The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Patricia had always been keen on patching things up with Brandon.

She was not like Daniel, who was Brandon's biological dad. No matter how tough Daniel acted, Brandon would always have a soft

spot for the old man because Daniel was his father, and he wouldn't want to push things too far.

But Patricia? She was just the stepmom, and it was not Daniel who was calling the shots in the house these days, so she didn't

have the guts to go toe-to-toe with Brandon.

So, in her eyes, playing Cupid between Brandon and Yolanda was the best way to mend fences with him.

Daniel, although ticked off by Brandon's shielding of Sophia, was still a dad at heart and secretly hoped his son would settle down

and start his own family.

With his fondness for Yolanda and the reassurance that she was from a family that was a good match for the Crawleys, Daniel was

on board with the idea of setting Brandon up with Yolanda.

They were on the spage about this.

Thanks to this mutual understanding, even after getting his feathers ruffled by Brandon, Daniel was soon calmed down by

Patricia's soothing words.

After that dinner with Louis, Daniel had been thinking about finding the right moment to bring it up with Brandon, but Sophia's

situation threw a wrench in the works and their relationship went stiff.

He couldn't find the perfect moment to broach the topic, nor could he swallow his pride and make the first move. He stewed in his

own juice for a few days, and finally, with a nudge from Patricia, agreed to enlist Don's help.

Right on cue, Don dropped by with Sophia's revised design proposal, and after wrapping up the work talk, he smoothly shifted the

conversation to Brandon.

"What's the deal with Brandon and Sophia now?" Patricia asked, sliding into the topic at just the right moment as they closed the

design folder.

Don, a bit stumped by the question, especially coming from Brandon's folks who were not exactly Sophia's biggest fans, just

chuckled politely, "I'm not too sure myself."

"Aren't you guys like brothers?" Daniel chimed in, "Doesn't he tell you anything?"

"Mr. Crawley, you know Brandon as well as | do," Don laughed, "He's not exactly the type to pour his heart out."

Daniel nodded, realizing the truth in that, then prodded further, "Has he been in touch with Yolanda?"

Caught off guard by the question, Don didn't have a clue. He had never heard a peep about Yolanda from Brandon.

Logically, finding Yolanda should have been a cause for celebration, but ever since she popped up, Brandon stopped mentioning

her and didn't seek her out anymore.

"I had dinner with Yolanda's grandpa the other day, and Yolanda's still flying solo. They've been childhood sweethearts, know each

other inside out, so her grandpa and | thought we'd give setting them up a shot," Daniel explained, looking at Don, "Brandon's

been ticked off withlately because of the Sophia thing, and we can't have a decent conversation. When you have a moment,

could you feel him out for me, see where he stands?"

Don was actually on the swavelength.

Seeing Brandon in this numb state, he was leaning towards the hope that he'd kickstart a new romance.

"I'll ask him about it," Don said, agreeing to the task without painting himself into a corner.

He was still mindful of Sophia's feelings, and before playing matchmaker, he wanted to chat with her to see what she really

thought about Brandon and whether there was any chance left.

He didn't want his matchmaking to be another blow to Sophia.

So, after leaving Daniel and Patricia's, Don seized the opportunity of the resort project getting the green light from the client to

officially kick off, and invited the whole office to a celebratory meal.

As the project's lead designer, Sophia was naturally expected to attend.

Don deliberately chose a villa party for the gathering, sas last time, where everyone got hands-on with the food prep.

This time, Don didn't give Brandon a heads-up.

At the party, people were already busy in groups, prepping ingredients.

Sophia was somewhat listlessly grilling meat off to the side.

She wasn't really into these kinds of shindigs, especially having just been to one a few days prior.

But Don insisted that as the lead designer, she was the guest of honor and couldn't be a no-show.

Sophia had no choice but to show up.

As she mindlessly tended to the grill, Don silently slid into the seat beside her.

"Are you not in the mood because Brandon's not here?" Don teased, reaching for a skewer of meat.

Sophia paused mid-grill and glanced at him, "Nope. It's just, Mr. Dempsey, your idea of organizing events is kind of running dry. We

just had a barbecue not long ago, and here we are again."

Don laughed, "It's all about getting folks to gel faster. Sitting stiffly at a table to eat, how's anyone gonna mingle?"

Sophia just smiled and didn't argue, the boss is always right after all.

Seeing that she didn't seem upset, Don hesitated for a moment before asking, "So, what's really going on between you and

Brandon, Sophia?"

She looked at him, slightly surprised.

Don chuckled, but then quickly turned serious, "lI might be your boss, but I've always considered you a friend. And Brandon? We've

been like brothers since we were kids. It would be awesif you two got together, but looking at you now, it doesn't seem like

it's happening."

"Is there really no chance between you and Brandon?" he inquired.

Sophia was silent for a moment before nodding, "We're not a good fit."

"Because of his parents?" Don probed, thinking of Daniel and Patricia's attitude toward Sophia and couldn't help shaking his head,

"They can be a bit... you know."

He struggled to find the right words and didn't want to badmouth anyone, especially since, compared to Sophia, he had known

Daniel and Patricia longer and was closer to the Crawley family.

Sophia just smiled, "Not entirely. | think the bigger issue is with me."

Don cracked a smile, went quiet for a bit, and then looked at her, "So, Brandon's parents and Yolanda's family are playing

matchmaker with those two, trying to pair them up. You clued into that?"

Sophia paused mid-barbecue, her eyelids dropped slightly, then she looked back at him, all cool and collected, "Mr. Dempsey, spit

it out. Whatever you're getting at, just lay it on me."

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

mMMwWLIIOfiflO&1