The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Barbara?"

Sophia called out somewhat uncertainly, taken aback by the encounter. She hadn't expected to bump into Barbara here.

Barbara was her brother Aaron's better half.

Ever since Sophia split from the family over two years ago, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Barbara or her niece, Betty, not even a

message.

Barbara and Aaron were both six years older than Sophia, high school sweethearts since their sophomore year, while Sophia was

just a sixth grader.

Their romance was on the down low, away from the prying eyes of their folks, so naturally, there were no family meet and greets.

Aaron was never one to roll out the welcmat for Sophia, and didn't go out of his way to introduce her to Barbara.

It wasn't until Sophia's freshman spring semester in college that she got wind of Barbara's existence, right when college grads

Aaron and Barbara made it official and tied the knot.

Sophia was MIA at their wedding. No invite cher way.

Later that year, when she headed hfor the Christmas, Barbara had already whisked Aaron off to her folks' place, so their paths

didn't cross.

In the following years, aside from few times during Christmas when Sophia went back to see her parents, her hvisits were few

and far between, what with the cool family vibes and the hustle of putting herself through college. So, running into Barbara was

rare as hen's teeth.

It wasn't until Sophia graduated, married Brandon, and moved to West district that she and Barbara had a proper face-to-face. But

since they hardly crossed paths and there was nothing much to chat about in private, they never bothered to connect. Family

matters were just a shout away in the family chat group.

Over two years ago, after Sophia hit up Laura and Aaron to reclaim the cash they shook down from Brandon, Laura, in a fit of

pique, booted her from the family group chat, and along with Aaron, they gave her the Whatchop. Just like that, Sophia's ties

with the fam were snipped.

Contact with Barbara fizzled out too.

Sophia never imagined she'd bump into Barbara like this.

Betty, now over four years old and nestled in Barbara's arms, hadn't laid eyes on Sophia in over two years and barely recognized

her, staring with wide-eyed curiosity and confusion.

Theresa, too, gazed with her doe eyes, puzzled at the woman who affectionately called her mom by her first name.

Barbara, finally noticing the little one in her arms, turned to Sophia with a start, "And this is?"

Sophia was at a loss for words. She had kept mum about Theresa even to her own family, not even a peep to Haley.

It wasn't for fear of losing face for being a single mom. She simply dreaded the thought of them sniffing out that Theresa was a

Crawley kid and using it to blackmail the Crawley family or stir up trouble.

That was right up Laura and Aaron's alley.

Seeing Sophia's reluctance, Barbara, a tad embarrassed, swiftly changed the subject with a chuckle, "When did you get back? It's

been ages."

"Just cback over summer break."

Sophia replied, not sure if Aaron was lurking nearby. Keen to avoid a run-in, she quickly apologized to Barbara, "My friend's waiting

inside for us, so we better head in. We'll catch up sother time."

"Sure thing." Barbara said with a parting smile, and then coaxed Betty, "Say bye-bye to Auntie."

That "auntie" tugged at Sophia's heartstrings. She waved to Betty, "Bye, Betty."

Betty, shy and not quite recognizing Sophia, just gazed with her big eyes, silent.

Feeling awkward, Barbara nudged, "Don't you remember Auntie? This is Auntie Sophia, say bye-bye."

Prodded by her mom, the little girl hesitantly waved but remained mute, still puzzled over Sophia's identity.

Sophia didn't sweat it, waved goodbye, and coaxed Theresa to wave too. Theresa obligingly fluttered her hand, "Bye."

Barbara returned the wave with a smile, clueless about Theresa's relationship with Sophia. Not wanting to pry, she watched Sophia

walk away before answering her phone.

"Where are you guys?" Aaron's voice was tinged with impatience on the other end, "Didn't | tell you to wait in the parking lot?"

"The parking lot is grubby and stuffy. Betty and | are by the main entrance. Hurry up."

Barbara retorted, clearly annoyed, and hung up without another word.

Aaron, left hanging, was ticked off, his temper flaring with nowhere to vent. His can of iced tea was empty, and in a spur of the

moment, he chucked the can into the air and punted it away with a kick.

Brandon, just stepping out of his car, caught sight of a red can flying his way. Dodging instinctively, his hand shot up and caught

the can mid-flight.

Aaron, looking up, was dumbstruck.

"B-Brandon?" Even his greeting cout shaky and uncertain.

Brandon, recognizing Aaron, frowned slightly.

Embarrassed, Aaron quickly took back the can from Brandon's hand, trying to explain his way out of the faux pas, "I thought the

garage was empty, just wanted to kick it around. It didn't hit you, did it?"

"No."

Brandon's response was cool and brief as he turned to leave.

Aaron scurried after him, his mind buzzing with questions, puzzled as to why Brandon would be at a thpark - a place for

parents with kids or lovey-dovey couples, neither of which seemed to fit Brandon's bill.

In the past few years, since Sophia and Brandon split up, it hadn't been cool for him to reach out to Brandon. So, he was a bit out

of the loop when it cto Brandon's latest news.

But from what he'd heard, there'd been no buzz about Brandon getting hitched or having a bun in the oven in recent times.

If it was about dating.

Aaron couldn't help but sneak a peek at Brandon, finding it hard to picture that super serious and frosty dude spending time

wooing a lady.

He got a taste of Brandon's chill attitude towards women from the get-go with his marriage to Sophia.

Back when they were hitched, Brandon would occasionally pop back hwith Sophia for a bite, or they'd grab a meal out. But

there was none of that mushy, lovey-dovey stuff between them, nothing like the sweet nothings and playful banter he had with

Barbara.

Their vibe was more like those leads who were stuck together by fate - all polite and proper, manners to the max, but the

lovey-dovey meter reading pretty low.

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