The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Sophia's hands were shaking as she pressed down on his fingers, "I got this."

She muttered under her breath, keeping her eyes and brows low without looking at him, cheeks slightly flushed.

Brandon glanced at her and gave a small nod, "Alright."

He turned off the hairdryer and handed it to her.

At that moment, the dryer buzzed with the sound that the cycle was done.

The bathrobe was made of ice silk appropriate for the season, light and soft, and it dried quickly.

Brandon went to fetch it and tossed her the women's robe and a towel, "Taking a hot shower might help you relax."

"Okay."

Sophia responded softly, taking the clothes he handed her and heading into the bathroom.

Brandon grabbed his phone and made a call to the front desk to order sroom service, then he rang up Kent to check on their

situation.

They had already found a vacancy in the hotel next door.

Only a double room was left.

The two big guys would have to suck it up and squeeze into one bed tonight.

Kent couldn't help but gripe about it.

And Don, standing right there, couldn't help but join in the gripe fest.

He hadn't shared a bed with another dude since he was an adult.

Kent jumped into the fray too.

Brandon let them bicker, dropping a "Y'all keep at it" before hanging up.

As he put his phone down, Sophia's phone, which was on the table, lit up too.

A video call cthrough from Susan.

Seeing the blinking "Susan" on the screen, Brandon zoned out for a second, his long finger moving towards Sophia's phone screen,

thinking of answering, but stopped just before touching it.

He turned to look at the firmly shut bathroom door.

The bathroom was made of frosted glass, not see-through, but you could make out the outline of the person inside through the

light and shadows.

Sophia obviously didn't realize there was no cover outside the glass.

The sound of water had stopped.

Sophia was wiping off the shower gel.

Through the light and shadows on the glass, Brandon could clearly make out Sophia's casual scrubbing.

Brandon very restrainedly averted his gaze.

The video call that hadn't been answered paused at the exact moment Brandon looked back, and the phone switched back to the

lock screen photo.

Brandon frowned.

Back at Sophia's place, Theresa shook her phone vigorously after it switched back to the chat interface and turned to Susan,

"Phone's broken."

Susan looked at Theresa puzzled, "Where's it broken? Should be fine, | was just using it."

Theresa, not quite grasping the whole spiel, repeated very seriously, "It's broken, Mommy can't get through."

Then she picked up the phone and started banging it against the coffee table, shocking Susan into a flying leap to rescue the

phone from her grasp.

“Oh my god, if you smash the phone, it's really gonna be broken.”

Theresa, confused, pointed at Grace, "When Aunt Grace's phone is broken, like this, smash, and then it works."

Saying so, she moved to grab Susan's phone again.

"That's a bad example. Don't believe what Aunt Grace says." Susan comforted her, "Your mommy is working and will call you back

later."

Theresa let out an uncertain "Oh," her big eyes still glued to Susan's phone, seemingly not quite buying what Susan said.

Susan felt a weird guilt under her gaze and handed her the phone.

"Don't you believe me? Try calling again."

"Oh."

Theresa took the phone, still half in doubt, and her chubby little fingers pressed the video call button again.

When Sophia's phone rang again, Brandon picked it up and walked toward the bathroom, knocking on the door, "Call for you."

Sophia had just slipped into the bathrobe and was facing the mirror awkwardly.

The light fabric of the bathrobe clung to her body as soon as she put it on, accentuating every curve.

The neckline was also a bit of a sexy deep-V design, even tied up, it would gape open with the slightest movement.

Sophia had never worn such close-fitting soft fabric in front of Brandon when they were married, and now.

As Sophia was fumbling in front of the mirror, Brandon's voice cfrom outside the door.

"Who's it?"

She asked instinctively.

"Susan."

Sophia kept silent.

Her hand, which was on the neckline of the robe, paused, hesitating.

"Theresa, do you like him?"

"Yes."

"Theresa, do you want a daddy?"

The memory of Theresa and Brandon returning from grabbing toys floated effortlessly into her mind.

The delight and dependence in her eyes were unmistakable.

Young as she was, Theresa didn't know what a daddy meant, but when Anna showed affection towards Brandon in the video,

Theresa, forced to step aside, looked almost tearful, like a little lamb left behind.

Sophia wanted to say, "Just take it for me," but the words wouldn't cout, and her heart was pounding with the decision.

The words Yvonne had said to her on the way hthat day still seemed to ring in her ears.

"If it really is your brother's kid, how do your parents plan to handle it?"

"Probably by giving a lump sum of money to the kid's mom, asking her to take the child and vanish, pretending the kid doesn't

exist. But my brother would never agree to that; he might not care for the child's mother, but he would never give up on his kid -

after all, it's his own child, so | guess in the end they might pay off the kid's mom and take the child back."

Sophia knew this was something Daniel and Patricia could do, and something Brandon could do too.

And in the end, it would surely be settled by a superficial compromise from Daniel and Patricia, what they did behind closed doors

Sophia didn't know.

But from her experience dealing with them over the past couple of years, in their eyes, her life was as cheap as a bug's, let alone

her daughter's.

And Brandon's stance only boiled down to two outcomes. Either he insisted on remarrying, giving Theresa a complete family and

dragging Sophia's life back into the oppression of two years ago; or he wanted Theresa.

Either way was too much for Sophia to accept.

Sophia's hands trembled slightly as they rested on her clothes, her heart racing like there's no tomorrow.

Brandon hadn't heard back from Sophia and his knocks on the door grew more urgent. "Sophia?"

As his voice faded, he was already pushing the bathroom door open, his phone totally forgotten.

Sophia, on autopilot, grabbed a towel to drape over her shoulders and turned her back, using it to hide her inner turmoil. "I'm

okay."

Her hands fiddled with the clothes beside her, half-heartedly tidying them up.

"Sorry."

Brandon, ever the gentleman, also turned his back, placing her phone on the washstand.

"It's Susan."

With that, he walked out of the bathroom.

Sophia watched his retreating figure, her emotions becoming even more tangled.

"Thanks."

She whispered her thanks.

"Don't mention it."

Brandon's reply was cool and collected.

Right then, the doorbell rang.

"Dinner's here, let's eat first."

Brandon said, heading to the door.

Sophia gave a soft "Mhm," tightening the towel around her and rinsing her damp clothes under the tap before tossing them into

the dryer on the balcony.

Her phone started ringing again after the previous call.

Theresa was doggedly checking if Susan's phone was busted, clutching it tightly in her tiny hands, her big, round eyes full of

confusion as she stared at the screen, ready to slam it on the table at any moment for confirmation.

Susan watched her and the phone in her hands nervously, worried that if Sophia didn't pick up, Theresa would smash it down to

prove a point.

Sophia had already texted Susan earlier about not being able to return that night due to the hurricane, but Susan didn't know she

was staying with Brandon.

Susan only knew that Sophia had gone on a short trip with her boss, and this was the usual tthey had agreed upon for phone

calls. In her mind, there was no way Sophia could be in the sroom as Don at this hour.

The ringing phone made Brandon glance at Sophia.

"Why aren't you answering the call?"

He asked, while setting the hotel-delivered meal neatly on the coffee table.

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