The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon shot her a glance, "Thanks." He was thanking her for not spilling the beans to Sophia.

But Susan wasn't having any of it, "Don't thankjust yet. I didn't say anything mainly because I didn't want to hurt Sophia." As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Brandon, "Brandon, I'm not sure if it's right or wrong to hand her over to you again. This is between you two, and I really shouldn't be butting in." "But Sophia and I are tight as sisters, and all I want is for her to be happy. She's lost her memories, and right now, she's an easy mark. Even if you spun her a fairy tale about how much you two were once in love, she'd buy it hook, line, and sinker." Brandon paused mid-chop, not picking up the conversation.

He knew all too well that Sophia would believe him, no matter what he said. She even felt guilty and at a loss because she couldn't remember their past.

"Sophia may have amnesia, but she hasn't lost her ability to think straight. She can tell if things are good or bad between you two," Susan said. "It's a mystery whether it was luck or divine pity that brought her back safely this time, but either way, I hope you don't let her down again. When you two got hitched, she put all her trust in you, only to end up with a broken heart. Now she's putting her trust in you once more, and I hope it doesn't end up being another disaster." "You don't have to worry about that ever happening again," Brandon replied calmly, looking straight at her. "I know better than anyone what she means to me." His voice was soft yet firm, with a steadiness that seemed to carry weight.

Involuntarily, Susan's gaze met his eyes.

There was a calm, unwavering strength in Brandon's eyes that had the power to convince. Strangely enough, the anxiety that had been hanging over her seemed to settle down.

"I hope you can walk the talk," Susan said.

Brandon just cracked a small smile, without furtherment.

Susan managed a strained smile in return, having said all there was to say, she didn't linger in the kitchen and went back to the living room.

Kent, who had noticed her going to find Brandon, couldn't help but lower his voice and ask, "What were you and Mr. Crawley conspiring about in there, all hush-hush?" Susan just dismissed it, "Nothing much. Just a reminder to cherish the one in front of you." "As if he needs reminding," Kent remarked with a side glance at Brandon, who was already heading towards the master bedroom, "You see? He's practically ready to tie her to his belt." Susan just gave a nomittal response.

Brandon pushed open the door to the master bedroom and unsurprisingly, saw Sophia sitting on an extra chair by the bed, quietly watching Theresa, who had fallen back asleep, with a peaceful expression and a soft look in her eyes.

One of Sophia's hands had been pulled into the covers by Theresa, held tightly in her embrace as she slept soundly.

"Why don't you catch ssleep?" Brandon asked as he approached.

He figured that given Sophia's personality, she was only there to soothe Theresa to sleep and wouldn't actually lie down on the bed. But it turned out exactly as he thought.

Sophia, who had been gazing so intently at Theresa that Brandon's deep voice startled her, stood up instinctively, as if caught off guard by a patrolling teacher, betraying a student-like awkwardness.

Sophia chalked up this feeling to not being quite familiar with Brandon yet.

Even as husband and wife, the fact that they had lost their shared memories easily turned them into strangers.

"I'm not sleepy," Sophia said, trying to appear natural.

It wasn't that she wasn't tired, but mainly because this was the master bed, Brandon's bed, which made her feel like she was invading his personal space.

She couldn't justfortably lie down on this intimating, big bed without his permission.

"But this is your home, your bed. Feel free to sleep, no need to feel constrained," Brandon said as he looked at her.

Sophia responded with a small "Hmm," but still stood stiffly to one side.

Then, losing her arm support, Theresa whined a bit, showing signs of waking up.

Sophia turned around, wanting to tuck her arm back around the little one, but Brandon stopped her.

"Let me." With a low murmur, Brandon picked up the little teddy bear that had been knocked off at the hospital and nestled it into Theresa's arms.

The previously restless little girl immediately calmed down.

Sophia was surprised.

"She seems to really like this teddy bear," she whispered.

Brandon glanced at her and nodded slightly, "Yeah, she really does." Sophia didn't think much of it and just made a mental note of Theresa's preference.

"You should get srest," Brandon suggested.

"It's okay, I'm not tired," she whispered back. Seeing Theresa could sleep peacefully with her teddy bear, and feeling awkward about staying in the bedroom while everyone else was busy, she asked him, "Can I help with something?" "Thene and be my sous-chef in the kitchen," Brandon said.

|| || It wasn't until she followed Brandon into the kitchen that Sophia realized it was just the two of them.

The kitchen was small, and with Brandon's tall frame, the space beccramped and charged with an intimate vibe.

Sophia's mind was still crammed with the raunchy nonsense Susan had pushed on her about her one-night stand with Brandon, and she felt extremely ufortable being in such close quarters with him.

Especially with the height and size lifference between her and Brandon, as the chef, he often had t urn around to grab condiments and such. Despite Sophia's best efforts o keep her distance, his casual novements inevitably led to shysical contact. ¡w A brush of knuckles, a touch of fingertips against an arm - even though it was just an unintentional light touch, the warmth of the skin-to-skin contact made Sophia's heart race uncontrollably.

Thankfully, Theresa, who hadn't slept much during the day, woke up soon after and clooking for her and Brandon, interrupting the awkwardness.

The vibe totally mellowed out once Don and KentSusan joined the party.

Sophia also chilled out a lot in this festive and relaxed atmosphere.

But as the evening wound down and folks started to head out, she found herself feeling all adrift again.

It wasn't until 10 o'clock that Don and KentSusan wrapped up their day of fun and took off.

Grace, knowing the score, also made a smooth exit with Susan, heading up to Susan's place.

When the night grew quiet and the once lively house suddenly felt empty, that's the moment Sophia really found herself alone with Brandon in the "homey" and ambiguous setting for the fivel time, and that feeling of being out of her depth crushing back. Luckily, Theresa wasn't asleep yet and hadn't gotten around to taking a bath.

"I'll take Theresa for a bath," Sophia said, glancing back at the closet, "Where do we keep her clothes? Does she have any preferences for her nightwear?" Brandon looked at Sophia. These were all things she had taught him before, but now she had totally spaced on them. Theresa seemed just as puzzled by the question, not quite getting what amnesia meant at her age.

"I got this, you should hit the hay," Brandon said. "You haven't bounced back yet, and you've had a long day. Go rest." "But..." Sophia frowned, still wanting to pitch in and make up for the care Theresa had missed out on these past days. Brandon cut her off with a gentle voice: "Just listen." Theresa nodded in agreement: "Yeah, Daddy can help me. Mommy, you should rest first." Sophia hesitated, looked at her, then nodded.

She was a bit seared she'd mess up taking care of a kid and end up giving Theresa a cold, but she didn't head off to bed as told. Instead, she trailed behind Brandon and Theresa, watching him deftly find ceresa, help Theresa with her bath, dry her hair, and tuck her in, like a devout and earnest newbie mom, relearning how to be a mother. After a full day of play, Theresa was beat and quickly fell asleep to the sound of Brandon's deep, soothing storytelling.

When the vast space quieted down again, Sophia belatedly realized she still had the issue of sleep to tackle - where to sleep, that is.