The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Staring at the white jade necklace lying peacefully in the jewelry box, Sophia zoned out for a sec before her hand slowly reached

for it. She picked it up with care.

The pendant glistened with a lustrous glow under the light, exquisite in its craftsmanship, unique in design, and made of a material

not just any Joe could afford.

Back when Sophia was itching to track down her family, she tried to have it appraised at the jade market. The experts could tell

what it was made of but couldn't pinpoint where it was circulated from or who had crafted it. So, chasing down its origins was like

looking for a needle in a haystack.

That pretty much snuffed out her hope of finding her kin. It was around that tshe bumped into Brandon again, got knocked up,

and tied the knot with him. She poured all her energy into Brandon and her child. Her mind was set on living the good life with

Brandon, so she didn't bother to hunt down her family tree anymore. After Theresa calong, the urge to search thinned out

even more. Twas tight, and gradually, the necklace slipped her mind most days. She'd practically forgotten it existed.

It only cback to her in certain moments, like tonight at the DIY craft shop, when it popped into her head out of the blue.

Sophia wanted to incorporate the Jesus figure into a DIY necklace she was making for Brandon. Having survived alone in the frigid

wilderness as a young girl, she figured maybe it was this necklace that had been her guardian angel all along.

She'd had pretty smooth sailing growing up, so she wanted to pass on this protective charm to Brandon.

But as cool as the necklace was, both its style and length were a no-go for a grown man - it screamed little boy's accessory. So,

Sophia's gplan was to craft a mini version of the Jesus out of the smaterial and embed it into the necklace. Best of both

worlds, right?

Sophia held the white jade necklace up to the light, brought it close to the wardrobe, and snapped a pic with her phone before

putting it away, tucking the white jade back into its box.

That's when Brandon strolled in with Theresa, fresh from her bath.

He'd just washed her hair and wrapped it in a towel. Passing by Sophia, he caught a glimpse of her stashing a jewelry box in the

safe but didn't pry.

He had his stuff at hand only brought over personal documents - didn't need a safe for that.

He never snooped through it, sway Sophia didn't rifle through his belongings. Sdeal with their phones.

Sophia never checked his phone; he never checked hers.

Without bringing it up, Sophia just glanced back at him and Theresa, asking, “All done with the bath?”

“Yep,” Brandon replied, “just washed her hair.”

“I'll blow dry it for her,” Sophia offered, closing the safe and getting to her feet.

“No need, | got this. You do your thing,” Brandon said, and seeing the safe door shut, he added, “What's with the safe? Something

up?”

“Nah,” Sophia shook her head, “just grabbing sstuff.”

Brandon nodded and let it be.

He plopped Theresa on the bed to dry her hair, skillfully wielding the blow dryer.

Theresa, enjoying her daddy's salon treatment, sat still as a statue.

Sophia didn't have a chance to chip in.

“Ill go take a shower then.”

She whispered, leaving her phone on the vanity and heading out.

Theresa, bored while getting her thick, long hair dried, glanced at Sophia's phone on the vanity and couldn't resist reaching for it.

Brandon eyed her, reminding, “Theresa, remember our deal about not playing with phones?”

“Just for a sec,” she mumbled, fumbling with the lock screen, clutching the phone as she carefully punched in the code.

She knew her mom's password, so the phone was unlocked in no time. But before she knew it, a large hand swooped in and swiped

the phone from her grip.

She looked up to see Brandon's stern face. “You're too young for phones, remember?”

Seeing him so serious, Theresa pouted and nodded reluctantly, her eyes still longing for the phone in his hand. But Brandon was

unmoved, placing the phone back where it belonged.

Theresa watched, not daring to reach for it again.

When Sophia cout of the shower, Theresa was still gazing forlornly at the phone.

“What's up?” Sophia asked, toweling off her damp hair as she approached.

“She wants to play with the phone,” Brandon said, looking up.

Sophia crouched down. “Didn't we agree, no phones for you, Theresa?”

Theresa hesitated but nodded.

“And you promised not to touch anyone's phone without permission, right?” Sophia's gentle voice prodded.

Again, a hesitant nod from Theresa, and without another word from Sophia, she snuggled into her mom's embrace, whispering an

apologetic, “Sorry, mommy,” then turned to Brandon, her voice soft and pitiful, “Sorry, daddy.”

Brandon's heart was a total mush, nearly whipped out his phone to hand it over for her to play with, but thankfully, he still had a

shred of common sense. He knew full well the havoc screens wreak on kids' peepers, so he didn't let his soft spot take the wheel.

Instead, he just tousled her dried hair a bit, the stern look on his handsface melting away, voice turning all soft and fuzzy.

"It's okay."

"How about you go to sleep with mommy, and | will be busy for a bit, is that cool?" he gently asked.

Theresa nodded her head, no need for Sophia to sing her to sleep or anything - she hit the sack and was out like a light in no time.

After tucking her in, Sophia grabbed her phone, scrolled to the photo she snapped earlier, and shot it over to the jade carver,

asking for a white jade Jesus to be crafted, and she gave the size specs too.

When Brandon stepped in after his shower, the first thing he saw was Sophia glued to her phone, busy as a bee.

"Aren't you hitting the hay?" he asked, making his way over to Sophia.

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