The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Sorry, the number you're calling is currently busy. Please try again later."

The chilling voice of an automated customer service rep echoed from the phone.

Theresa frowned in confusion, then earnestly spoke to the voice on the other end, "Hello, | want to find HandsUnkie."

"Sorry, The number you have dialed is busy now." The voice on the phone had now switched to an icy male tone.

Theresa was a bit lost, she didn’t understand why she couldnt reach HandsUnkie. Her grip tightened nervously around the

phone as she repeated with gravity, "Hello, | want to find, HandsUnkie."

But all she got in response was the robotic switching of male and female voices.

Theresa's anxiety was growing, and she couldn't help but bite her lip, reluctant to give up. As she opened her mouth to try again,

the call was abruptly ended.

The receiver fell silent after a few "beep beep" busy tones.

Theresa took a look at her phone, which had reverted to the screensaver.

HandsUnkie wasn't picking up her calls, and she was a tad upset, pouting at her phone in silence.

Grace was cleaning up. She turned her head and saw Theresa pouting unhappily, and asked in confusion, "What's up, Theresa? Did

HandsUnkie not pick up your call?"

Theresa nodded gloomily, "There's an auntie talking, | said I'm looking for HandsUnkie, she didn't listen to me."

Grace didn’t know what to say.

That sounded like someone else's family business.

Not knowing the full situation and not daring to let Theresa call again and possibly cause a misunderstanding, Grace suggested,

"Maybe he is busy right now. Let's stop calling, okay?"

Theresa hesitated, then nodded unhappily, "Okay."

She then silently handed her phone to Grace.

Seeing her downcast, Grace patted her on the head, "Alright, let's go to bed, shall we?"

The little girl had no objections, hesitantly glanced at her phone, and took her little pillow back to her room.

Brandon was driving, ready to arrive at Sophia's place, calling Sophia.

After a brief ring, the call was picked up.

"Where are you now?" Brandon asked.

Sophia, just having stepped out of her building, was a bit perplexed by his call, "At home. What's up?"

"Cdownstairs," said Brandon, "I'm entering your complex."

Sophia instinctively turned to look towards the driveway.

The familiar black sedan was slowly making its way through the gate, heading towards her.

Brandon also spotted Sophia standing at the building entrance. He rolled down the window and gradually pressed the brakes.

The car stopped at the point on the driveway nearest to Sophia.

Brandon got out and approached her.

Sophia watched him, slightly stunned.

On a non-workday, he wasn't dressed in his usual suit, but in a simple white shirt paired with black trousers, which accentuated his

tall, striking figure.

"Why did you cover?" Sophia asked softly as he ccloser.

"I heard you were hurt." Brandon's gaze fell on the bruise on her forehead, his brows furrowing, "Why didn't you go to the

hospital?"

Sophia replied, "I don't feel unwell, so | didn't think it was worth wasting tat the hospital."

"It's your head you hit, not your elbow or knee that just needs a few days to heal up," Brandon said, his brows now knotted tightly.

"What if there's sinternal damage?"

Without waiting for her response, he reached out for her, "Let's go, I'll take you."

Sophia glanced at him, but before she could respond, he continued, "Don't worry, it won't take up much of my time."

He stepped forward, took her by the hand, and said, "We'll get a scan at the hospital just to be safe."

With that, he ushered her into the car and followed suit, and the car swiftly exited the area.

Brandon took Sophia to the nearest hospital and directly to the emergency department.

After a consultation, the doctor arranged for a CT scan and an MRI of the brain.

The results cback quickly, thankfully showing no internal bleeding, but there was a significant hematoma under the skin, and

the area that had been hit was swelling into a large bump, also showing bruising.

The doctor treated her simply and advised to go home, observe, and continue with cold compresses.

"How did you end up running off to Zion City?"

Back in the car, as Brandon buckled his seatbelt, he turned to Sophia and asked.

"There was a concert in Zion City last night. Susan wanted to go see it, so | accompanied her," Sophia said softly. "We planned to

head back after lunch today, but then we ran into Susan's brother in the parking garage."

Brandon frowned, "What's the deal with her and her brother? How did that spill over to you?"

"Susan's brother had a girlfriend a few years ago and when it cto marriage talks, his family couldn't afford a house. They were

hoping to marry off Susan and get smoney in return. Two years ago, a guy with a decent family background took a fancy to

Susan. His family owns a small factory, not too shabby in the county, and they offered a hefty gift. But the guy himself was pretty

average, only finished middle school, and like Susan's brother, he hung out in nightclubs all day without any real prospects, just

throwing around his family's money. Susan didn’t like him, and she turned down the marriage proposal. But the guy's family saw

Susan as highly educated, tall, attractive, and capable at work, hoping she could help manage their business after marriage, so

they kept upping the offer to Susan's family, hoping to seal the deal. Susan's parents have always favored their son over Susan,

and in their view, marrying into such a family would be a stroke of luck for Susan. Her brother saw it as a chance to leech off a

wealthy in-law, so the whole family kept pressuring her, even causing a scene at her company. She was scared and disappointed,

so she left West district without goodbye, cutting off contact with her family for two years. Her brother had promised his girlfriend a

wedding gift and a house for their wedding, but when that fell through because of Susan running off, the girlfriend thought she was

being deceived and dumped him. So he's been stewing over this for ages, blaming Susan for everything. Looks like he was sitting

on two years' worth of rage and just lost it when he bumped into her today. | got caught in the crossfire trying to play peacemaker.”

Brandon glanced at her, his gaze lingering on the bruise on her forehead before he said softly, "Next tyou play the hero, make

sure you're safe first."

Sophia nodded slightly and looked at him, "How did you know | went to Zion City?"

"Kent gavea call," Brandon said, checking the traffic as the car took a right turn.

"I'm gonna take you back to my place first. I'll whip up something tonight to help with the swelling."

Sophia glanced outside; the car was heading in the opposite direction from her home.

"I can make it hjust fine," she said quietly.

"How're you planning to get hlooking like that?" Brandon eyed the lump on her forehead.

Sophia was unsure if there was a hidden meaning in his words and she gave him a look.

"I don't feel good about you being halone," he said. "I've got work tonight and can't stick around at your place, so it's easier

forto keep an eye on you if you're at mine."

Sophia started, "It's okay, | can ask Susan to cover."

"She's barely keeping herself together, let alone look after you," Brandon cut her off. "No need to argue withor feel bad about

it. Consider it making up for the last couple of years | wasn't there for you."

Sophia pursed her lips and fell silent.

"Thanks, then," she finally said softly.

"No problem," Brandon replied. Sophia didn't say much after that.

Susan called midway to check up on her. Learning that Sophia had already been to the hospital, she finally felt at ease.

Soon, the car pulled up outside the Crawley family's building.

Brandon picked up shealth supplements on the way.

"Go catch get srest," he said when they got back.

Sophia nodded lightly, "Yeah."

She was still feeling a little dizzy from the aftereffects of the collision and all the running around.

"Ill crash in the guest room," she said, pointing to a door.

Brandon glanced at the guest room, "It's just for show; the bed's not even made. Sleep in the master bedroom."

Sophia was speechless.

The master bedroom had Brandon's bed, and she felt awkward, especially considering the last tshe was there, things got a bit

out of hand.

Not to mention the sofa wasn't really an option either - they had a history there as well.

Seeing the faint embarrassment on Sophia's face, Brandon coughed lightly, "The sheets are clean.”

Sophia was even more embarrassed.

"Alright then," she finally managed to say, overcoming the awkwardness.

Brandon nodded, opening the door to the master bedroom with her, "Holler if you need anything."

Sophia nodded lightly, "Yeah."

"There's a set of lower pillows and pillowcases in the wardrobe if you're not into high pillows," he reminded her. "The bedding is still

the sas before, in the lower cabinet."

Sophia nodded, "Okay."

"Help yourself to anything you need or just ask. The layout here is the sas our old master bedroom," Brandon told her. "You

don't need to feel awkward."

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