kent quickly shook his head. "Nothing."

Then quickly changed the subject. "What size are you looking for, Mr. Crawley?"

"Anything's fine," Brandon replied, "but I'd prefer building 5, unit 1, key thing is it's move-in ready."

Kent thought, "Aren't you a germaphobe?"

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