The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon plopped his phone back onto the coffee table with a thud.

Ever since he bumped into Yvonne that afternoon, he knew an interrogation was coming.

Yvonne had always been a blabbermouth who couldn't keep things to herself.

No doubt she'd be nosy about him hanging out with srandom girl. But Yvonne had been scared of him since they were kids, so

she wouldn't dare to ask him directly. Instead, she'd run back to her folks for sbackup.

Thinking back to the disdain Daniel and Patricia showed when Sophia's ncup, Brandon's face turned icy. The image of

Sophia's tears tracing her cheeks flashed through his mind.

“But this ain't about patching up credits. If the shoe doesn’t fit, it just doesn’t fit. Forcing it on just blisters our feet and leaves us

bleeding. Maybe all we need is a new pair of shoes.”

Her gentle words echoed in his ears as the scene in his mind switched back to two years ago when she was lying in the hospital

bed, her eyes red and swollen from crying. The image was followed by the sight of that yellowed discharge summary in her bag

with the words “termination of pregnancy” stirring up a storm in his brain.

The shoes she'd rather give up a child than keep wearing, how could she ever slip them back on.

Kent arrived five minutes later, fashionably late. He missed Sophia but spotted Brandon's injured left palm and right arm.

The blood on his palm was beginning to coagulate, looking rather ghastly.

“Mr. Crawley?”

Kent called out to him, concerned.

Brandon glanced up, “You here?”

But he didn’t say much else.

Kent, worried, looked at his hand, “Letpatch you up.”

Brandon gave a soft “Hmm” and extended his hand to him, leaning back against the sofa, looking somewhat exhausted.

Kent glanced around the room before asking, “Where's Ms. Yearwood?”

Brandon replied, “She’s gone home.”

“Oh.”

Sensing Brandon's off mood, Kent didn’t dare to pry. He silently grabbed the cotton swabs and antiseptic, tending to the wounds.

Brandon sat in silence as Kent worked, his handsface turned towards the dark night outside the window, his expression

unreadable.

When Kent finished up, Brandon's gaze remained unfocused.

He sat like a statue, unmoving.

“Mr. Crawley?” Kent called again, tentatively.

Brandon didn’t turn, just calmly asked, “What do you think, forcing her to cback to a family like this, isn't that cruel to her?”

It was a question Kent couldn't answer.

Brandon wasn’t really looking for one either.

He stood up, “Driveto WillowBrook Villa.”

Kent gave him a surprised look.

WillowBrook Villa was the marital hof Brandon and Sophia. Since the ttwo years ago when Brandon trashed the living

room and study that Sophia had left behind, Kent remembered that Brandon had never gone back there.

But he simply acknowledged, “Alright.”

The drive wasn't far, both properties sitting in the luxurious districts of the wealthy.

When the door opened, there was no mustiness as Kent expected.

He didn’t know that Brandon had visited after Sophia's graduation, nor that he had someone clean it regularly since then.

He glanced at the living room.

It bore no resemblance to when Sophia lived there; the room was devoid of any trace of her presence.

“You can go back,” Brandon told Kent, without looking back.

“Sure.”

Kent didn’t dare to ask more. After saying goodbye, he closed the door behind him and left.

Brandon surveyed the empty house.

Not just Kent, even he could barely find any sign that Sophia had ever lived there.

Twas a curious thing.

Two years of vacancy had nearly erased all associated memories.

Suddenly, Brandon felt an emptiness that ached, as if those intense, fiery memories were fading with time.

In the end, she and he becstrangers.

On Monday, Kent couldn't help but sneak a peek at Brandon's office as soon as he got to work.

Brandon was already there, busy with work. His injured arm somewhat restricted his movements, but after two days of rest, he

seemed much better, and his complexion was no longer as tired as on Saturday.

He was handling the fallout from a boulder dropping at the construction site of the new mall, reprimanding several people

responsible. By the the was done, it was nearly ten o'clock.

In the afternoon, he had plans to visit neighboring Zion City.

The approval for the Zenithan-style resort project had cthrough, and it was about to enter the official groundbreaking stage,

with a ceremony being prepared for the coming days. Concerned about further incidents after the mall mishap, Brandon had set

aside half a day to go there.

Zion City was not far from the West district, just over an hour's drive on the highway, enough tfor a round trip.

Joining him was the design team from Star-Dempsey Architects.

Brandon hadn't asked who from the other side was going, but when he got down to the parking garage, he spotted Sophia waiting

there along with Don.

Sophia looked uneasy as she caught sight of Brandon, her eyes dropping.

It was their first encounter since that kiss on Saturday.

Such a meeting left Sophia feeling awkward and out of place.

As if nothing had happened, Brandon simply said “Let's go” as he walked past them, picking up his car keys, opening the door, and

sliding into the driver's seat.

Kent was supposed to drive for Brandon, but seeing him take the wheel himself, Kent coughed lightly and turned to Don, “Don, I'll

ride with you.”

After saying this, he confidently pulled open Don's passenger door, not forgetting to instruct Sophia, “Ms. Yearwood, ride with Mr.

Crawley.”

Sophia was speechless.

Don glanced over at Sophia too. “Sophia, why don’t you ride with Brandon?”

Both had chimed in, and Sophia reluctantly nodded.

As she approached Brandon's car, he popped the passenger door open.

“I'll sit in the back,” Sophia said softly.

Brandon didn’t say a word, just opened the back door for her.

Sophia bent down and slid into the seat.

Brandon fired up the engine, and they were off in no time.

Sophia caught a glimpse of his hands gripping the steering wheel, looking pretty nimble.

She wanted to ask him about his hand, but the words got stuck in her throat, and she ended up saying nothing at all.

Brandon was silent too.

The silence stretched out in the cramped space, making Sophia feel all uptight.

Brandon's way of setting the vibe hadn't changed one bit.

He took a quick look at Sophia in the rearview mirror.

He spotted a flicker of awkwardness on her face, something that rarely showed up when they used to be together.

The longer they had been apart, the more this awkwardness seemed to grow.

Brandon let out a sigh and told her, “Why don’t you catch sz's? I'll wake you up when we get there.”

“Okay,” Sophia murmured, resting her head against the window and quickly drifting off to sleep.

The grind of the weekend, juggling work and kids, had left her utterly exhausted.

Brandon glanced over at her. She was out like a light. Maybe it was a bit chilly in the car because she had subconsciously crossed

her arms for warmth.

He pulled into a rest area, slipped off his jacket, and gently covered her with it, being extra careful.

Sophia didn’t wake up. She just instinctively snuggled into the warmth, finding a more comfortable position, still deep in slumber.

Brandon couldn't help but stare at her sleeping face, noticing her hair falling over her face. He reached out to brush it away, but

halfway there, he stopped.

He didn’t touch her.

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