The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Don just cracked a smile, neither confirming nor denying, and said, "Let's stick to work now, cut the chit-chat during office hours."

And with that, he was gone.

Sophia glanced up at Don's retreating figure, shot a look at Marian, who had settled back into her chair with a thoughtful

expression, but no sign of dissatisfaction on her face.

Sophia's office was close to Marian's desk, and with the door ajar, Marian had tried to keep her voice down, but Sophia caught

every word of their exchange without missing a beat.

She had no idea whether Don went on to take that project or not. He never brought it up again, and she didn't pry—didn't feel like

prying.

For the next couple of days, Don didn't mention it again either.

But then, on Friday afternoon, as Sophia was just stepping out of the company building, she spotted Martin sitting on a bench in

the plaza right outside.

Whether Martin was just passing by or had been waiting there on purpose, Sophia couldn't tell. Upon seeing her, he stood up and

approached.

"Ms. Yearwood, got any plans? How about grabbing a bite together?"

Sophia shook her head. "Sorry, I'm all booked up."

Martin's expression didn't falter at her rejection. He simply looked at her calmly and apologized,

"I'm sorry about the other day. | didn't mean any disrespect to you, Ms. Yearwood."

Sophia remained silent.

Martin continued, "I was hoping to find a moment to share with you the vision behind the project.”

"Sorry, not interested in storytime," Sophia interjected softly, nodded her apologies, and sidestepped to leave.

Martin turned to follow her, "You could hearout before deciding whether to take it or not."

Sophia paused, turned to him, "Mr. Frost, there's no shortage of talented designers out there, and | haven't even provided a

preliminary draft. Your sudden ‘only you will do' approach makesquestion your motives."

"To be completely honest," Martin admitted as he faced her, "I didn't plan on approaching you again at first. | presented a lot of

designers' work to my grandpa, and he took a shine to yours specifically. So here | am, bothering you again, hoping you would

understand an old man's last wish. It means a lot to him."

"Maybe you just hasn't seen enough options. | suggest you keep looking; something's bound to click with your grandpa." Sophia

offered, nodding with a hint of apology, "I'm truly sorry."

After she spoke, she headed towards a taxi parked by the curb, opened the door, and got in.

Martin watched the taxi drive away, making no move to chase after it.

Sophia headed straight hby cab.

She'd been swamped with work that week, lots of overtime, and barely had any tto spend with Theresa.

Since it was Friday, she had clocked out on time, promising the little one a trip to the children's park.

Theresa had been looking forward to it, all prepped with her bottle and diapers, waiting on the sofa with her little legs swinging in

anticipation.

As soon as Sophia walked through the door, Theresa slid off the couch and lunged to hug Sophia's legs, looking up to remind her,

"Mommy, park, slide."

Sophia scooped her up with a smile. "Sure thing."

She then asked, "Theresa, did you have dinner?"

Grace, who was tidying up nearby, nodded, "Yep, just ate with her. You should grab a bite too, food's still warm on the table."

Theresa bobbed her head in agreement, "Mommy, eat."

"Alright."

Sophia patted her head, set down her bag, and had a quick dinner.

No sooner had she put down her bowl than Theresa was scurrying to grab her bottle bag, then trotting to the door, placing the bag

on the ground, and plopping down herself to clumsily try on her shoes.

Her excitement about going out with mom was palpable.

Sophia was both touched by her enthusiasm and felt a twinge of guilt.

She walked over, stroked her head, then crouched to straighten the shoes Theresa had managed to put on. Taking her hand, she

stood up, "Let's go."

Sophia's place wasn't far from the children's park, just a 5-kilometer journey.

The park boasted plenty of large-scale children's facilities. Sophia had taken Theresa there once, and the little one hadn't stopped

talking about it ever since.

Sophia and Grace went together, hailing a cab to get there.

By the tthey arrived, it was nearly seven o'clock.

The park was dotted with mommies and daddies from work, along with sgrandparents, but it wasn't crowded. Theresa, who

remembered where the rides were from her last visit, tugged at Sophia's hand towards the Ferris wheel.

"Ferris wheel." she chirped excitedly.

Sophia got them tickets and took Theresa for a spin.

As the Ferris wheel slowly rose to over 200 meters, Theresa, fearless of heights, was wide-eyed with wonder and delight at the

world outside the cabin, especially as it sparkled with lights.

Among the neon-lit skyscrapers, she spotted the Starlight building and turned to tug on Sophia's arm,

"Mommy, handsuncle, his office."

She pointed at the Starlight building as she spoke.

Sophia was taken aback, glancing at her in surprise.

She had only gone there once. How Theresa remembered this place, let alone pinpointed it, was a mystery.

Unaware of the adult confusion, Theresa was just thrilled, holding onto Sophia's hand and insisting she look.

Just then, Sophia's phone buzzed.

She glanced at it and hesitated.

It was a call from Brandon.

In fact, Brandon had sent her a message before she left work, saying he had a client meeting that afternoon and wouldn't be able

to leave on time, so she should go ahead and eat.

All she replied was a brief "Hmm."

He hadn't messaged back, probably tied up.

Now he was calling, probably finished with his work.

Sophia stared at the phone, torn about whether to answer.

Theresa, noticing Sophia's hesitation, puzzledly reminded her, "Mommy, phone."

Sophia glanced at her and nodded lightly, "Yeah."

But her finger hesitated to press "Answer."

The phone rang briefly before going silent.

No more calls from Brandon, but he shot a text. [Made it home?]

Sophia hit him back with a [Yeah] and after a moment added, [Got my hands full right now, can't chat on the phone. I'll holler back

at you later.]

[Okay.]

Brandon's reply cquick, and he didn't ring her up again.

Sophia let out a small sigh of relief, though she still had a weight on her mind. After getting off the Ferris wheel, she sent Grace and

Theresa to ride the merry-go-round and slipped away to a quiet gazebo nearby, dialing Brandon back.

The phone was picked up after a couple of rings.

"All done?" A deep voice cthrough, faint sounds of shuffling papers in the background.

Sophia gave a soft "Mhm."

"Aren't you off the clock? How are you still so slammed you can't take a call?"

Brandon asked, his tone even-keeled, hard to tell if he was just making small talk or hinting at something else.

"Just bumped into a friend outside, and we got to chatting," Sophia murmured.

"Mhm." Brandon didn't press further. "Had dinner yet?"

"Yep, just ate."

Sophia responded quietly, covering the mouthpiece and turning slightly away from the gazebo to keep the nearby kids' laughter

out of the call.

Outside the gazebo was a dimly lit park path, flanked by towering trees, with few passersby—except for an old lady staggering

about, looking lost and turning in circles, her expression a mix of panic and confusion, desperately helpless.

Sophia frowned slightly, scanning the area without seeing anyone else. Concerned, she whispered to Brandon on the line,

"Something's cup, gotta go," and hung up before heading toward the old woman.

Before Sophia got close, the woman turned and spotted her, her bewildered face growing even more perplexed, her gaze

seemingly lucid yet clouded.

Sophia couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity and confusion wash over her as she stared at the woman.

The old lady looked to be in her seventies, her face marked by tbut still elegant, with kind eyes that seemed a bit foggy.

But Sophia had never seen this face before.

The woman kept staring blankly, her perplexity as childlike as it was profound.

Sophia snapped back to reality, flashed a smile, and gently asked, "Ma'am, are you having strouble? Can | help you?"

The woman just shook her head in a daze, then uncertainly called her "Yoli?"

Sophia's brows furrowed in confusion, not understanding what this nmeant.

The woman had already approached and was examining her up and down, giddy as a child. "Yoli, you really cback."

Her voice trembled toward the end, and her eyes glistened with tears.

Sophia was taken aback, not knowing what to do and not daring to pull away, she chuckled awkwardly, "Ma'am, you've got the

wrong person."

"Nonsense, it's definitely my Yoli who's cback."

The woman chided softly, reaching out to grab Sophia's hand.

As she turned her palm over, Sophia caught sight of a line of writing inside the sleeve.

The streetlight was dim, and Sophia couldn't make it out clearly, but she could just make out a phone number.

She furrowed her brows slightly, looking at the elderly lady. "Madam, may | see your hand please?"

The woman, puzzled, stretched her arm out to Sophia, and the writing on her sleeve cinto view.

"My nis Renata, | have Alzheimer's disease. If you find me, please call..., thank you."

A phone number followed.

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

mMMwWLIIOfiflO&1