The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Theresa was kinda feeling the tension in the air, too. She glanced at the door, puzzled and a bit worried, and asked Sophia, "Mom,

what's up with Dad?"

Sophia was feeling a little uneasy herself. Brandon's fleeting change of expression, though brief, didn't seem like it was work-

related.

Work stuff, he's got under control; he wouldn't look so grim over that.

But on the surface, Sophia still flashed a smile at Theresa and gently reassured her, "Daddy's just got swork stuff to sort out."

"Okay." Theresa didn't really get the whole work thing; her main concern was, "So, Dad's gonna be back tonight, right?"

Sophia wondered where this worry was coming from and with a smile, she soothed her, "Of course. Daddy will be back to hang out

with Theresa after he's done with work."

Kent chimed in with a grin, trying to put her at ease, "Daddy's just busy with work, Theresa. He'll totally cback to see you

after."

With the reassurance from both of them, Theresa's worries faded away and she got a little bashful, snuggling up to Sophia in a

clingy way.

"How about we head hfor a nap?" Sophia turned to Theresa, who was cuddled up in her neck, and whispered the suggestion.

Theresa had her afternoon nap, and her office didn't have a couch or anything for resting, so it wasn't convenient to keep her

around.

Brandon had mentioned something about this, and Kent quickly jumped in, "We could let Theresa crash at Mr. Crawley's office; he's

got a resting room there."

"Thanks, Kent. It's okay." Sophia gently declined in a low voice, "We don't know when Brandon will be back, and the kiddo will just

be waiting for her dad, getting her hopes up. If Brandon can't make it, she'll be bummed. Plus, knowing his kid is waiting, Brandon

won't be able to focus on his stuff. I'll just take her hto rest."

Kent hadn't thought about that at all. He was kinda impressed by how thoughtful and thorough Sophia was.

"Alrighty. I'll give you guys a lift home," said Kent.

Sophia nodded, "That'd be a big help, Kent."

Kent chuckled, "It’s really nothing, Ms. Yearwood."

As he turned to leave, something seemed to hit him, and he sheepishly asked Sophia, "Any cooking going on at your place?"

Sophia was a bit flustered by the question, "Nope, why?"

"No biggie." Kent was a tad embarrassed, "Mind waiting a sec while | grab stakeout?"

"Sure thing," Sophia nodded.

Kent was quick with the food run and was back in no time. He drove Sophia, Theresa, and Grace back home.

When the car pulled up in front of the apartment building, instead of saying a quick goodbye to Sophia as he usually did, or just

waiting in the car, he walked up with them.

Getting out of the car, Kent casually brought the takeout with him.

Sophia got the gist and chuckled, "Is that lunch for Susan?"

Kent seemed a bit shy and just laughed, not saying anything.

Sophia kept it cool and didn't press any further, but Theresa couldn't help it, cooing, "My godmommy doesn't work. She sleeps till

the afternoon.”

Sophia quickly covered for Susan, "That's just once in a while. She's probably up by now."

As she said this, Sophia pressed the elevator button for the 18th floor and told Kent, "Susan's still on the 18th floor. If it's no

trouble, you could take it up to her. Thanks, Kent."

"No worries," Kent replied with a smile.

Sophia first took Theresa back to their 15th-floor apartment to tuck her in for a nap.

She figured Kent would take a while, but to her surprise, he was back downstairs in less than ten minutes, hands empty.

"That was quick," Sophia said, a bit taken aback.

"Just dropped off the lunch." Kent said, "Won't take long."

Sophia thought to herself, typical of someone who worked with Brandon.

"Ms. Yearwood, heading back to the office? I'll give you a ride," Kent offered.

Sophia nodded, "That'd be great."

She couldn't resist giving him a little nudge, "Kent, Susan's been having a tough tfinding a job she likes since she got back to

the country. You know West district better, and you're clued up on the industry. If you have time, keep an eye out for a good fit for

her, maybe offer sadvice."

This was right up Kent's alley. He was perfectly suited for the job.

Kent gave a smile, "Sure thing, I'll keep an eye out."

Sophia smiled back, leaving it at that.

Back in the car, she shot Brandon a message, "I've taken Theresa hfor her nap. Don't worry about her."

Brandon was at the hospital when he got the message, and he simply replied with an "Okay".

The call earlier was from Marian.

Daniel had a cerebral hemorrhage out of the blue and was now in the ER.

When Brandon and Don arrived at the hospital, Patricia was already there waiting, sitting outside the operating room, her eyes red

and swollen with tears.

Sof the Frost family were there too, Louis Frost, Yolanda's parents Gerald and Rachel Frost, Martin and Marian were there, and

Yvonne had hurried over. Other relatives from the Crawley family were also present.

A whole bunch of people, standing or sitting, were waiting anxiously and worriedly.

Martin was the first to spot Brandon coming in, gave him a silent look, but didn't say a word.

Patricia spotted him too and quickly stood up, giving Brandon a look that was full of silent reproach, like she was pissed but didn't

dare to say a word.

Louis was the eldest of the bunch, carrying the most clout. When he caught sight of Brandon coming over, he couldn't help but let

out a frustrated sigh and said to Brandon, "Brandon, what's with you? How could you get your dad so riled up? If anything

happened to him."

He trailed off, just letting out a heavy sigh.

The others threw shade at Brandon with their looks, their eyes practically lobbing silent accusations.

Don couldn't help but frown and asked, "What's the deal?"

"Mr. Crawley got into a scrap with Chairman Crawley." Marian chimed in hesitantly, "The Chairman might've lost his cool a bit,

suddenly got this killer headache, and | rushed him to the hospital. He was in a bad way halfway there, and the docs say it's a

cerebral hemorrhage."

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