The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 195

It was the lunch rush hour, and the elevators were packed with people.

Brandon didn't intentionally hop on the executive lift, and when it halted on the seventeenth floor, Kent caught Brandon taking a peek as the doors slid open.

It could be habit, or maybe something else. Kent figured it was probably a good idea to give Brandon a heads up that Sophia was still at the office.

"Mr. Crawley."

He called out to Brandon and was about to continue when Brandon's phone buzzed with a call.

He shot Kent a glance, but didn't start a conversation; instead, he picked up the call, shifting his focus back to the conversation at hand.

Somehow Kent suddenly understood Sophia's feelings. Every time she mustered the courage to talk with him, his phone would ring.

Knowing Brandon's ways, Kent reckoned Brandon treated Sophia no different than him; between listening to her and answering a call, Brandon always chose the latter.

Oblivious to Kent's mental gymnastics, Brandon calmly listened to the report on the other end of the line.

As the elevator doors opened, he moved with the crowd, walking and talking, his handsome face serene as ever.

The staff cafeteria was at peak chaos. Thick curtains hung at the entrance.

Brandon pushed through the curtains and stepped inside. Sophia was queuing up for food, the line stretching out the door, with Sophia at the very end, near the curtains.

When the curtains flapped open, Sophia instinctively looked back. Their eyes met just as Brandon glanced her way.

Sophia saw Brandon's gaze and movements freeze, his eyes fixated on her with an intensity she couldn't decipher, a mix of sudden delight and chill that left her confused.

Caught off guard by his reaction, Sophia felt an all-too-familiar restraint and unease around Brandon, making even a casual hello seem like a Herculean task.

She managed a half-hearted smile as a greeting and quietly shifted to the side, not wanting to block Brandon's path.

Sophia's sudden silence made Ivan, who was ahead of her in line, instinctively glance back. He noticed Brandon staring at Sophia, gave him a look, then turned to the now visibly uncomfortable Sophia.

Not being chummy with Brandon and lacking the awe due to his CEO status, Ivan didn't bother with pleasantries.

Kent, catching up, saw Brandon still holding the curtain open, motionless at the cafeteria entrance, and approached in confusion. Spotting Sophia at the end of the line and Brandon's intense gaze, he chuckled awkwardly and greeted Sophia, "Ms. Yearwood, here for lunch too, huh?"