The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 177

Sophia played it cool, pretending not to catch the hint of sarcasm in his tone, and kept mum.

"Sorry."

Peeping her silence, Brandon murmured an apology, his voice soft.

He didn't mean to piss Sophia off, but her deliberate aloofness and calm somehow managed to poke at the beast inside him, stirring up a hidden rage.

Sophia cracked a small smile, not really sweating his snark from before.

The place was buzzing, and Marian couldn't quite make out their convo, but she wasn't one for sitting on the sidelines feeling out of the loop.

Grabbing some skewers that someone had passed over, she handed one to Sophia. "Have a kebab."

Then she tossed one over to Brandon. "Hey, grab a skewer, will ya?"

That kind of upfront vibe wasn't something Sophia ever brought to the table with Brandon.

Even back in high school, when she could let her hair down around him, the most she could muster was to sidle up to him with a skewer, cheeks puffed, asking shyly, "Want a kebab? There's some left."

No way she could match Marian's no-frills straightforwardness.

Sophia even had this sneaking suspicion that someone as straight-shooting as Marian was more Brandon's type.

The childhood sweetheart thing, the matching family backgrounds,—it all seemed like a match made in heaven.

No wonder both families were going nuts trying to play Cupid.

Sophia, ever the graceful one, scooted a bit towards the fire, ducking down so as not to block the two.

Brandon shot her a look, and the calm in his eyes flickered.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

He brushed off Marian's offer with a quiet thanks, without taking the skewer.

Marian, slightly deflated, quipped, "You're such a drag."

She just chomped down on her skewer, not caring if it was ladylike or not.

Brandon didn't bite, just calmly stared into the bonfire, deep in thought.

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

He wasn't looking her way, just kept his gaze fixed on the flames.

Marian, despite ribbing Brandon for being dull, still grabbed a drink someone handed her and called out to him. "Yo, want a drink?"

As she said it, the bottle sailed towards Brandon.

He didn't look her way, but still managed to catch the bottle one-handed as it flew past, tossing it to Don who was sitting nearby, without giving him a glance.

Don couldn't help but look over at Marian.