The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Nope, not Daddy." Sophia gently said as she looked down, "It's the granny we bumped into at the park last time."

Theresa's face, which had been lit up with anticipation, dimmed instantaneously, and she let out a resigned "Okay".

Sophia patted her head, "How about we wait for Dad to finish up with work?"

Theresa nodded, "Alright."

Without any prodding from Sophia, she pulled the covers back over herself and lay down again.

Sophia tucked her in before picking up her phone to answer the video call.

As soon as the call connected, Renata's warm and smiling face filled the smartphone screen, "Hey, Sophia, it's Renata," cthe

cheerful voice through the call.

Sophia couldn't help but smile back, responding with a friendly, "Hey, Mrs. Frost."

"Have you had dinner yet, Sophia?" Renata asked with a grin.

"Yeah, I've eaten." Sophia nodded, "What about you? Have you eaten?"

"I sure have, sure have." Renata chuckled, before she couldn't resist praising Sophia, "You know, the design for the manor you did

for me, | saw it and | love it."

Sophia was caught off guard, "Did Mr. Dempsey deliver the designs to you?"

She had asked Don to pass her design drawing to Renata in a scheduled farewell email she sent before leaving.

Originally, she had planned to deliver the designs to Renata herself, but then Brandon found out about Theresa, and she wanted to

leave with Theresa as soon as possible. There was no tto meet with Renata, so on the day they left, she sent a timed email to

Don, both to formally apologize for the abrupt departure and to clarify the handover of work, and also to ask him to deliver her

design to Renata.

She had also sent an email to apologize to Brandon.

However, those emails were set to be sent after she settled down in the new city that evening.

But since she didn't end up leaving yesterday, and was in such a bad place mentally, she hadn't thought to retract the emails.

This afternoon at the office, Don didn't mention anything about it, so she had forgotten to check if the email was sent successfully.

Now that Renata was bringing it up, Sophia suddenly remembered the scheduled email and was surprised at Don's efficiency.

He hadn't mentioned anything about it to her this afternoon.

Renata seemed a bit confused herself, "Mr. Dempsey? What Mr. Dempsey?"

Louis, sitting beside Renata, guessed Sophia had misunderstood and quickly explained with a laugh, "She's got her wires crossed

again, mixing you up with Yoli. Don't take it to heart."

Sophia then remembered how Renata always confused her with Yolanda and felt a bit awkward, "It's okay. | get it."

Thinking back to the manor design Renata mentioned, she couldn't help but ask with a hint of hesitation, "Mr. Frost, what did she

mean by the design for the manor just now?"

"Oh, remember | told you we were looking for a manor? We hadn't found a designer, and Yoli was working on it for us. She gave us

the design today, and both Renata and | love it." Louis explained, "She heardsaying it was Yoli's design, assumed it was you,

and called you up. Sorry for bothering you."

"No problem."

Sophia's smile was still a bit awkward. She was aware that Marian was designing a manor for the elderly couple, but when Martin

approached her, he had said that Louis and Renata were not satisfied with her style, which was why he thought of asking for her

help. Now that she heard Marian's work had been well-received, she was happy for the couple but also felt a twinge of regret that

her own design hadn't had the chance to be presented.

She had been thinking if Don hadn't seen the email, she might find a chance to deliver it to Renata personally in the next few days.

She hadn't expected them to necessarily like it or use it, it was just a token of her affection.

But now that the couple had already found a design they liked, it didn't seem appropriate to offer hers.

"Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Frost," Sophia pushed aside her slight disappointment and genuinely expressed her happiness for them.

However, Renata, a half beat behind, turned to Louis with dissatisfaction, "Nonsense, that was my Yoli who gave it to me."

Sophia felt even more awkward and quickly tried to clarify for Renata, "Mrs. Frost, the gift is from Yoli, not me. I've been swamped

at work these past few days and haven't had the chance to visit you yet; you must've forgotten."

Renata looked puzzled and turned to Louis, "Louis, the design you showedwasn't from Yoli?"

"It was from Yoli," Louis patiently explained, although the “Yoli” he was referring to and the one Renata was thinking of were not

the sperson. Renata, whose mind was muddled, failed to catch the nuances and happily turned back to Sophia, "See, Yoli,

Louis says it was your work."

Sophia looked helplessly towards Louis.

Louis gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about it. She's just a little confused. | understand, you don't need to feel bad."

Sophia smiled back, "Okay."

Checking the time, she said her goodbyes, "Mr. and Mrs. Frost, it's getting late. | won't keep you any longer."

"Alright, alright." Louis politely bid her farewell, "We'll catch up another time."

As he was about to hang up, Renata hurried to grab the phone, "But I'm not done talking to my Yoli."

"Mrs. Frost, it's really late. Why don't you go to sleep and we can chat another day?" Sophia coaxed patiently.

The elderly woman seemed a little saddened but nodded, "Then you should also get srest early."

After a few more words of general concern, Renata finally ended the call.

Sophia held the phone in her hand and let out a long sigh before turning to look at Theresa, who had fallen asleep, deep in

slumber.

Sophia tiptoed out of bed, gently pulled open the bedroom door and stepped out. In a hushed tone, she whispered to Grace, who

was bustling around the living room, "Grace, Theresa's catching sZ's. Can you keep an eye on her? I'm gonna pop over to the

stunext door."

"Sure thing," Grace nodded.

Sophia grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

As she opened the door, the elevator across the hall dinged open, and Brandon's tall figure emerged.

Sophia's steps faltered briefly as she looked up at Brandon.

Brandon glanced her way, his handsface weary and composed, with a trace of exhaustion. Sophia was a bit lost for words.

"Back already?" She asked softly.

Brandon nodded, "Yeah."

His gaze lingered on the keys in her hand, and then shifted back to her face, "Heading to crash at the place next door again?"

Sophia shook her head, "Nope. Just gotta tackle swork stuff."

Brandon just nodded, no reply.

Noticing his tired expression, Sophia hesitated before softly asking, "Had dinner?"

Brandon replied, "Not yet."

"How 'bout | whip up spasta for you?" Sophia offered gently, "We didn't really cook much tonight."

Brandon nodded in agreement, "Sounds good."

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