The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

When Sophia snapped back to reality, the "beep" tone had already cthrough from the other end of the phone, startling her

into a fluster as she scrambled to hang up. But the more she panicked, the more likely she was to mess up.

Before her finger could decline the call, her frantic hand had already knocked the phone flying. The phone hit the floor, and from

the other end, Brandon's deep pleasant voice cthrough, "Hello?"

Sophia was so startled that she instantly shushed Theresa, her other hand shaking as she picked up the phone.

Brandon didn't hear any response from her end and frowned, "Sophia?"

"Uh, yeah, it's me."

Sophia blurted out a reply, her eyes nervously glued to Theresa as she stood up from beside the coffee table. Obediently, Theresa

didn't make a sound, and just stared at Sophia with big, puzzled eyes.

Sophia tried to reassure her with a smile and signaled Grace with a glance to clook after Theresa; then she headed into the

master bedroom.

It wasn't until the door closed behind her that Sophia let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Sorry, | hit the wrong button by accident.”

She explained sheepishly, walking towards the balcony of the master bedroom as she spoke.

There was a nonchalant "Okay" from the other end and then silence, but the call wasn't disconnected.

Sophia felt awkward just hanging up, so she tried to make conversation, "By the way, you cto seetoday; was there

something you needed? | didn't check my phone and had no idea you were here."

"I know."

The response from the other end was indifferent. Sophia was at a loss for words for a moment.

"So," Her fingers nervously fiddled with the phone, "if there's nothing else, I've gotta..."

She wanted to hang up, but Brandon's gentle voice cut in, "I'm sorry | didn't tell you before, about Patricia not being my mom."

"It's no big deal. | should've asked more clearly," Sophia replied softly.

"I was eight when she married my dad." Brandon said in a calm, even tone, "She took good care ofas | was a kid, and we lived

together until before college. She always played the role of my mom in my life, but my relationship with my family has always been

kind of distant. Be it my biological dad or stepmom, we didn't have much contact and didn't live together, so | never made a point

to mention it to you. That's on me."

"It's all good." Sophia chuckled, "Thanks for opening up to me."

Brandon didn't respond.

Sophia instinctively gripped the phone tighter, "Um, if there's nothing else,"

"I didn't deliberately keep you from meeting my mom."

Brandon's voice cagain, smooth and measured; footsteps in the background suggested he was walking, and faint construction

noise was audible.

Sophia stopped fiddling with the phone and fell silent, waiting for him to continue. But Brandon on the other end didn't go on for a

while, as if hesitating.

Sophia chuckled to break the silence, "It's okay. Whatever the reason, | understand. It's all water under the bridge now."

"lI can’t." Brandon finally spoke, calmly, "Sophia, | can't get past it with you."

Sophia fell silent.

"Sophia."

Brandon called her nagain, as if he wanted to say more, but suddenly there was a loud thud from his end, the chaotic noises

of an object hitting the ground, a phone dropping, and the noisy chatter of people.

Sophia's heart tightened, and she called out anxiously, "Brandon?"

No one answered her, just chaotic footsteps and shouts of "Quick, call an ambulance." Sophia panicked, calling out "Brandon" a

couple of times into the phone with no response.

"Brandon, what's going on over there?"

Sophia becso anxious that she raised her voice, but instead of a reply, the call was abruptly cut off, the phone emitting a few

busy tones before returning to the hscreen.

Sophia turned and opened the bedroom door, instructing Grace in the living room as she hurried towards the hallway, "Grace, look

after Theresa. | have to go out for something urgent."

Theresa was busy dressing up her little princess toy and seeing Sophia hastily leaving, she immediately dropped the toy, stood up,

and hurried over.

"Mommy, where are you going?"

"There's something at the company; mommy will cback to play with you later. Be good and listen to Grace, okay?"

Sophia softly instructed Theresa as she put on her shoes.

Theresa nodded, half understanding, "Mommy, cback early."

While saying this, she tiptoed to grab the keys from the hallway and handed them to Sophia.

"Will do."

Sophia patted her head, took the keys, and walked out the door, calling Kent as she went. The phone was picked up after a few

rings.

"Ms. Yearwood?"

"Kent, are you with Mr. Crawley?"

Kent sounded surprised on the other end, "No, I'm not with Mr. Crawley. What's up?"

"Do you know where he went today? Does he have any plans?" Sophia asked urgently, pressing the elevator button, "l was just on

the phone with him, and something seemed to go wrong on his end, and then the call dropped."

Kent's tone becanxious, "It's the weekend. He didn't have any other plans."

"Did he mention any recent plans to go somewhere?"

"Not really."

"I thought | heard construction noise; has he been contacted about any project work?"

"Oh, now that you mention it," Kent slapped his forehead, "there was indeed an update from the Starlight Group's mall project on

Friday. There seemed to be sissue, and since the project is not far from the office, Mr. Crawley did mention he might stop by if

he had time."

"l got it, thanks, Kent."

Sophia quickly hung up the phone.

Sophia knew where the mall project Kent mentioned was located, right between her residential complex and the office.

Brandon had just left from here, and on his way back, he must have passed by and decided to drop in.

It wasn't too far from here, just a 2-kilometer distance. Sophia took the elevator down, hopped into a cab, and soon arrived at the

scene.

No sooner had she arrived at the construction site than she spotted an ambulance parked at the entrance, with a bunch of folks

running around, all decked out in worker garb and hard hats.

Sophia's face took on a slight shade of concern, and she made a beeline for the scene.

A worker caught sight of her and quickly tried to wave her off, "Miss, you here for something? Maybe drop by sother time, eh?

We've got a bit of a situation today; not really set up for visitors."

"I'm looking for someone."

As Sophia spoke, she was already weaving through the crowd, and immediately spotted a guy with his head covered in blood being

carried out on a stretcher.

She glanced at the man, a face she didn't recognize.

Her searching gaze hurriedly shifted towards the direction the stretcher was headed. There was a pile of fallen columns scattered

on the ground, a total mess, with traces of blood still visible, and sfolks sitting on the ground looking like they'd taken a hit.

Workers in their gear were huddled around him, packed tight.

Sophia pushed through the crowd, another unfamiliar face.

Him

Sophia quickly turned to address a man by her side, "Have you seen a..."

Her words cut off abruptly when she spotted Brandon emerging from the crowd. Brandon was all furrowed brows, his hair and

clothes covered in dust, and his right elbow sported a nasty scrape that was pretty hard to miss.

Brandon saw her too.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Sophia's mouth hung open, momentarily at a loss for words.

The construction foreman, having made his way through the crowd towards Brandon, chimed in, "Sir, you might want to head to

the hospital too. I'm worried about your arm."

Before he finished, he realized that Brandon was fixated on the girl behind him. Looking back, he saw Sophia also looking

perplexedly at Brandon; figuring she must be someone to Brandon, he reassured her with a smile.

"Don't worry, he's fine; just got a bit scratched up while helping out with the rescue. Lucky for us, if it weren't for him, who knows

what might've happened."

Sophia managed a tight-lipped smile before looking back at Brandon.

"The call dropped suddenly, and | thought | heard someone shouting 'quick, call an ambulance’, so | cover to check."

She explained, a bit sheepishly.

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

mMMwWLIIOfiflO&1