The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon glanced at the door, pocketed the sample he was holding, and headed over to open it.

Standing outside was Daniel.

"I need to talk to you." Daniel got straight to the point as soon as Brandon opened the door.

Brandon instantly slammed the door shut with a "snap."

Outside, Daniel, fuming, started hammering the doorbell.

The doorbell rang incessantly, as if he was dead set on not leaving until Brandon opened up.

Brandon didn't give him the tof day, walking back to the living room to grab his phone and call the community security to take

him away.

A few minutes later, the ruckus outside finally ceased.

Brandon returned to his room to find Sophia standing on the balcony, catching the breeze.

The wind was pretty hefty by the riverside late at night, tossing her shoulder-length hair into a wild dance and whipping the white

sheer curtains into waves behind her.

Brandon parted the curtains and stood next to her on the balcony, both gazing out at the river view in silence.

There was nothing to say. They'd been married for two years and had never had a standoff or given each other the cold shoulder

like they did today.

Their relationship had always been one of mutual respect, quiet and polite to each other.

Even their divorce was handled quietly and politely, all wrapped up neatly without dragging their feet.

But who would've thought, all the messy, lingering issues would start after the divorce.

Neither had pushed the other to the brink during their marriage, but two years post-divorce, they found themselves in an intense

confrontation.

"Let's go to bed." Eventually, Brandon broke the silence and turned to go back to the room.

Sophia let out a soft "Mhm," and by the tshe got back, Brandon had already made the bed.

Sophia didn't want to share a bed with Brandon, but the earlier scene where he dragged her into their old place without a flicker of

emotion while she was falling apart, left her shaken and tongue-tied, fearing his wrath.

She used to be intimidated by Brandon, but it was more about the pressure from his imposing aura rather than fear.

Tonight, it was real fear. For the first time, he showed her his cold and ruthless side.

"Sleep," Brandon said gently, climbing into bed.

Sophia hesitated, then nodded and laid down on the other side.

Brandon also lay flat on the bed.

The large bed had them each sticking to one side, leaving a vast empty space in the middle.

Silence fell again.

Sophia couldn't remember how she fell asleep, just that she kept staring at the ceiling, zoning out until she drifted off.

The next day she woke up in Brandon's arms.

She wasn't sure if she had unconsciously moved closer to him in her sleep or what, but when she opened her eyes, his solid chest

was the first thing she saw, along with the warmth of his body.

Brandon was already awake, propping his head up with one hand, watching her with half-closed eyes, lost in thought.

"You awake?" he asked as she opened her eyes.

Sophia nodded softly, "Yeah."

"Go freshen up then." Brandon said and got out of bed.

Sophia nodded again.

His room had all new toiletries ready to use.

They each took turns in their respective bathrooms to freshen up.

Sophia was a bit slower; by the tshe cout, Brandon was already bustling around in the kitchen, whipping up breakfast.

Brandon didn't like having strangers at hand wasn't used to having a maid.

During their two years of marriage, she used to prepare his breakfasts.

Back then, she loved him and always looked forward to making him delicious meals.

Just watching him eat was enough to make her content.

In the two years since no one had made breakfast for him, and he clearly hadn't hired a maid, he'd been doing it all himself. It was

just a return to his old bachelor habits.

Sophia watched him for a while, sighed softly, and went over to help.

Brandon just glanced at her, then shifted aside to make room without saying a word.

They finished making breakfast in silence and ate together just as quietly before heading back to their rooms to change.

As Sophia lingered at the entryway, not ready to leave just yet, Brandon cout of his room, dressed in a crisply ironed suit,

tying his tie as he walked towards the door. He looked up to see Sophia standing still, his expression hinting at hesitation.

"What's up?" he asked, approaching her.

Sophia bit her lower lip slightly, then looked up at him.

"Brandon," she called out softly, "I'm sorry about yesterday."

Brandon stopped tying his tie, looking at her with inscrutable deep eyes.

Sophia bit her lip even harder, her eyelids drooping as she avoided his gaze.

At eye level, his hand was still on his tie knot. His tie hung loosely around his collar, unfinished.

Sophia stared at the knot for a while, then silently stepped forward, taking over the task and carefully finished tying his tie for him.

It was something she often did during the two years she was married to him.

Brandon just watched her, not moving an inch.

Sophia, feeling the intensity of his gaze, had her hand that was on his tie knot stiffly retract back.

The smile on her lips stiffened as well.

"Let's go to work." She whispered, turning to leave when her suddenly stiffened arm was grasped firmly by Brandon.

Confused, she turned around to find Brandon pulling her against the wall and fiercely kissing her.

Sophia's arm, forced to stay in front of her chest, paused for a moment, then hesitantly reached towards his pocket...

It was a long while before their breathing steadied.

Today was the ground-breaking ceremony for the Zenitha-style resort project, and both of them needed to be at the site.

"l want to go hand put on smakeup first." Back in the car, Sophia said softly to Brandon, "Maybe you should head over

first, and I'll clater."

Brandon glanced at her.

"How long will the makeup take?" he asked.

Sophia replied, "About half an hour, | guess."

Brandon nodded, "I'll drop you off at hand cback to pick you up in half an hour."

He checked his watch, "We've got enough time."

Sophia gave a slight nod: "Okay."

It wasn't long before Brandon had dropped Sophia off at the bottom of her apartment building.

"I'll cto get you in half an hour."

He said, then fired up the engine and drove off.

Sophia watched the car disappear into the distance, standing still in silence for a good while before quietly heading upstairs.

Theresa and Susan were already up.

Probably because of yesterday's little incident, which got her an earful from all the adults, Theresa looked a bit sheepish when she

saw Sophia. Before Sophia could say anything, Theresa mumbled an apology: "Sorry, Mommy."

Since she couldn't make it back last night, Sophia had texted Susan to give Theresa a heads up.

She squatted in front of Theresa, not to scold her, but gently stroking her hair, she said softly, "It's okay."

Then patiently, she said: "Theresa, Mom can stand to lose a blueprint, but if | lost you, it would break my heart. Don't make Mom

sad, okay?"

Theresa quickly nodded: "Okay."

"From now on, whatever's on your mind, whatever you want to do, talk it over with Mom first, okay? If Mom's too busy and can't

answer your call right away, don't panic. Just wait for me, okay?" Sophia spoke gently to her, her voice always warm and patient.

Theresa nodded seriously.

"And then, after we talk it over and decide together, that's when we act. Don't go off on your own again, okay?" Sophia continued

softly.

Theresa still nodded earnestly: "Okay."

She couldn't help but reflect: "Yesterday, when | saw Mommy's drawing, it was so pretty, | wanted to take it to show Handsome

Unkie. Last tin his office, someone else took Mommy's drawing, and | thought, I'd give HandsUnkie another one. But then,

I don't know why, it disappeared. | wanted to find it, get it back. Can't lose, can't lose Mommy's stuff."

"Wanting to share Mommy's drawing with others is nice, it means you appreciate them too, and that makes Mommy happy,"

Sophia soothed her patiently, "But, just like your homework that you have to hand in to your teacher, you can't just give them

away. Mommy didn't tell you before, that's my mistake, you don't need to be upset. If the drawing is gone, it's gone, Mommy has

plenty more. But from now on, after what I've told you, don't give them away to others, okay?"

Theresa nodded seriously: "Okay."

"And if you accidentally do something wrong, don't be afraid to tell Mommy for fear of being scolded, okay? If something's wrong,

we'll figure it out together, and whatever you want to do, we'll decide on it together, okay? You're still too little, Theresa, and going

out alone could catch sbad guy's eye. If my Theresa went missing, and Mommy couldn't see you anymore, it would devastate

me. Don't let Mommy be heartbroken over not seeing Theresa, okay?"

Sophia emphasized again with a gentle voice.

Theresa nodded very seriously and then hugged Sophia tightly, promising earnestly: "lI won't go out on my own anymore. Don't be

sad, Mommy."

"You're such a good girl." Sophia couldn't help but hug her tightly, her throat tight with emotion.

She held Theresa for a while before gently letting go, then headed back to her room to do her makeup.

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