The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon stared blankly at the flight information for quite a while before finally looking up at the spick-and-span bedroom.

The empty vanity was wiped to perfection, not a speck of dust in sight.

The whole house only felt lived-in by the black suitcase in the corner and the bed with its sheets spread out.

His gaze aimlessly swept from the bedroom across the empty living room, the balcony, and finally paused in the kitchen.

The newly bought stuff was still piled up on the countertop, untouched and not yet put away.

The somewhat haphazard stacking and the sterile vibe of the house seemed out of place.

Suddenly, Brandon felt a wave of the blues wash over him.

He let out a long sigh and put Sophia’s phone back where it was.

After a deep, drugged sleep, Sophia woke up feeling a bit out of sorts, like she didn't know where she was.

Blearily sitting up, she spotted Brandon on the balcony.

He had moved a chair out there at spoint, sitting sideways to the sofa, gazing out, with his eyelids half-closed, lost in thought.

His handsprofile bathed in the afternoon light had a distant, detached aura, shrouded in mist, hard to read.

"Don't you need to get back to the office?"

Seeing him still there, Sophia asked softly, glancing at her phone to check the t- work hours were well underway.

Brandon turned to look at her. "Awake?"

Sophia nodded. "Yeah."

Brandon got up and walked over. "Feeling any better?"

"Yeah, much," Sophia replied lightly, her eyes falling on the now-cold pasta on the table, feeling a bit guilty, "Sorry, | must've been

really beat earlier. | didn't realize I'd fallen asleep."

She genuinely hadn't expected to doze off.

The dizziness was overpowering, and all she could do was close her eyes to fight it, never thinking she'd actually drift off.

"It's cool," said Brandon, heading to the kitchen, "I'll whip up another bowl for you."

With that, he was already in the kitchen, getting two more bowls of pasta ready.

Sophia watched his busy silhouette in the kitchen, her heart filled with an indescribable feeling.

She remembered how he pushed her away last night when he was drunk, telling her coldly, "Sophia, I'm letting you go too. Don't

giveany hope."

But now, here he was in her kitchen, making food for her while she was sick.

When Brandon brought over the freshly made pasta, Sophia was still zoning out, staring at him.

"Eat up," Brandon called out, already neatly setting the tableware in place.

Sophia nodded gently and walked over to sit across from Brandon.

The pasta Brandon made were delicious, the rich broth mixed with the scent of beef was tantalizing, especially since she had

barely eaten all day.

The effects of the medicine and the rest had done her good. The dizziness was gone, and her appetite was back.

"Why did you cover?"

Sophia asked quietly, watching Brandon across the table as he silently ate his pasta.

Brandon paused mid-bite.

He looked at her. "You got sick partly because of me. It's my responsibility to take care of you."

Sophia chuckled, "It's not on you. | just wasn't careful."

Brandon smiled too, but quickly his expression turned serious. "Let's eat before it gets cold."

"Yeah."

Sophia nodded and started eating.

Brandon didn't say more.

Neither did Sophia.

It was like the old times between them, yet not quite the same.

Though they barely spoke, the atmosphere was much calmer, almost like old friends reuniting after many years.

After finishing the food, Sophia couldn't help but look up at Brandon.

He was done with his pasta, just quietly watching her, his dark eyes deep and serene.

"Planning to rest at hfor the next few days?"

He asked, then noticed the hesitation in Sophia's eyes.

She nodded lightly. "Yeah, I'm thinking of taking a few days off."

Brandon nodded, his gaze drifting past her to the empty living room, then to the suitcase in the bedroom.

Sophia followed his gaze, puzzled about why Brandon was staring at the suitcase.

But Brandon didn't explain, just looked back at her. "Feeling dizzy still?"

Sophia shook her head. "Not anymore."

"Anything else feel off?"

Sophia still shook her head. "No, I'm much better now."

Brandon nodded, seeing that she indeed looked better than she had at noon.

He stood up. "Then you should rest. I'm heading back to the office."

Sophia nodded. "Okay."

She got up to see him out.

Just then, Brandon seemed to remember something from Wye City.

Sophia had seen him to the door just like this, even left him her phone number, but the very next day, the house was empty, and

the phone number was disconnected.

Now, with the project filed, although work hadn't started, things were settling down, and Sophia's coming and going wasn't much

of an issue anymore.

As Brandon reached the door, he hesitated for a moment, then stopped without turning back.

Sophia, puzzled, was about to ask him what was up when he walked away without a backward glance.

Sophia faintly felt that Brandon was acting odd today, his demeanor upon leaving slightly different from when he arrived, but she

couldn't quite put her finger on what had changed.

Brandon went straight back to the office.

As soon as Kent saw him cin, he quickly got up to greet him. "Mr. Crawley, you're back."

"Yeah."

Brandon's reply was curt as he walked past him.

Kent hurried after him. "How's Ms. Yearwood? Is she alright?"

"She's fine."

Kent breathed a sigh of relief. "Good to hear."

"Tomorrow, you take her."

Kent was puzzled. "Huh? Ms. Yearwood's going somewhere?"

"She's flying to Wye City tomorrow, six in the evening. You make sure she gets there."

As he spoke, Brandon had already entered his office.

Following behind, Kent cto an abrupt halt. "She's leaving again?"

After finishing his words, he couldn't help but worryingly glance at Brandon.

Brandon's face was eerily calm, and he didn't respond.

Kent, unable to contain his concern, called out to him, "Mr. Crawley?"

Brandon had already taken a seat at his desk, his long fingers resting on the keyboard, waking up the computer, and still, he paid

no attention to Kent.

But the message was crystal clear; the question didn't need repeating.

Kent had no choice but to mumble a subdued "Alright."

Stepping out of Brandon's office, Kent couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

He had thought things were finally looking up between them, but now Sophia was leaving again, jetting off to the other side of the

world.

It wasn't any special holiday, nor was it during a vacation period, and it wasn't a business trip either. So, as far as Kent was

concerned, her leaving pretty much said it all.

Brandon's stance was also blatantly obvious; he wasn't going to ask her to stay.

But as far as Kent could remember, Brandon had never tried to hold Sophia back.

It seemed he was always the most decisive when it cto parting ways.

In the end, it was always him, the close-at-hand, hardworking office drone who had to deal with the aftermath.

With another internal, long sigh, Kent decided to play hooky with his responsibilities for once when he got hfrom work that

evening.

So, he gave Sophia a call, "Ms. Yearwood, are you feeling any better?"

Sophia was a bit puzzled by Kent's sudden concern but politely replied, "Yeah, I'm fine now."

"So, can you make it to work tomorrow?"

Sophia didn't say anything.

Kent said with an awkward chuckle, "Here's the thing, our Zenithan-style resort project, although the plans are finalized, we've

been going through approvals recently, right? There might be sfire safety issues that need tweaking, so we might need your

presence at the office. If you're feeling up to it, please cin. We all need you."

After explaining, he added, "Mr. Crawley has temporarily handed the project over toto keep an eye on."

Sophia hadn't expected the project to land in Kent's lap. She's the type who hates to be a bother, so with Kent personally phoning

to ask her back to work, she couldn't outright refuse. However, thinking of the flight the next day, she didn't dare commit on the

spot.

"Can | let you know tomorrow?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Kent responded eagerly, quickly taking it as a yes, "Looking forward to the good news. See you at the office

tomorrow."

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