The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 397

Brandon didn't look at her; he just opened his arms and gently embraced her.

"You are a bit off tonight," Sophia murmured, not pushing him away. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Brandon croaked softly. "I just suddenly remembered things from the past, and I feel like I owe you an apology."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Sophia whispered back. "The path I chose was mine to take. Our marriage was a mutual decision, without any coercion. I have my own faults to bear."

Lifting her head to look at him, Sophia added, "So you shouldn’t blame yourself."

Brandon glanced at her, caressed her hair with his hand, but remained silent.

Deep down, he wished she would argue with him, give him an earful for not being attentive enough.

To care and to hope means she paid attention.

The flip side of that is to have enough detachment to be objective.

Now, Sophia and he were bound together only because of their kid.

He cracked a smile at her, "Let's sleep for now."

Sophia nodded, "OK."

Aaron was anxious because he couldn't see Daniel at the hospital.

The bid meeting for the Frost Group was about to kick off, and without connections to pave the way, he knew his company didn't stand much of a chance.

Countless established corporations vied for this project, and his held no advantage.

His intention wasn't to gobble up the entire project. Initially, a partnership was what he had in mind—Let the big players take the lion’s share while he got a slice of the pie.

That's why he had approached Mr. Gellar for a partnership, envisioning him winning the whole deal, while he just contributed a minor investment for a small stake, pocketing a few million, perhaps up to ten.

Mr. Gellar was the big fish he had clung to while Sophia and Brandon were still married, thanks to Brandon's uncle status. Though not in Brandon's league, Mr. Gellar had a decent reputation in the West district real estate scene.

At first, it was Mr. Gellar who had cozied up to him, offering brotherly flattery.

But once Mr. Gellar got wind of Brandon and Sophia’s divorce, his responses cooled.

Fortunately, Aaron was decent in his dealings. He had not abused his brief advantage; he always treated Mr. Gellar with respect. So even though Mr. Gellar became colder, he didn't kick Aaron out of his social circle.

Aaron knew that for a network to last, being useful to others was crucial.

Over the past two years, he'd been conscientiously keeping the relationship with Mr. Gellar. Beyond the routine exchange of gifts during festivals, he also attended to minor issues for him, like arranging hospital stays for relatives, or sorting out schooling issues for their children—all facilitated by the network he had established when he was Brandon’s brother-in-law. He was thorough in his approach, and would often visit Mr. Gellar to sit awhile, serve tea, drive guests around—anything practicable to assist, he would do. Over these years, their relationship had stayed pretty solid.

Aaron had thought, given his rapport with Mr. Gellar, that he would be included in the Frost Group project, even if just to reap some benefits. But to his surprise, Mr. Gellar had never brought up the matter.

When Aaron broached the topic, Mr. Gellar seemed uneasy, saying he wasn't even sure he could land the Frost family project and didn't want to lead Aaron astray, suggesting Aaron might as well bid on his own.

The sincerity of this advice was unclear to Aaron, but with an invitation to bid, he wouldn’t pass up the chance. He even approached the Frost family with a gift to test the waters.

From the attitude of the Frost family's members, Aaron gathered that they looked down on him.

But the trip wasn't in vain; he accidentally uncovered the relationship between the Frost family and the Crawley family, which was a significant discovery.

Now that Sophia had reconciled with Brandon, Aaron planned to leverage the Crawley family connection to persuade the Frosts.

But with Daniel out of reach, he felt anxious.

He had considered approaching Brandon directly, but the guy was always swamped. In the past, when Aaron needed something, Brandon would just delegate it to his subordinates, a bunch of paycheck collectors who were all smiles while being utterly unhelpful.

Every time a task landed in their hands, Aaron had no choice but only to chase after them.

But those subordinates were always too busy, and when prodded, they were full of apologetic smiles and polite assurances, promising swift action.

If they said they'd handle it, Aaron couldn't very well nag them constantly. But when he checked back, they'd act all surprised to hear the task was incomplete and would claim they needed to check with others. After some investigation, they'd realize they had simply forgotten, followed by profuse apologies and renewed promises. And so the circle went, and by the time anything got done, the opportunity had already cooled like yesterday's dinner.

That’s why Aaron disliked asking Brandon for help, especially with significant matters.

Turning to Daniel and Patricia was a lot more reliable.

Both were proud and likely didn’t want to lose face in front of their less affluent relatives. They often went out of their way once he asked, perhaps to show off their clout.

So Aaron preferred to deal with them exclusively, but he never expected Daniel to be laid up with cerebral hemorrhage at such a critical time, and it wasn't his place to bust in.

But he couldn’t afford to wait either.

After several days of frustration and two fruitless visits to Daniel, which were stopped at the elevator by Daniel’s bodyguard with the same polite refusal, Aaron was at his wit’s end.

Just when he thought he couldn't get any more stressed, the Frost Group published a list of qualified bidders, from which his company’s name was absent.

That news got Aaron up from his restless seat. He couldn’t worry if Brandon was reliable or not, and grabbed his phone to call him right away.

However, the call was diverted to Brandon’s subordinate, Kent.

"Mr. Crawley's in a meeting. What can I do for you, Mr. Yearwood?"

Kent’s voice on the other end was as annoyingly polite and smiley as ever.

Aaron wasn't keen on dealing with Kent, but he couldn't fault him for anything. Thus, he maintained his decorum and politely said, "I need to speak with my brother-in-law. Any idea when his meeting will wrap up?"

"It’s hard to say," Kent was still playing Mr. Nice Guy. "The meeting is crucial. Mr. Crawley might be tied up for a while. If you have any urgent matter, I can pass on the message for you."

Aaron conveyed his request, "Please tell him that I'd like to have dinner with him tonight, at 7 p.m. at the Seven Stars restaurant."

"Mr. Crawley's out of town on business, I’m afraid that would be inconvenient," Kent replied regretfully. "However, I could relay your message, and when Mr. Crawley's back and free, he can arrange another time with you."

Aaron frowned hard, "He's out of town? Since when? How long is he gone for?"

"He left today." Kent was telling the truth; Brandon had indeed left for a business trip that day with him.

"We are unsure when he'll be back," Kent added.

The response left Aaron's worry lines deepened.

He feared that by the time Brandon returned, the bidding would be over.

"All right, I'll see what I can do. Thanks, Kent."

Aaron hung up. He let out a heavy sigh, threw his phone on the couch, propped his hands behind his head, and stretched out, staring at the ceiling, stewing in his woes.

Haley came out of another room, dressed as if about to leave.