The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Theresa was stoked too.

She was totally on board with this surprise dad popping up out of the blue.

Honestly, just moseying along in this lukewarm relationship with Brandon might just be the ticket for Theresa's growth.

As long as she didn’t bail on herself, that is.

But then, Sophia felt kinda blue about it all.

She grew up clueless about what family love is, what romance feels like, what hmeans, or how it feels to be cherished. Life's

handed her lemons and vinegar, with hardly any sugar to call her own.

She wondered if this choice meant she'd signed up for this life for good.

She'd spent two years proving that she and Brandon were like oil and water, and these past few months, she’d tried to give it

another whirl. But every tshe spotted the slightest hiccup, it was like being tossed back two years in time.

With a future stretching out so far ahead, hanging with Brandon still didn't shine a light on any new possibilities.

Being with him meant never shaking off his parents disdain and hassle, along with Brandon's mood swings and Yolanda's

clinginess.

When things were good, Brandon was dreamy, making her feel like she was floating in a fantasy, totally surreal.

But when things went south, it was like winding the clock back to zero. Brandon could flip-flop between sweet and decisive like it

was nothing.

The only tshe caught a glimpse of a different future was during those two years post-divorce. no , no pesky people. She

had no expectations from anyone—just her and her kiddo, full of hope for the future, psyched for her kid's arrival, for her growth,

for making it in her career, for all the good stuff in life, and maybe even for a shot at sromantic love story.

Watching the father-daughter duo playing and laughing not far off, Sophia let out a long sigh and shifted her gaze to the vast night

sky outside.

The cityscape was all there, laid out before her eyes.

The kids' park on the hillside offered a killer view.

Brandon, while having fun with Theresa, looked over at Sophia.

There she was, sitting at a small round table in the rest area, propping her cheek with one hand, lost in the city's night lights, her

profile bathed in moonlight, serene as ever, but also seeming like it could scatter in the wind at any moment.

Brandon wasn't keen on this so-called cold war with Sophia. They were always straight shooters, ready to talk things through. It's

just that their wants had hit a deadlock, making communication a no-go.

They couldn't find a middle ground anymore, and talking it out was just a tug-of-war over who'd cave first.

They got where each other was coming from, but making concessions was like a bitter pill to swallow.

It wasn't about who was right or wrong anymore; they just wanted a comfy life.

But Sophia's comfort zone was away from him and his fam, and his was with her and their kid by his side, creating an unsolvable

pickle.

Logically, Brandon knew he should let go. After all, he knew he couldn't force her, but emotionally, he couldn't cut the cord.

Avoidance seemed like the best play for now.

Back from the park, Brandon did the usual—bathed Theresa, told her a bedtstory, and tucked her in.

Sophia didn't join in with the parenting this time; she was busy on her computer in the living room.

After putting Theresa to bed, Brandon hit the sack in the next room, sas the night before.

And Sophia, just like before, didn't ask him to stay.

They were like strangers under the sroof—no blowout fights, just a polite distance.

Sophia wasn't into this silent treatment. Back in high school and during those two years of marriage, she'd never let it slide.

Except for that one tnear graduation, whenever Brandon got mad and clammed up, she'd go straight to him and ask, "Are you

mad?" After finding out why, she'd fall over herself to apologize. They never had cold wars.

She didn't reach out during graduation because Brandon had already drawn the line. She figured he realized she wasn't Yolanda

and decided to keep his distance. With the stark reality between them, she thought maybe he saw they were worlds apart, so she

didn't chase after him.

This time, she didn't reach out either, knowing the ball was in her court.

He'd overheard her convo with Daniel, and he was ticked off because she'd edged him out of her and Theresa's life. But this wasn't

something a sorry could fix.

Those words were meant for Daniel. He wasn't thrilled about them hanging out, so whatever she did to tick him off was fine by her.

She just wanted to avoid setting off Daniel, keep him from another emergency. All she wanted was to get away, not expecting

Brandon to drop by just then.

She didn't want to hurt him with words. If she knew he was coming, she never would've said those things.

Honestly, Brandon just wanted her to swallow her pride.

It wasn't that she didn't want to. It's just that giving in would drag them back into the sold messy limbo, with his parents and

her family caught in the middle. His dad would still blow a gasket at any word in her favor, and Brandon would still be stuck playing

referee.

Sophia didn't know how long this would drag on or what it would lead to. But remembering how his dad had a stroke defending her,

and the pain Brandon bore because of it, she figured a short pain was better than a long one.

With these clear yet scrambled thoughts, Sophia spent another night nearly sleepless.

For the next couple of days, Sophia and Brandon kept it just like before—no talk except about Theresa.

At work, Sophia's mood lifted. She threw herself into the job, not fussing over this and that, and she was in the zone.

So in the afternoon, Cindy, who's been on a business trip in Zion City for a couple of days, suddenly burst into tears on the phone

with Sophia. The project she and Augus were working on hit a snag - they just couldn't get the concrete to pour into one of the

bridge piers, and they nearly had a fatality on their hands. Now the workers are all wound up and talking about walking off the job.

They're freaked out, convinced the project's jinxed and want to bail. She's at her wits' end trying to calm them down, and sare

even threatening to blast it all over social media. She's totally lost on what to do next.

Don was there when she called, and he furrowed his brows.

"That doesn't make a lick of sense. Weren't they just minor construction hiccups before? Stuff that's easy to fix? How did it go from

that to a full-blown crisis in just two days?"

Sophia felt something was off too. She racked her brain but couldn't pinpoint the issue. It wasn't sdeep-sea operation, so how

on earth was there a problem getting the concrete in?

"I'll head over and take a look," said Sophia.

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