The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon tried clicking on the draft box, but the page was dead as a doornail. Clearly, only Sophia's linked phone had the magic

touch to get in and edit stuff.

Brandon had no choice but to back off, staring at the phone screen as messages like "Brandon, let's make up," "Brandon, I'm

sorry," and "Brandon, happy birthday" kept popping up and disappearing, without him making a move.

He could almost picture Sophia, phone in hand, hemming and hawing over her words, her hesitations flickering on the screen with

every typed and deleted character.

Maybe she didn't know what to say, or maybe she did, but felt that given the odd vibe between them, those words just didn't sit

right.

The unique boundaries they had, unlike other couples, made her weigh every word she said to him.

They were close enough to already own a kid together, but there was this distance, a closeness that was intimate yet strangely

aloof.

Although she didn’t stay close to people, she wasn't the type to be cold or distant with others. Whether with Susan, Cindy, or even

Don and Kent, she managed to keep up normal social ties. But around him, she was all politeness and restraint, probably because

he never gave her that signal that she was different from everyone else.

She grew up in a chilly hwithout a shred of warmth, and no doubt, as a kid, she must've been desperate for that parental love.

She might've tiptoed around, trying to please everyone in the family, but to no avail. As people like Laura and Aaron, her gesture

would only meet with more scolding or worse from. Over time, she stopped showing her longing for love.

Her feelings for him were the same. Deep down, there was still that little Sophy, craving love but too scared to reach out.

She loved him, but he never made a move towards her, never told her he felt the same, so she never dared to close the gap.

Her "Brandon, let's make up" must've taken a ton of mental prep before she worked up the courage to write it, only to delete it for

fear of seeming off. She switched to a softer "Brandon, I'm sorry," and finally settled for the harmless "happy birthday."

He could guess what she was apologizing for, probably feeling guilty about ignoring his peace offerings and her stubbornness

about leaving him, thinking she hurt him, so that was why she wanted to apologize.

Even though she was the one who got hurt the most in their marriage, she was always the one saying sorry.

"I'm sorry."

Watching the words "Brandon, I'm sorry" slowly emerge on the screen like a typewriter, Brandon whispered an apology as if Sophia

was on the other end of the phone, chatting with him.

When the screen switched to "Brandon, happy birthday," he couldn't help but crack a smile. It was as if Sophia was standing right

there, gazing at him with her usually calm, gentle eyes, and saying in her soft voice, "Brandon, happy birthday."

He hummed in response, his voice choked up and barely audible, but his lips still curled upwards.

The smile deepened when he saw "Brandon, let's make up."

"Okay." He said softly, as if not to spook the Sophia on the other end of the line, "Will you cback, please?"

But there was no response. Just the cursor moving to the next sentence, "Brandon, I'm sorry."

Brandon's lips were still curled in a slight smile, his eyes wet and indulgent, as if Sophia was right in front of him and this "I'm

sorry" was just her playing hard to get.

The phone in his hand gradually went dark, returning to a silent black. Brandon's smile faded, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

Motionless, he stared at the dark phone in his hand, not bothering to light it up again, his face blank.

When the familiar tang of sadness rose in his throat again, his expression finally shifted as he silently grabbed a bottle of water

nearby, twisted it open, and gulped it down before tossing it aside. His gaze lingered on a necklace on the dashboard; he paused,

and then slowly reached for it, his fingertips gently touching the mini white jade embedded inside. Lowering his head, he tenderly

kissed the pendant.

"Sophia."

He called her nsoftly. But the car was silent, without a hint of noise.

Brandon put on the necklace and then started the engine. When he got home, it was already night.

As soon as Brandon stepped out of the elevator, he spotted a hunched figure squatting at the end of the hallway.

Brandon recognized him; it was Sophia's foster father, Haley Yearwood. His steps slowed to a halt.

Haley, rubbing his hands and squatting in the corner, also saw him and hurriedly stood up, walking towards him.

"Mr. Crawley, is Sophia really dead."

He started anxiously but choked up halfway, his eyes reddening. He looked much more worn and gaunt than the last tBrandon

had seen him.

After Sophia's incident, Haley had tried to contact him, but Brandon had been in Zion City, his tand energy consumed by the

search for Sophia, with no room to care for anyone else.

Kent had been handling these matters.

Today was the first tBrandon had seen Haley since Sophia's disappearance. Seeing his reddened eyes and hearing his choked

voice, Brandon stayed silent.

"What brings you here?"

After a while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, took out his keys, and turned to open the door.

Haley hurried after him, "I asked around a lot to find out Sophia lived here. | wanted to cand see."

Brandon didn't respond; he just unlocked the door. Pushing it open, he saw Susan playing with Theresa, both listless, as if Susan

was looking through Theresa at something else. Theresa was silently stacking blocks, her whole demeanor also lifeless.

The cold wind blew through the balcony, chilling the living room and filling it with a dead air, devoid of its usual warmth.

Must've been the sound of the door cracking open, Susan instinctively glanced towards the entrance, but as soon as she caught

sight of Haley trailing in behind Brandon, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and she was fuming. She jumped to her feet,

grabbed the broom from the balcony, and charged towards Haley, all fired up, "Get out! Just get out! When Sophia was alive, you

lot wouldn't even let her set foot in her own home, and now you've got the nerve to show up here?"

All because the Yearwood family didn't give a hoot about her, didn't let her chome, and totally turned a blind eye. When

someone else is in trouble, people usually hustle to get in touch with their parents, but these folks, they just skipped that whole

step.

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