The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate



Back in the day, Sophia was in the same grade as everyone else but looked way younger and greener than her peers.

She was the new kid on the block, transferring in mid-term, and all the front-row seats were already taken.

The only vacancy left was next to Brandon, the tall dude chilling solo in the back row.

Brandon was a skyscraper of a guy who wasn't exactly Mr. Sociable, so he'd voluntarily claimed the last row corner spot as his own little island.

When Sophia showed up and there were zero extra seats in class, the teacher had no choice but to park her next to him.

But since Brandon was ace at academics and the teacher knew his lone wolf vibe, they were careful to consider his feelings. After Sophia's brief intro, the teacher scoped out the room, saw the only empty seat was by Brandon, and politely threw him the question. "Brandon, mind if Sophia sits next to you?"

The moment the teacher finished, the class went nuts, everyone craning their necks to get a look at Brandon and then sneak a peek at Sophia up front.

Even Brandon couldn't help but steal a glance at Sophia at the podium.

The whole class reaction had her feeling all kinds of awkward, with a side of jittery when she looked his way.

Brandon saw right through her jitters-probably had him pegged for the kind of bully who preyed on the little guys.

It all added up-tall guy, back row hermit, teacher sweet-talking him, class in an uproar-it sure painted a picture of someone to steer clear of.

Brandon wasn't into being disturbed, but with no other seats up for grabs, it's not like he could have her standing at the door for class, so he just nodded his head in agreement.

Little did he know that this nod would bring a whole heap of trouble for Sophia.

His nod sent another shockwave through the class.

They didn't have the guts to gawk at him openly, so they all sneakily sized up Sophia, as if trying to spot the reason he didn't put up a fuss.

The crowd's vibe confirmed Sophia's suspicion that Brandon was the school's big bad wolf, making her even more on edge. When she finally took the seat next to him, she was super careful not to touch him.

Brandon still remembered when she accidentally bumped his elbow sitting down, her flustered and anxious apology, the "sorry" filled with caution and regret. Her big round eyes were a bit lost, probably deep down convinced he was the tough guy of the schoolyard.

Brandon didn't bother to shatter her little theory-no need, no habit.

So to her string of sorries, he just coolly said, "No worries," which clearly eased Sophia's mind a bit, the nervy look in her eyes slowly turning into restraint.

That was a look Brandon knew all too well.

Sure, he wasn't the stuff of nightmares, but he wasn't exactly the warm and fuzzy type either, so even after they got to know each other better over time, the unease Sophia felt around him never completely disappeared.

Brandon wondered if Sophia's recent comment, "It's not just your employees who are scared of you-I am too," stems from those days.noveldrama

He knew she was always a bit tense around him, but never thought to really address or fix it-he didn't see why he should.

Even though back then, he'd gotten into the habit of quietly watching her, especially after they switched seats midterms and she ended up in the front. He'd often find himself in class, his gaze drifting to her side profile as she tuned in and took notes, zoning out big time.

Brandon didn't know if that's what people call liking someone.