The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"What did the doctor say?" Brandon cut her off, glanced at the still-lit operating room, and asked.

"They're still trying to save him." Marian whispered, "It doesn't look good."

Don couldn't help but shoot Brandon a worried look.

Brandon slowly turned his gaze towards the operating room without another word, his handsface unreadable.

Patricia couldn't hold it together anymore, suddenly breaking down and grabbing Brandon's clothes, pounding on him, "What on

earth did your dad ever do to you? Why are you pushing him to the edge over a woman?"

Everyone couldn't help but turn their eyes to Brandon, their looks tinged with reproach.

Brandon just stood there, letting her push and shove him, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

Don and the others quickly stepped in to pull Patricia away.

Brandon finally looked at her, "Patricia, I'm really worried about my dad, but being the underdog doesn't always make you right. It's

like, this girl was just living her life, not bothering anyone, and you took it upon yourselves to bully her for fun. And when you hit a

snag and hurt yourselves, you turn around and blher for not just taking it. That's not how the world works. Please don't try to

muddy the waters."

Patricia was at a loss for words; all she could do was cry, her tears growing into deep sobs as she kept mumbling things like "I can't

go on if something happens to your dad."

Everyone quickly moved in to comfort her.

An older relative couldn't help but softly urge Brandon, "Brandon, your mom's just worried sick about your dad, and she spoke out

of turn. Cut her sslack, will ya?"

Brandon glanced at her but said nothing.

Patricia's crying slowly subsided with the others' consolation. The hallway was as silent as the grave. No one spoke, all anxiously

waiting.

Daniel typically didn't stand out much, but he was always generous and kind to those he deemed part of his world, which was why

he was pretty well-liked.

His snark was reserved only for those he looked down on.

Brandon also silently watched the closed doors of the operating room, his back lightly leaning against the wall, unmoving.

Don comforted him with a light pat on the shoulder, "Everything will be fine."

Brandon gave a slight nod but said nothing, rising to walk to the end of the corridor.

There was a window there. Brandon stood by the window, his back to everyone, his tall figure casting a forlorn silhouette against

the light and shadows.

Everyone glanced at him, but no one dared to approach.

Don, worried, walked over and stood beside Brandon, turning to look at him, "You alright?"

Brandon nodded slightly, still silent.

Don had no idea what was going through Brandon's mind. His deep-set, handsface was cast in an eerie silence he had never

seen before.

Don didn't know if Brandon was feeling guilty or just worried, or something else entirely. He also had no clue what exactly Brandon

had done to pressure Daniel, but from Marian and Patricia's conversation, it clearly involved Sophia.

Don felt a headache coming on; the whole situation was frustrating and exasperating. Not a clue of what kind of person Brandon's

father was, stubborn, acerbic, going his own way without listening to others’ kind advice, and would collapse for something cruel

and direct he couldn't handle.

He could somewhat understand why Brandon's granddad didn't want to deal with Daniel in the day.

Daniel was like a porcelain doll, couldn't take a hit or a scolding, didn't want to be coddled, so he was fated to be thrown out,

leaving him taking care of himself on his own.

Back then, Daniel was the son, and he still had sregard for his dad, not daring to cross the line.

Now it was his turn to be the dad, and without much to show for it, he was still trying to hold onto that authoritative dad image.

"This has nothing to do with you." Don assured him with a pat on the shoulder, speaking softly, "You don't have to blyourself."

Brandon's response was a barely perceptible nod.

"Don't tell Sophia about this," Brandon finally spoke after a long silence, his voice a bit hoarse.

Don nodded, "Yeah, don't worry."

After a long wait, the doors to the operating room finally opened as the evening lights began to shine.

"How's he doing?" Patricia rushed forward, anxiously asking.

Brandon also turned back to look at the doctor.

"The patient's surgery was relatively successful; we've stopped the bleeding, but the point of bleeding was deep. We have to be

vigilant for the possibility of secondary bleeding in the next twenty-four hours," the doctor explained.

"Is there still a risk to his life?" Patricia pressed, worried.

"It depends on how the hematoma in the patient's body is absorbed and whether there will be secondary bleeding." The doctor

replied, "The next twenty-four hours are critical."

"Okay, thank you, doctor," Brandon looked at Daniel being wheeled out of the operating room and quietly thanked the doctor.

"You're welcome."

The doctor said, following the other medical staff as they wheeled the patient away.

Daniel was taken to the intensive care unit. He looked deathly pale on the hospital bed, a stark contrast to his lively demeanor in

the office that morning.

As the others saw that Daniel had been taken to the ICU and his condition had stabilized somewhat, they took turns consoling

Patricia and Brandon before gradually leaving.

The Frost family were the last to leave.

Daniel had been full of vigor when he called Louis that morning, but now he was lying in the ICU, his fate uncertain. The situation

was quite a shock to Louis.

"You know, life really seems pointless sometimes. One second everything's fine, and the next, you could just drop dead."

Back in the car, Louis couldn't help but reflect.

"It's not about fate; it's his lovesick son who got him all worked up." Marian retorted, searching her bag for her phone and couldn't

resist a jab, "Who would've thought cold-as-ice Brandon would be so head over heels, pushing his own father over a woman.

Must've gone off the deep end. Family's what should be unbreakable in this world."

Martin, who was driving, glanced at her through the rearview mirror, "Don't judge if you don't know the whole story. Keep your

opinions on other people's business to yourself."

"I'm just stating the facts; that's all," Marian was not quite convinced.

Louis just couldn't stand to see Marian get a raw deal, so he couldn't help but call out Martin, "Dude, your sister was just voicing

her opinion; she didn't say anything out of line."

Martin clamed up and didn't say anything more.

Louis was clearly on Marian's side, "l also think Brandon stepped over the line this time. You know, ignore the old folks' advice and

you'll learn the hard way. When it comes to marriage, if the parents are against it, they've gotta have their reasons. At the end of

the day, they're just looking out for their kid."

"Grandpa's got it right." Marian jumped in immediately, "Even though | think Sophia's a pretty decent person, there's no smoke

without fire. There must be something off about her that Mr. and Mrs. Crawley don't like. But | gotta admit, she's clever for not

getting directly involved with the in-law and letting her ex step in. That way, if things go south, it doesn't fall back on her.

That's pretty smart, actually."

"This girl doesn't strikeas that calculating." Louis couldn't help but frown and said, "I've met her a couple of times and she

seems nice enough, pretty chill to hang out with."

"I was her classmate for two years, and | wouldn't dare say | know her." Marian muttered to herself as she digged through her bag

for her phone, "Where's my phone?"

Her bag was huge, stuffed with all sorts of clutter that she couldn't be bothered to tidy up regularly, including documents and stuff,

making it a real challenge to find anything.

She rummaged through quickly but couldn't find her phone, and started to panic a little, dumping out the larger items and

documents from her bag onto the empty seat next to her.

Louis, sitting beside her, watched as her things spilled out in a mess and couldn't help but say to her, "Why is your stuff such a hot

mess? Don't you ever tidy up?"

While saying this, he just couldn't resist helping her organize the pile of stuff she'd thrown out. Spotting a crumpled piece of paper,

he continued to scold her, "Can't even bring yourself to throw away a piece of paper; who are you taking after with that habit?"

With that, he picked up the piece of paper.

Marian, as if suddenly remembering something important, blurted out, "Don't throw that away."

Before she could finish her sentence, Louis had already unfolded the paper, and surprise and excitement instantly washed over his

normally composed face, his hands trembling slightly as he held the drawing.

Gerald, noticing something was off with Louis, called out with concern, "Dad?"

Martin, driving, also glanced back at him through the rearview mirror, "Grandpa?"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Louis turned the drawing towards Marian and asked her with a shaky voice, "Yoli, is this what you

designed for us?"

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

mMMwWLIIOfiflO&1