The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Why the sudden interest in checking this out?" Kent frowned.

Brandon never asked for a dig without a reason, unless something was fishy.

His first thought was that Sophia was on her way out again, and his second thought was Susan too.

The possibility had him feeling a bit antsy for no good reason.

"Just do it," Brandon didn't elaborate, "Getthe results tonight."

With that, Brandon hung up.

He was still standing at Sophia's doorstep on the fifteenth floor, key in hand from when he had just left.

The corridors were eerily quiet and deserted at this late hour, a dim yellow light casting a lonely glow, making the darkness outside

the window seem even more profound.

Brandon let out a long sigh, didn't immediately go inside, but turned to look out the window instead.

The distant lights of countless homes were slowly succumbing to sleep, but the glow from the buildings and neon signs was still

there, dazzling as ever.

Brandon stood by the window, gazing at the distant lights, unmoving.

He had knocked on the door of the eighteenth floor earlier, but no one answered, and there were no lights on inside.

Whether they were away on vacation or something else, Brandon didn't know.

Sophia's lights were off too.

From where Brandon stood, he could see toward Sophia's master bedroom.

The window was dark.

Brandon glanced at the unlit window and then looked away.

He stood at the window for a while before he went inside.

Sophia's bedroom door was still shut tight - whether she had gone to sleep or something else, he didn't disturb her. Instead, he just

sat down on the living room sofa, grabbed a cushion, and lay down.

After several busy days, his body was tired too.

He dozed off quickly once he lay down and was woken up around midnight by a phone call.

It was Kent.

Brandon answered.

"I couldn't find any flight info for them," Kent said from the other end.

"Okay, got it," Brandon replied, his voice calm.

But Kent couldn't calm down, blurting out, "Ms. Yearwood and Susan aren't planning to take off again, are they?"

It seemed totally out of the blue.

He had been in touch with Susan these past few days, and she seemed perfectly normal.

Just yesterday, she had even taken him out for a meal to thank him for saving her.

Thinking of Susan's dinner invitation, Kent couldn't help but frown, "Susan askedout for dinner yesterday to thankfor the

other day. She isn't trying to settle her debts before leaving, is she?"

Brandon had little interest in these matters. "I don't know."

"I'm hanging up."

With that, Brandon ended the call.

He looked up at Sophia's room. The door was still closed.

Brandon had someone send over clothes and then went to freshen up in the bathroom.

He was staying at Sophia's place tonight, in the guest room.

Sophia didn't realize Brandon hadn't left until she got up in the morning.

She had been so exhausted last night that she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed, so she was stunned for a moment when she

saw Brandon bustling in the kitchen the next morning.

"You didn't go hlast night?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Brandon answered simply, looking at her, "I figured you were asleep, didn't want to wake you. The door wasn't double-

locked, and | didn't feel comfortable with you being alone."

Sophia gave a forced smile, "I did lock the master bedroom."

Brandon glanced at the door behind her, "That kind of door can be kicked open with one foot."

Sophia forced a laugh.

"Let's have breakfast first."

Brandon said, setting the prepared breakfast on the table.

The breakfast was delicate and plentiful.

Sophia glanced at the table, nodding slightly, her feelings a mix of conflict and complexity.

After breakfast, Brandon drove Sophia to the company.

"Let's have lunch together," he said, turning to her before she got out of the car.

"Maybe in the afternoon," Sophia replied while unbuckling her seatbelt, "I've got a busy morning with a project meeting with a

client. I don't know how long it will take, probably will have to make do with takeout."

Brandon nodded, "Don't overdo it."

Sophia also nodded, "Yeah, | know."

Saying that, she opened the door and got out.

Brandon accompanied her to the elevator.

When he got back to the office, he called Don, "SendSophia's work schedule for this week."

"Why do you need that?" Don was puzzled on the other end, "It's just a romance, no need to be so tight, right?"

After catching Sophia and Brandon kissing in the break room the day before, he figured they were dating.

Brandon didn't go into details. "Just send it."

"Alright, will do in a bit," Don said and hung up, then forwarded Sophia's work schedule for the week to Brandon.

Brandon glanced at it.

Sophia did indeed have a project coordination with a client that morning in her schedule, something that could definitely run over

time.

There didn't seem to be any issues.

Sophia's work and life seemed to be business as usual, carrying on in an orderly fashion.

Brandon exhaled, resting his chin on one hand, staring at Sophia's work schedule on the desk, occasionally glancing at his phone.

The paternity test results were due that morning.

He had sent it to a friend's hospital the day before, asking his friend to keep an eye on it and notify him the moment the results

cin.

But so far, Brandon hadn't received any calls or messages, and there were no updates on the hospital'seither.

For the first time, Brandon was feeling antsy, unable to focus on work all morning.

Kent, working in the next office, also felt Brandon's unusual restlessness.

Approaching noon, Brandon abruptly pushed away his keyboard, stood up, and walked out.

A busy Kent quickly followed suit, "Mr. Crawley, heading out for lunch?"

After a brief "Yeah," Kent hurried to catch up.

On the way down, Brandon took the staff elevator.

The elevator stopped at the seventeenth floor, and, coincidentally, he ran into Cindy, Don, and a few others heading out for lunch.

As usual, Sophia wasn't with them.

Brandon glanced at the group, then toward Sophia's office.

In the open-plan office, you could barely make out figures bustling about.

Don caught Brandon's glance and, with a chuckle, explained, "The client's still hounding Sophia about work. She won't be free

anytsoon."

Cindy chimed in, "Totally, the client's such a pain, sticking to the director like glue, even past lunchtime. The director askedto

grab slunch for her."

Brandon gave her a look but didn't say a word.

The elevator quickly reached the basement level.

The cafeteria was already forming a line at this hour.

Brandon didn't try to pull any strings for special treatment. He just queued up like everyone else, holding his phone and seeming a

bit distracted.

He was waiting for a call with the results of a paternity test.

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