The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Alright, I'll get right on it," Kent, who had snapped back to reality, quickly responded.

Brandon said, "We need someone nimble, hot-headed, sharp-eyed, and unafraid to stir the pot."

"Got it." Kent nodded vigorously.

"Also," Brandon walked towards the window, "what's the scoop on the River-View Community property?"

"We can schedule a viewing tomorrow morning."

Kent replied, not daring to ask why Brandon had bailed on the realtor at the last minute the previous day.

They had already planned to view the property that evening, and Brandon had left the office at six. But after six, he called to say

something had cup and he couldn't make it to see the house, asking him to reschedule with the realtor.

Of course, Brandon has always been a generous guy. To make up for ditching the realtor and the landlord, he had given them a

handssum as compensation for the inconvenience.

"Fine, you handle it," Brandon said before hanging up the phone.

Brandon had indeed planned to view the house that night, but got caught up in Martin asking Sophia to design a manor for Louis

and Renata under Marian's name, and he chose to accompany Sophia, standing up the realtor.

The property's owner wasn't exclusively represented by the realtor, and he had his own busy schedule. The realtor hadn't been

able to reach the landlord for the past few days, so the viewing had been put on hold.

After Brandon left, Sophia went back to the 18th floor, still looking deflated and out of sorts.

Theresa was still asleep.

Susan had returned, and after witnessing Brandon bringing Theresa back on the security feed, she had been on edge all night,

waiting for Sophia.

"What's the deal with Brandon?"

As soon as Sophia entered the room, Susan hurried over with the question.

Sophia shook her head slightly, "I'm not sure."

Every word from Brandon felt loaded with hidden meaning.

She didn't know if he had figured out Theresa's identity or was just being reflective.

Brandon was always one to keep his cool.

He never made a move without having solid evidence and assurance first.

His approach was the sin business as it was in unsettling his opponents. he was sly as a fox.

"So, what's your plan now?" Susan asked, frowning.

Sophia glanced at her, hesitated, and pursed her lips as if deep in thought.

"Still undecided?" Susan, who had known her for years, instantly read her like a book.

Sophia nodded honestly, "Yeah, too much happened tonight, | haven't had the chance to sort out my feelings. Any decision now

would be rash. | want to think it over for a few more days."

"That's probably best."

Susan nodded with understanding, noticing Sophia looked off. She had been too focused on Theresa earlier to notice Sophia's

mood.

"What happened?" she asked.

Sophia just shook her head and laughed.

"A whole bunch of stuff, all messed up," Sophia said, not sure where to begin, "It started with a good deed, taking an old lady with

Alzheimer's disease to the police station, and ended up like a row of dominoes, dragging Brandon, Theresa, the Frost family,

Yolanda, and Brandon's parents into this mess. My head is spinning."

Susan laughed and patted her shoulder, "Then don't worry about it now. Go take a shower, get ssleep, and things will look

better tomorrow when you wake up with a clearer head."

Sophia nodded, "Yeah."

Heading back to her room, she glanced at Theresa on the bed.

Theresa was still fast asleep, in a less than graceful position, hugging a toy and sleeping soundly. She must have been dreaming

sweetly, her eyes tightly shut, but her little face kept nuzzling against the toy, mumbling something, looking utterly content.

Grace was busy wiping the table nearby.

She was someone who couldn't sit still, always either taking care of the kids or doing housework.

"Grace, take a break," Sophia said softly, "The tables aren't going anywhere."

"It's okay, I've got nothing else to do," Grace said with a smile, "When | stop, | just end up on my phone, which hurts my eyes. I'd

rather be doing something."

Sophia chuckled, knowing she couldn't persuade Grace otherwise, and didn't press further. She glanced around the room, paused

when she saw Theresa's toys neatly packed in a sack, and then turned to Grace, asking, "Did Mr. Crawley talk about anything with

Theresa tonight?"

Grace replied, "Not much, just casually asked where Theresa's parents had gone."

"What did Theresa say?" Sophia probed.

"She said her mom took an old lady home, and she didn't know about her dad," Grace replied with a laugh while continuing her

work. "The kiddo really likes Mr. Crawley. She dragged out all her toys to play with him, and he was really patient with her. They

even exchanged phone numbers later."

Remembering Brandon's call to Sophia, she added, "Oh right, Mr. Crawley did call your phone. Guess you missed it."

“Mhm."

Sophia acknowledged softly.

She knew about Brandon's call.

Her phone had dual SIM support.

She was in the taxi at the time, watching that familiar phone number flash on her screen, too scared to press the answer button.

Grace, oblivious to her thoughts, continued smiling, "I was thinking of leaving my number. You're usually busy with work. But Mr.

Crawley just handed his phone to Theresa and told her to enter your number. She did as told, and | didn't want to say anything

more."

Sophia looked at Grace, "Mr. Crawley had Theresa enter my number?"

"Yeah," Grace said with a chuckle, noticing Sophia's expression and feeling uncertain, "Why? What's wrong?"

Sophia shook her head and smiled, "Nothing."

Then her cell started buzzing.

"Imma step out and take this call."

Sophia whispered, grabbing her phone and slipping out of Theresa's room. She glanced at the screen—srandom number, and

they're sending a video call, no less.

Sophia didn't give it much thought and just hung up.

But the moment she did, the darn thing rang again.

Sophia hung up, they called back—rinse and repeat. They were super persistent, didn't seem like a wrong number or a scammer's

game.

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