The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon shot her a glance, his lips twitching slightly, but in the end, he said zilch, just strolled past her without missing a beat.

Sophia kept her cool as she stepped into the elevator.

Their shoulders brushed only for a split second.

Each with a poker face, they caught glimpses of each other in the corner of their eyes—no hellos, no pauses in their strides.

As soon as Sophia was in the elevator, her hand darted to the buttons.

Fresh off the clock, Augus was hustling out of the office with his black messenger bag, spotted Sophia in the elevator, and lit up,

giving her a wave.

"Sophia!"

He was making a beeline towards Sophia.

Brandon paused his step for a heartbeat, then calmly headed back to the office.

In the fleeting moment he turned towards Don's office, Brandon caught sight of Sophia pressing the elevator's hold button, looking

at the guy striding towards her, her face set with that polite, mild smile she always wore.

It dawned on Brandon that it had been ages since Sophia had flashed that smile his way.

When he got back to Don's office, Don picked up on Brandon's sour face right away.

"Everything cool with you?" he asked, a touch concerned.

He'd dropped by to see Brandon last night, and the guy had the sdistracted air about him then.

Don was clueless about what had gone down between him and Sophia—couldn't get a peep out of either of them.

But he definitely got vibes that Brandon was off his game, couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it felt like there was less pep in his

step—not that he ever had much to begin with.

Brandon met his gaze. "I'm good."

Don nodded. If Brandon was playing the "I'm good" card, he wasn't going to pry—digging deeper never got him anywhere.

He let out a sigh, gave Brandon a solid pat on the shoulder, and handed over the revised proposal Sophia had just submitted.

"Here's the updated plan."

He was even steering clear of dropping Sophia's name.

Brandon nodded, casually taking the design proposal.

As the familiar style hit his eyes, he zoned out, staring at the design drawings.

Don didn't miss the flicker of emotion on Brandon's face.

With another sigh, Don clapped Brandon on the shoulder. "Look, you two gotta figure this out—either cut ties for good, stop

hanging onto each other; or go all in, stick it out to the bitter end. This limbo thing, it's torture, you know?"

Brandon shot him a look, said nothing, flipping through the proposal, noting the adjustments made exactly to his liking.

Sophia got him, got his taste, so her take on the changes he, as the client, had suggested were spot on.

Brandon closed the proposal. "This'll do. Pass it on to my dad and Patricia."

Don nodded. "Sure, will do."

Brandon nodded back, silent again, his fingertips grazing the design proposal. After a moment's silence, he turned to Don, "That

Augus guy, what's he like?"

Don was taken aback, surprised Brandon even knew about this dude.

"Pretty cool guy, sunny and funny," Don said, "good at charming the ladies, so he's quite the lady magnet. What's up?"

"No girlfriend?"

Don was speechless.

That was not the kind of scoop Brandon usually digs for.

"He's single," Don confirmed, something he actually knew.

Brandon just looked at him, wordless.

He'd only caught a glimpse of Augus twice, from a distance, could tell the guy was definitely a sunny, cheerful sort—the kind of

"puppy dog" that's all the rage these days, the dynamic opposite of Sophia, probably the complementary type she'd mentioned

looking for. Brandon wasn't sure if Augus fit the bill for what Sophia described as her type.

So far, there didn't seem to be any sparks between Sophia and this new guy.

But a bright, funny, good-looking guy—like Kent said, few women could resist that charm.

Brandon couldn't imagine Sophia acting all shy and girlish around another guy, but the thought still stung a bit.

"I'm outta here."

Brandon didn't like this emotionally rattled version of himself, left his cold remark hanging in the air, grabbed the proposal, and

was gone.

Don shook his head at Brandon's retreating back.

He was starting to get where Kent was coming from—this Brandon was a far cry from the old, extremely rational and cold Brandon.

From his recent interactions and observations, he didn't think Brandon was head over heels for Sophia. To him, she seemed more

like a habit.

Brandon was the type to stick to his guns, hard to pick up a habit, even harder to shake one off.

Don always figured Brandon didn't really care who he ended up marrying—he'd adapt, he'd get used to it.

His sense of duty would make him a good husband, a good father, but that sdetachment would leave his partner's emotional

needs unmet.

He was better off with someone who didn't ask for much, just wanted a companion to share life with.

Don also believed that the way to break a habit was to start a new one.

So, he leaned towards advising Brandon to find someone else, to adapt anew.

It wouldn't take much adapting, especially if the person was Yolanda.

Don knew Marian had returned to the Frost family, but he couldn't fathom why, after years of pursuing Yolanda, Brandon had

suddenly clammed up about her these past two years.

Before Don could figure out whether to play matchmaker for Brandon again, Patricia roped him into it.

After Patricia and Daniel had dinner with the Frost family, both families had been keen on setting up their youngsters. But recent

events had left Patricia and Daniel with no chance to broach the subject with Brandon, leaving Don to do the legwork.

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