The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon was walking Theresa hfrom the park.

On the way back, the little girl, who was already a bit sleepy, perked up and becsuper lively in the car.

Peeking through the rearview mirror, Brandon could see the excitement twinkling in her eyes. Her big, clear eyes would

occasionally dart his way, mixed with a hint of shyness.

He remembered the last the drove her hfrom the company, she seemed a bit evasive and dodgy around him.

That was because Daniel had popped by unexpectedly, and in the heat of the moment, he didn't consider her feelings. He was only

thinking about getting Yvonne to whisk her away from the so she wouldn't witness the grown-ups' spat. He forgot to explain

things to her in advance, so the poor kid probably thought he was giving her the boot, which left her down in the dumps and

fussing to go home.

Brandon ended up taking Theresa hhimself, and throughout the ride, she totally ditched her usual clinginess to him. When she

got out of the car, she seemed a bit dodgy and sulky.

But now, watching the little munchkin, it was as if she had completely erased the previous upset from her memory, her face lit up

with surprise and excitement. It made you wonder whether kids just have short memories or what.

"Theresa, are you still mad at me?" Brandon asked softly, looking at the well-behaved little girl in the backseat.

Theresa shook her head right away. "Not mad."

Then, a bit puzzled, she asked him, "Where did you go? | haven't seen you for so long."

"lI went to work," Brandon replied, his heart warmed by her childlike words, softening his voice as he asked her, "Did you miss me

during all this time?"

Theresa nodded earnestly. "Missed."

Her eyes caught sight of the mall outside the window, and she remembered the last tthey went to the claw machine with

Brandon, adding, "Want to go with you to play the claw machine."

Brandon glanced out the window too. "Do you want to play the claw machine again?"

Theresa's head bobbed like a pecking chicken. "Yes."

Grace quickly tried to reason with her. "Aren't you sleepy? Let's go hand sleep, and another day we can go with him to play,

okay?"

She then apologetically said to Brandon, "Mr. Crawley, I'm sorry, she usually goes to bed by eight."

Brandon nodded understandingly. "Mhm."

Then he said to Theresa, "I will take you hto sleep now, and another day when I'm free, we can go play, okay?"

Theresa's mouth turned down unhappily, and her little hands twisted together in disappointment. "But | want to go with you now."

Seeing her fiddling hands in the rearview mirror, Brandon paused for a moment, then turned to look at her.

"Alright, we'll go to the claw machine, but we can only play for half an hour. After that, you should go hto sleep, okay?" he

coaxed in a gentle voice.

Theresa instantly nodded with joy. "Okay."

Brandon still sought Grace's opinion. "Grace, the kiddo seems pretty wired right now, I'll take her to play for half an hour."

Grace looked at Theresa, who had lost all signs of sleepiness, hesitated for a moment, then nodded her head.

Brandon swung the car around and drove into the mall's underground parking. After parking the car, he bent over and scooped

Theresa up in his arms.

The little one seemed to really love being held by him.

As soon as he bent down, she reached out her little arms towards him, using his arm to climb up onto him, and snuggled into his

embrace, warm, soft, and tiny—a feeling that made Brandon's chest swell.

He held her tightly with one arm, and with the other, he slammed the car door shut, then turned to ask her, "Did you have dinner?"

Theresa earnestly nodded. "Mhm, had it."

Then he remembered her bottle and diapers and pointed back to the closed car door as a reminder. "Milky."

Grace had already grabbed her milk bottle bag and handed it to her as she got out of the car.

She took it over, one hand holding the milk bottle, the other clinging to Brandon's neck.

Brandon didn't meddle with their hschooling methods, and seeing that she had eaten, he didn't take her out for another meal.

Toddlers were a mystery to him. He didn't have much of a clue about kids that age, let alone their diet, so he didn't dare impose

adult eating habits on such a young child.

He went straight to the first floor's claw machine area, holding Theresa all the way.

Throughout the journey, Theresa was extremely excited, leaning on Brandon, not wanting to let go.

Brandon didn't ask her to walk on her own either, carrying her all the way to the first floor where the claw machines were before

setting her down.

Just like last time, he exchanged scoins, let her play on her own first, and then joined her.

Theresa's solo play didn't seem that thrilling, but when he helped her guide the joystick, her face lit up, her eyes shining as she

watched the claw pick up a plush toy, breathing nervously and mumbling.

"Here, there, got it, lost it, it's falling, it's gonna fall, ah... oh, it didn't fall, you are so cool!"

She clapped her hands in excitement, not forgetting to look back at Brandon.

Brandon was also caught up in her mood, laughed, and patted her head, then looked at the toy that had fallen into the basket.

Theresa was already thrilled, peering into the basket through the glass, eager to get a good look at her prize, her little face

beaming with joy and surprise.

Brandon squatted behind her. The height difference was so big, he had to crouch down to be on her level.

Watching her happy little face, he said nothing, just quietly observed her profile, so well-behaved and peaceful.

For sreason, he thought of Sophia again.

He thought back to the strange feeling in his heart when he first met Theresa in Wye City, remembered the familiar silhouette he

saw when he lifted the curtain in that restaurant, recalled Theresa's last visit to his office when she was eager to get Sophia's

design draft.

His gaze slowly shifted to the little braids tied up on Theresa's head.

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