The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate



Brandon's breath hitched a bit, but he still flashed her a grin, "Yeah, Daddy belongs to Mommy, always has, always will."

His voice was hoarse and low, his words slow and steady, with none of that sugar-coating one would use to placate a kid. Theresa quieted down instantly, not saying a word, just leaning in to bury her face into the nook of Brandon's neck and hugging him tight.

Not sure if she got the gist or not, but Brandon could feel her restlessness being soothed away. He hugged her back, his heart aching, and still felt that uncomfortable lump in his throat at the mention of Sophia.

Without another word, he carried her into his office.

Just like the buzzing lobby downstairs, the usually noisy office fell into an abrupt silence as Brandon entered, everyone busily pretending to work but sneaking peeks at Brandon, who'd been MIA for days, and then covertly exchanging glances with each other, their eyes doing the talking.

Kent was already in the office; he cleared his throat softly.

Everyone who had been exchanging silent comments quickly turned their heads back, pretending to be deep in work.

Kent put away the papers on his desk and went over to knock and report recent work to Brandon.

Brandon had been all consumed with Sophia these days, and Kent hadn't dared to disturb him with work stuff.

"Mr. Crawley," Spotting Brandon placing Theresa on the couch and returning to his desk, Kent knocked on the door. Brandon glanced over at him, "Come in."

Kent approached the desk with a thick stack of papers, "Mr. Crawley, here are the financial statements for last quarter, take a look." He walked over; as he pulled out the statements and started giving a report to Brandon, he was cut short, "Don't need the work update. Just fill me in on anything related to Sophia."

Kent stopped in his tracks, the hand holding the documents retracted accordingly. He looked down at the pile of thick paperwork, slightly troubled. Most work he could handle on Brandon's behalf, but there was this one thing.

He pulled out the merger and acquisition proposal from the very bottom of the stack and handed it to Brandon, "Mr. Crawley, the Ferber Group had made an offer a while back to buy our West district Butterfly Docks. They've sent over their proposal. I think you should give it a once-over."

Kent handed over the proposal as he spoke.

Brandon's gaze lingered on the proposal for a moment before taking it.

The Ferber Group was a Zenithan company that started overseas, focusing on maritime shipping, freight, and cruise operations, and had been eyeing domestic expansion in recent years, with West district as their prime target.

Butterfly Docks, part of the Starlight Group's assets, had been on the Ferber Group's wish list as their beachhead in West district.

On and off over the past two years, they had approached Starlight Group, but since Brandon had no intention of letting go of the docks, no real talks had taken place.

Brandon briefly scanned the proposal, and then closed it, handing it back to Kent, "Butterfly Docks are not for sale."

Kent still frowned slightly, "But their CEO, Harvey Ferber, wants to meet you in person to talk it over again."

Brandon looked up, surprised. Harvey didn't reside in the country.

Kent presented an invitation with both hands, "Harvey Ferber's family is currently vacationing on their commercial cruise, passing through the country with a few days to dock. They're leaving tonight, and he'd like to meet with you in person to discuss the collaboration before they depart."

Brandon flipped open the invitation. The other party had set the meeting for four o'clock in the afternoon on their cruise ship.

The invitation was very sincere and explained the reason for meeting on the cruise ship. The ship could only stay in port until six in the evening, fearing it would be too late to meet anywhere else.

Brandon stared at the invitation, mulling it over, and then looked at Kent, "I can only spare him an hour."

Kent quickly nodded, "Alright, I'll go arrange it."

Kent turned to leave.

"Wait." Brandon called after him, "Is everything set with Jerry and Jared?"

"Yep, it's all being arranged." Kent nodded, "So far, we've found that Dennis is still living at Moonlight Resort & Spa, hasn't left his room these days. Jerry and Jared are expected to arrive at the hotel by four in the afternoon."

"Then let's set them up for a little 'chance encounter'," Brandon said this nonchalantly, his expression just as indifferent.

Kent nodded, "Will do."

"And don't forget about Marian," Brandon's face was now almost icy cold.

"I'll take care of it," Kent said quietly.

Brandon nodded, "Alright, you can go now."

"Alright."

Watching Kent disappear at the office door, Brandon finally turned his attention back to his computer.

The machine was already booted up, but he looked at the familiar desktop, his mind blank. The work he once loved now failed to spark even the slightest interest.

Staring blankly at the computer for a while, Brandon slowly lifted his gaze to Theresa in the office.

To prevent her from getting bored when she came over, a small entertainment area had been set up in the office just for her.

Theresa was sitting there, silently stacking blocks.

Since Sophia left, building with blocks seemed to be her only pastime. She used to be quiet too, but it was a lively sort of quiet. Now, her silence was just that silent.

Brandon's gaze lingered on her calm profile for a long time, and then slowly drifted to the little bear on her back, pausing there.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Sophia snagged this little bear on her way out the night she left. It was a gift she gave her. Ever since that day, she'd been inseparable from her tiny bear buddy - clutching it while eating, snoozing, and even stepping out. She wouldn't even let Grace take it for a wash.

Brandon's gaze lingered on the bear on Theresa's back, and then slowly dropped to the necklace around his neck, his fingers gently caressing the white jade pendant. The familiar ache crept up again, and with it, Brandon stood up and moved toward Theresa.

He squatted beside her, running his hands through her hair that now fell untamed over her shoulders. Without Sophia's magical touch, Theresa's hair seemed less silky, a bit more on the frizzy side.

Brandon paused, a hint of surprise in his eyes at the unfamiliar roughness between his fingers.

Theresa turned, innocently calling him "Daddy".

Brandon managed a strained smile, his heart aching as he patted her hair, the resentment growing stronger from the pain.

He headed to the Star Dempsey Architects on the seventeenth floor. He didn't dare to take Theresa down with him, fearing that the sight of Sophia's empty desk would stir up a wave of nostalgia and pain.

Everyone was buried in work. Maybe it was the shadow of Sophia's incident, but the once easygoing vibe of the office was now heavy with gloom. The moment Brandon walked in, the somber workspace stirred, everyone instinctively lifting their eyes to look his way.

The Star Dempsey Architects crew was pretty clued in about him and Sophia. Their dynamic wasn't all lovey-dovey, but when Brandon hit up the seventeenth floor, it was usually for one reason - Sophia.

Seeing Brandon suddenly drop by, everyone instinctively glanced at Sophia's office. Brandon did too.

Sophia's office door was still ajar, but her chair and computer were the only things left - she was gone.

Even with mental prep, the stark reality that things had changed gave Brandon a pang in his chest; he looked at Sophia's office, his expression turning distant.

Don caught Brandon's dazed look towards Sophia's office and paused his typing. Not just Brandon - every time Don saw that empty office, his heart clenched, still unable to accept Sophia's departure from this world.

He silently stood up from his work, walking towards Brandon, and called out, "Brandon."

His voice had a forced lightness to it, but it was clearly different from before. Brandon turned to him.

"Just checking out Sophia's office," he said.

Don nodded, "Go ahead, no one's touched it since."

Brandon headed towards the office. As he turned to enter, his gaze briefly met Marian's desk.

Marian was there, no day off for her. Brandon hadn't let Don fire Marian. Until they had proof, she had to stay within sight.

Marian was sneaking peeks at Brandon. Caught off guard by his sudden look, she instinctively ducked to avoid his gaze, fear creeping in. Having faced Brandon's lethal wrath twice, Marian developed a knee-jerk fear of him. That fear made her instinctively want to flee at the sight of him. She even dreaded seeing him.

She didn't know what he might be aware of, fearing the next second he might go for her throat with his long arms like he did in the Zion City hotel, or send her to the hospital with a vengeance like he did at the Frost family's place. She had no clue what Brandon might do next.

The moment Brandon appeared at the company's entrance, Marian was gripped by the fear that he was there for her.

When he entered the office and didn't look her way at first, she felt a fleeting sense of relief, but his sudden glance sent chills through her, her hand trembling uncontrollably on the mouse.

Brandon seemed to relish in her fear, standing at Sophia's office door, not entering, just watching her from a distance, unmoving.

Don noticed Brandon's stare, remembering the intensity when he nearly choked Marian. He couldn't help but worry about Brandon losing control

again.

Although his feelings towards Marian were strained, it wasn't worth it for Brandon to ruin his life over her.

His concern shifted to Brandon. But the latter didn't look at him, his gaze still fixed on Marian.

Marian couldn't take it anymore. Pretending to answer a call, she stood up and left, accidentally knocking over her chair in her haste, startling Augus beside her.

Brandon glanced at him. Augus seemed distracted, confusedly turning to look at Marian as she rushed out.

Without an apology or explanation, Marian left pretending to be on a call.

Brandon then turned and entered Sophia's office. In that moment, his gaze swept over Ivan's desk.

It was empty.