The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Mr. Crawley!"

Grace was scared out of her wits, hastily reaching out to steady him, but before her hand even touched his arm, Brandon brushed

her off.

He leaned against the wall, the hand holding the phone pressed tightly against his chest. But he didn't switch off the phone;

instead, he masochistically reread Sophia's letter.

Grace saw the fresh blood on the corner of his mouth and the droplets slowly falling to the floor. She got all flustered and fumbled

out her phone to call Kent.

"Kent, it's bad, really bad. Mr. Crawley just...he suddenly coughed up a ton of blood. You need to cquick."

She was stumbling over her words, completely incoherent.

Kent had just gotten hand barely stepped through the door when Grace's call cthrough with the news that Brandon had

coughed up blood. It shocked him so much he spun around, grabbed the car keys he'd just put down, and hurried out the door,

peppering Grace with questions, "I'm on my way now. How's Mr. Crawley doing? Did you call an ambulance?"

"Not yet. Should we call one?" Grace was so panicked she could hardly think straight, instinctively turning to Brandon who was still

propped up against the wall with one hand, pressing his chest with the other, fixated on Sophia's message on his phone.

"Switch to video call," Kent instructed calmly.

"Okay."

Grace, shaking all over, managed to switch to video mode and turned the camera towards Brandon.

"Brandon, Brandon?"

Kent called out Brandon's nurgently, "Are you okay?"

But there was no response. Brandon seemed oblivious, his body sagging against the wall, his eyes still unblinkingly fixed on the

letter Sophia had left behind.

The phone screen was small, and Kent couldn't make out the content of the letter. He shouted at Brandon, trying to snap him out

of it, "Brandon, think about Theresa. What's she going to do if you go down too?"

Still, Brandon didn't react. Kent could only see the blood that hadn't been wiped from his mouth continuing to drip onto the floor, a

harrowing sight.

Kent had no choice but to turn back to Grace, "Grace, call an ambulance now. Make sure he's okay, and if anything seems off, get

in touch with a doctor immediately."

"Alright, got it."

Grace, her hands still trembling, hung up and hurriedly went to call an ambulance. Before she could finish, she saw Brandon's tall

frslide powerlessly to the ground.

"Mr. Crawley!"

Theresa suddenly woke from her sleep, clutching the teddy bear Sophia had given her, slid off the bed, and walked towards the

door.

Kent was halfway there when he got another call from Grace telling him that Brandon had been taken to the hospital.

Kent immediately rerouted to the hospital and upon arrival, he saw Brandon being wheeled into the emergency room, who was still

clutching Sophia's phone in his hand despite already in a coma.

Theresa had also cto the hospital, holding the teddy bear Sophia gave her tightly, her hair disheveled, her eyes wide open and

lost.

Kent felt a pang of sorrow as he approached and squatted down to gently hug her, whispering in her ear, "Don't be scared,

Theresa. Daddy's going to be okay."

Theresa just stared at him blankly, silent.

The emergency room doors that had closed were pulled open, and the doctor cout, "Who is the patient's family?"

Kent quickly stood up, "That's me."

"How long has the patient not slept?" The doctor asked.

Kent shook his head blankly.

"The patient appears to have collapsed due to excessive physical strain and emotional stress, which can be understood as a form

of self-protection triggered by the body." The doctor explained, looking down to issue medical charges, "We've ruled out cardiac

issues for the spitting blood. It seems to be a gastrointestinal problem for now; we'll need further endoscopy to confirm."

As speaking, the doctor handed the receipt to Kent and went back to arrange the examination.

The endoscopy results cout quickly, indicating that excessive grief had caused an overstimulation of the sympathetic nerves,

leading to a stress response in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in acute damage to the mucosal protection, rupturing blood

vessels, and causing bleeding.

In plain language, it was grief-induced vomiting blood.

After listening to the doctor's explanation, Kent remained silent for a long moment but still politely thanked the doctor.

Brandon was admitted to a hospital room. He had a very long dream.

In the dream, he went back to the year when he reunited with Sophia at the class reunion. They got married, moved in together,

and he started to leave work on tevery day to spend twith her, cook together, and visit her family. He was her rock, telling

her, "I love you," and then he saw a light in her eyes that had never been there before. His heart ached to kiss her, but before his

lips could touch hers, she faded like vanishing starlight, dissipating into thin air right before his eyes.

Brandon opened his eyes in a daze.

Kent, worried, crowded around him. "Mr. Crawley," he called out softly.

Brandon's eyes, slightly unfocused, slowly met his.

"Where's Sophia?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

Kent just looked at him worriedly, hesitating to speak.

Brandon, still groggy from the anesthesia, struggled to distinguish between reality and the muddle of his dream. He threw back the

covers, bracing himself to sit up, but halfway through, he saw Theresa standing at the doorway of the hospital room.

Theresa, who had somehow found herself at the door, was clutching the teddy bear Sophia had given her, her disheveled hair a bit

messy, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.

His foggy brain finally began to clear.

There was no Sophia here, nor was there a version of him that would tell her "| love you" and light up her eyes. Her phone still held

the unrequited love and regrets.

As the lump in his throat rose again, Brandon softly called out, "Theresa" and reached out his hand to her.

Theresa didn't budge, her gaze lingered on the IV needle in his hand, then slowly drifted towards the corner of his mouth. Out of

the blue, her lips puckered, and her eyes instantly reddened. The tears started cascading down like nobody's business, as if she

was totally freaked out.

"She just cout of the room and saw the blood on the corner of your mouth." Grace quickly jumped in, her voice full of

sympathy, "She's been staring blankly, hasn't said a peep."

Brandon's voice caught in his throat. He walked over to her, squatted down in front of her, and gently wrapped her in his arms,

softly consoling, "I'm sorry. Daddy didn't mean to scare Theresa. Daddy's okay, no more tears, alright?"

But Theresa only cried louder; her little hands clung to his arm desperately, shaking her head and crying nonstop, gasping for air,

just like those couple of days before Sophia's accident.

She was scared, scared to lose him just like she was scared of losing her mom back then.

Brandon's heart was in turmoil, pain and guilt swirling inside. Without a word, he held Theresa close, hugging her tight, and

murmured reassurances into her ear, "Don't be scared. Daddy's right here."

Yet Theresa kept crying, her little hands gripping his shirt tightly, refusing to let go, too scared to let go.

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