The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon chuckled and shook his head, deftly changing the subject, "Do you plan on settling down in the West district for good?"

Zachary responded with a smile and a finger point, "There you go dodging the bullet again. Don’t tellyou plan on staying a

bachelor for life?"

Still smiling, Brandon simply shook his head and glanced at the chessboard with a gstill in play. He picked up a black piece

and placed it firmly on the board.

"Mr. Gardner, letkeep you company with a gof chess."

Clearly, he wasn't keen on dwelling on the topic.

Mr. Gardner shook his head with a smile, knowing it was best not to pry further and picked up a white chess piece, "Let's go for it.

It's been a while since we've had a good spar."

Sophia also knocked off work early today, not really in the mood for her job, and bolted as soon as the clock struck quitting time.

Seeing her pack up, Ivan started to shut down his computer and got ready to leave too.

"Let's grab dinner together tonight," he suggested.

Sophia wasn't really feeling it. With a smile, she declined, "Sother time. I've got stuff to handle today."

Ivan just smiled back, "Sure thing." He didn't push it.

Sophia headed halone, and couldn't tell if it was the sweltering heat making her sluggish, but she didn't feel like cooking and

casually ordered stakeout online.

While waiting for her meal, Sophia video-called Theresa. The little munchkin was engrossed in her Legos, her young face lit up with

wonder as she stumbled over her words excitedly explaining what she was building to Sophia.

Every tshe saw Sophia, she'd light up with joy and excitement, but never fussed or clamored to see her mom, a well-behaved

sight that was heart-wrenching.

Watching Theresa like this, Sophia felt a pang of longing, and couldn't help but think back to running into Brandon at the company

park earlier that day, the way they'd brushed past each other.

To say it didn't stir anything inside would be a lie; after all, it's someone she'd had feelings for nearly a decade. There was bound to

be a sense of times gone by and a little disorientation.

Tand distance are truly the best remedies for forgetting someone.

In such a haze, looking at Theresa made Sophia wonder, did she make a mistake returning home?

Susan, sitting nearby, definitely caught Sophia zoning out.

"What's up?" she asked, "You seem off today."

"It's nothing." Sophia shook her head, "Just missing you guys and then | can't help but wonder if coming back was the right call."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Susan reassured her, "That was a great opportunity, and you might not have gotten another

chance like it. And if you're feeling guilty about Theresa, you shouldn't. It's not like you're away for good; it's just for a work trip,

that's all. I'll be back once my work handover is done, and it hasn't been that long."

She looked at Sophia, "Don't even think about becoming a full-tstay-at-hmom. When she grows up, she won't thank you

for it. She'll just see her mom as someone who didn't do anything with her life, someone who can't give her any sense of pride or

glory."

Sophia gave her a playful look, "Your mind's running wild."

"I'm serious." Susan insisted, "You can't have your cake and eat it too in this world. Choosing to be there for her might not

guarantee you can provide her with a comfortable life. If you opt for the latter, naturally you'll have to cut back on quality time.

Whenever you're working, something's bound to eat into your time, and you can't be with your kid every second of the day. So, no

need to feel guilty about Theresa. You're just on a business trip, okay? This happens with any job you take unless you decide to be

a full-tmom."

Sophia smiled, "I get it; no need to worry about me."

Susan couldn't help but smile back, knowing Sophia was smart enough to figure this out on her own.

"Alright, enough of that. You've got more experience with this than | do." Susan said, steering the conversation elsewhere,

"Speaking of which, have you visited your mentor since you've been back?"

"Huh?" Sophia blinked, "He's in the West district too?"

She hadn't been aware of this, as they hadn't been in touch much since their last get-together in Wye City due to their busy

schedules.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" Susan brought it up, realizing she hadn't mentioned it to Sophia, "He retired a couple of years ago and

settled down in the West district. | helped him move, actually."

It made sense Sophia didn’t know; she'd been abroad at the time.

"I'll pay him a visit soon," Sophia said.

It hadn't been convenient to visit when they were in different cities, but now that they were in the stown, it was much easier.

After hanging up, Sophia was thinking about when to make tfor the visit when Zachary suddenly sent her a message, [Hey

Sophia, had dinner yet? Why not cover to ours? Jolin and | are both in the West district.]

Zachary's message cas a pleasant surprise, just as they were talking about him.

[Sounds great.]

Sophia quickly replied, getting ready to head out.

Brandon and Zachary's chess gwent on for over an hour, and only after the housekeeper cin a few times to call for dinner

did Zachary reluctantly pack up the chessboard.

"Stay for dinner, will you?" He invited with a smile," Jolin has just whipped up a whole table of food."

Brandon nodded, "Alright."

They both headed to the living room together. As they reached the living room, the doorbell rang.

Zachary turned to Brandon with a grin, "You take a seat; I'll get the door."

Brandon nodded and settled onto the couch, pulling out his phone to check emails.

Zachary went to answer the door and, upon opening it, was greeted by Sophia standing outside.

"Here you are." Zachary greeted her warmly, "Con in. Jolin’s just finished cooking; we've been waiting for you."

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