The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

After scarfing down the seafood pasta, Brandon headed back to the house next door.

Sophia fired up her computer, clicked on her inbox, and saw the two emails she had scheduled earlier had both been delivered

successfully.

The first one was to Brandon, the other to Don.

Staring at the email status page, Sophia fell silent for a moment before trying to recall the email she sent to Brandon, only to get a

pop-up saying, "Recall failed, recipient has read the email."

Her hand paused on the mouse as she instinctively glanced at the firmly shut door, which Brandon had just closed not too long

ago.

The email was her way of saying sorry for bailing without a word.

Sophia had no clue when Brandon checked his mail. He didn't let on that he'd seen it, not one bit.

After staring at those few words for a long while, Sophia tried to pull back the email sent to Don, only to get the smessage:

"Recall failed, recipient has read the email."

She couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle, closing the tab. About to log out of her inbox, she paused and couldn't resist

clicking on the attachment - the design drawing she had asked Don to pass on to Renata.

Seeing the design again, Sophia felt a twinge of regret.

Maybe it was because it cfrom a burst of inspiration, but the piece was emotionally charged, and she really liked it. Too bad it

wasn't appropriate to give it away anymore.

Sophia didn't know when Don had checked his email, but judging from Louis's hint and Renata's reaction earlier, he probably

hadn't passed it on yet. To avoid any mix-ups, Sophia shot Don a quick email.

"Mr. Dempsey, you don't have to deliver the design for me. Thanks anyway."

Just as she hit "send" not even a minute later, her phone rang.

It was Don. Sophia glanced at her phone in wonder, and then picked up.

"Mr. Dempsey?" She greeted.

"l just saw your email." Don said with an easy laugh, and then added apologetically, "Sorry, I've been swamped and didn't check

my inbox. | just saw the email you sent last night and was admiring your design, thinking I'd hand-deliver it to you tomorrow."

"No need, thanks Mr. Dempsey." Sophia interjected quickly with a smile, slightly embarrassed, "The email was pre-written, just

scheduled to send last night. | was supposed to cancel it since | didn't leave yesterday, but things got complicated and | forgot

about it. Don't worry about it."

"All good." Don chuckled, "Is this for Martin's grandparents? It's fantastic."

"Thanks," Sophia let out a smile, glancing at the design on her computer screen.

"They'll love it if they see it." Don continued cheerfully, "I didn't expect you actually went ahead and made it."

He remembered Sophia had firmly declined when Martin approached her last time.

Sophia felt a bit awkward, "It's just a little personal token of appreciation, really. Renata and I clicked, she's got my back, and I'm

grateful. | just wanted to give her a small farewell gift; it's not related to anyone else."

"Understood." Don said with a laugh, "She'll be thrilled and touched if you give it to her personally. | was just thinking since you

didn't leave, maybe you'd prefer to deliver it yourself, and right then, your email cthrough. So, I'll leave the delivery to you, if

that's alright?"

"Sure." Sophia replied softly, "Thank you, Mr. Dempsey."

"Don’t mention it." Don laughed, then remembering Brandon and considering Daniel's critical condition at the hospital, he couldn't

help but ask, "By the way, is Brandon home?"

"Yeah, he's back." Sophia replied quietly, "He's with the kid now."

"He..." Don started to ask "is he okay?" but didn't want Sophia to suspect anything, so he quickly switched gears with a laugh,

"He's got energy to burn. Make sure he gets to bed early; don't let him stay up too late."

Sophia nodded, "I will."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they hung up. Then, taking one last look at the design on her computer, Sophia shut it

down and headed back to the adjacent room.

Theresa had woken up but was still groggy, had glanced at Brandon to be sure her dad was really back, and contentedly drifted

back to sleep.

"Are you going to the hospital tomorrow?" Sophia asked Brandon, "You should sleep early; don't wear yourself out."

He nodded, and then said to her, "Gonna sleep here tonight."

Sophia hesitated, and then nodded, not pushing the issue of where to sleep.

Cdawn, Brandon was up and about. He was trying to be quiet, but still woke Sophia.

"Off to the hospital?" She whispered, getting up, "Letwhip up a quick breakfast for you; have something before you head out."

"No need, you keep sleeping." Brandon stopped her, "I'll grab something outside."

"It's no trouble. I'll be quick," with that, Sophia got up.

While Brandon was freshening up, she made him a fried egg sandwich, heated up a cup of milk, and washed sfruit. It looked

simple, yet it was a nutritious spread.

Brandon cout from the bathroom to find breakfast ready on the table. He looked from the meal to Sophia.

"Sorry this is all | could do on short notice." She said, a bit embarrassed, "Just make do with this."

"That's fine. It's great," said Brandon, stepping forward and giving her a gentle hug.

"Sophia, thanks," he murmured in her ear.

Sophia chuckled and gently pushed him away, "Eat up before it gets cold."

He nodded and let her go. Sophia didn't join him for breakfast but went back to her room to catch up on sleep.

After breakfast, Brandon headed to the hospital.

Daniel's recovery was going way better than expected; no sign of a second bleed and he'd caround, though he still looked

pretty wiped out.

Patricia made it to the hospital too, and when she heard Daniel had finally woken up, she was over the moon, clasping her hands

together and couldn't stop thanking her lucky stars.

As for Daniel, not sure if he just couldn't stand the sight of Brandon or if laying eyes on him brought back the row they had

yesterday, but the moment he caught a glimpse of Brandon, his blood pressure and EKG went haywire, scaring the bejeezus out of

the docs and nurses who rushed over to check on him.

After a bit, a nurse stepped out of the ICU and apologetically said to Brandon, “Mr. Crawley, sorry to say, but the patient's condition

is still a bit rocky. Seems like he doesn't really want to see you at the moment.”

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