The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 205

"What's with him?"

Tia asked Kent, a bit on edge, clueless about why Brandon suddenly got all moody.

Kent was just as baffled.

Ever since Brandon agreed to add her on WhatsApp, something felt off.

Brandon never just randomly adds people on WhatsApp, especially not women.

And Kent hadn't picked up on any vibes that Brandon was into Tia.

"Maybe he spaced out."

Kent chuckled awkwardly, pulling an excuse out of thin air that even he found hard to swallow, then bid Tia goodbye without waiting to see if she was still puzzled and quickly caught up with Brandon.

By the time Kent got to the parking lot, Brandon was nowhere to be seen.

Kent whipped out his phone and called Brandon. "Mr. Crawley, where did you take off to?"

"Just grab a cab back."

The voice on the other end was indifferent, and before Kent could respond, the call was cut off.

Kent frowned at his phone; the brief call had been filled with the sound of rushing wind—Brandon was clearly driving, and fast.

Brandon only drove like a bat out of hell when he was in a rotten mood.

Kent wasn't sure if Brandon's foul mood had anything to do with Sophia.

Earlier, when Brandon'd agreed to add Tia, Kent nearly thought Brandon was ready to meet someone new and start over.

He didn't know why Brandon had backtracked.

Kent couldn't decide if he was relieved or worried as he let out a silent sigh and reluctantly hailed a cab.

Brandon was driving aimlessly, alone on the road.

The suburban streets were empty and wide.

He was flooring it, the night breeze blasting through the wide-open windows, tousling his hair.

This city, although miles away from the West district, felt like another hometown to him.

He went to university here.

So did Sophia.

But she would never know their colleges were just a wall apart.

Outside the window, rows of trees blurred by with the speed of the car.

Next to them was the university town, where he could vaguely make out young couples frolicking under the tree-lined paths.

Not far ahead was one of the objectives of his trip, the Horizon Mall.

A few years back, it was the go-to spot for the city's college students.

It saw generations of students come and go, and with each farewell and greeting, it slowly fell behind the times.

Brandon suddenly remembered the year they graduated, how his dormmates organized a dinner party there at the mall.

In that barbecue restaurant, he sat quietly watching others laugh and chat when he suddenly looked up. The familiar profile at the table next to his caught his eye, just as serene and gentle as he remembered, with a faint smile always gracing her lips.

Sophia would never know that their post-high-school reunion wasn't at the class reunion four years ago.

That unexpected encounter, Brandon couldn't quite recall how he felt back then, nor why he didn't approach her.

Only later did a faint regret surface, but it wasn't strong enough to drive him to reach out to her.

His life and its trajectory hadn't shifted because of that chance meeting, but in the brief moments of respite from his busy life, he would remember Sophia and that missed opportunity.

That missed opportunity turned the class reunion into a whirlwind of uncontrollable emotions.

That whirlwind caused his life to veer slightly off its set course, but not by much.

Brandon wasn't sure if he was now trying to steer his life back to its intended path.

The chapter of his life with Sophia had ended.

They had proven to each other that they were not meant to be.

Just now, when Tia asked to add him on WhatsApp, Brandon had even considered taking Sophia's advice to find someone complementary.

If either he or Sophia had had an ounce of Tia's fiery initiative, things wouldn't have gotten to where they are now.