The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate



Brandon chuckled and shook his head, deftly changing the subject, "Do you plan on settling down in the West district for good?"

Zachary responded with a smile and a finger point, "There you go dodging the bullet again. Don't tell me you plan on staying a bachelor for life?"

Still smiling, Brandon simply shook his head and glanced at the chessboard with a game still in play. He picked up a black piece and placed it firmly on the board.

"Mr. Gardner, let me keep you company with a game of chess."

Clearly, he wasn't keen on dwelling on the topic.

Mr. Gardner shook his head with a smile, knowing it was best not to pry further and picked up a white chess piece, "Let's go for it. It's been a while since we've had a good spar."

Sophia also knocked off work early today, not really in the mood for her job, and bolted as soon as the clock struck quitting time.

Seeing her pack up, Ivan started to shut down his computer and got ready to leave too.

"Let's grab dinner together tonight," he suggested.

Sophia wasn't really feeling it. With a smile, she declined, "Some other time. I've got stuff to handle today."

Ivan just smiled back, "Sure thing." He didn't push it.

Sophia headed home alone, and couldn't tell if it was the sweltering heat making her sluggish, but she didn't feel like cooking and casually ordered some takeout online.

While waiting for her meal, Sophia video-called Theresa. The little munchkin was engrossed in her Legos, her young face lit up with wonder as she stumbled over her words excitedly explaining what she was building to Sophia.

Every time she saw Sophia, she'd light up with joy and excitement, but never fussed or clamored to see her mom, a well-behaved sight that was heart-wrenching.

Watching Theresa like this, Sophia felt a pang of longing, and couldn't help but think back to running into Brandon at the company park earlier that day, the way they'd brushed past each other.

To say it didn't stir anything inside would be a lie; after all, it's someone she'd had feelings for nearly a decade. There was bound to be a sense of times gone by and a little disorientation.

Time and distance are truly the best remedies for forgetting someone.

In such a haze, looking at Theresa made Sophia wonder, did she make a mistake returning home?

Susan, sitting nearby, definitely caught Sophia zoning out.

"What's up?" she asked, "You seem off today."

"It's nothing." Sophia shook her head, "Just missing you guys and then I can't help but wonder if coming back was the right call."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Susan reassured her, "That was a great opportunity, and you might not have gotten another chance like it. And if you're feeling guilty about Theresa, you shouldn't. It's not like you're away for good; it's just for a work trip, that's all. I'll be back once my work handover is done, and it hasn't been that long."

She looked at Sophia, "Don't even think about becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom. When she grows up, she won't thank you for it. She'll just see her mom as someone who didn't do anything with her life, someone who can't give her any sense of pride or glory."

Sophia gave her a playful look, "Your mind's running wild."

"I'm serious." Susan insisted, "You can't have your cake and eat it too in this world. Choosing to be there for her might not guarantee you can provide her with a comfortable life. If you opt for the latter, naturally you'll have to cut back on quality time. Whenever you're working, something's bound to eat into your time, and you can't be with your kid every second of the day. So, no need to feel guilty about Theresa. You're just on a business trip, okay? This happens with any job you take unless you decide to be a full-time mom."

Sophia smiled, "I get it; no need to worry about me."

Susan couldn't help but smile back, knowing Sophia was smart enough to figure this out on her own.

"Alright, enough of that. You've got more experience with this than I do." Susan said, steering the conversation elsewhere, "Speaking of which, have you visited your mentor since you've been back?"

"Huh?" Sophia blinked, "He's in the West district too?"

She hadn't been aware of this, as they hadn't been in touch much since their last get-together in Wye City due to their busy schedules.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" Susan brought it up, realizing she hadn't mentioned it to Sophia, "He retired a couple of years ago and settled down in the West district. I helped him move, actually."

It made sense Sophia didn't know; she'd been abroad at the time.

"I'll pay him a visit soon," Sophia said.

It hadn't been convenient to visit when they were in different cities, but now that they were in the same town, it was much easier.

After hanging up, Sophia was thinking about when to make time for the visit when Zachary suddenly sent her a message, [Hey Sophia, had dinner yet? Why not come over to ours? Jolin and I are both in the West district.]noveldrama

Zachary's message came as a pleasant surprise, just as they were talking about him.

[Sounds great.]

Sophia quickly replied, getting ready to head out.

Brandon and Zachary's chess game went on for over an hour, and only after the housekeeper came in a few times to call for dinner did Zachary reluctantly pack up the chessboard.

"Stay for dinner, will you?" He invited with a smile," Jolin has just whipped up a whole table of food."

Brandon nodded, "Alright."

They both headed to the living room together. As they reached the living room, the doorbell rang.

Zachary turned to Brandon with a grin, "You take a seat; I'll get the door."

Brandon nodded and settled onto the couch, pulling out his phone to check emails.

Zachary went to answer the door and, upon opening it, was greeted by Sophia standing outside.

"Here you are." Zachary greeted her warmly, "Come on in. Jolin's just finished cooking; we've been waiting for you."