The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Sophia zoned out and couldn't figure out why. She remembered that name. She had seen it before on the honor roll at West District

High School, right next to the n"Sophia."

That familiar pang of nostalgia mixed with a touch of sadness washed over her again. It was a strange feeling, heartwarming yet

heart-wrenching, making her nose tingle and eyes moisten without her control.

Sophia couldn't put her finger on why she felt this way. Her mind was a blank canvas, and she had no clue why this person wanted

to add her. But just the sight of that nbrought on an inexplicable sense of "hope you're doing well" that was bothforting

and heartbreaking.

Right then, Amanda walked up and caught Sophia with teary eyes, staring blankly at her phone. Freaking out, she quickly put down

the ginger tea she was holding and asked with concern, “What's up? What happened?”

Sophia looked up at her, bewildered, which freaked Amanda out even more. She quickly crouched down tofort her: “Don’t cry,

don’t cry. Did someone give you a hard time? Spill the beans to your godmom, I'll sort it out for you.”

Sophia just shook her head blankly, trying to speak, but her throat felt choked up. She was just really sad. A kind of helpless

sadness.

“It's okay, godmom'’s here.” Without getting to the bottom of it, Amanda could only pick up the ginger soup she had prepared and

hand it to her, “Let's have sginger soup to ward off the chill. You've just been discharged; your immune system is still weak.

Don’t catch a cold again.”

As she said this, she scooped up a spoonful of ginger soup, trying to feed it to Sophia. When the spoon reached her lips, Sophia

finally snapped back to reality and took the ginger soup from her, “I got it.”

Her voice was a bit hoarse, whether from the cold or from being emotional, she wasn't sure. Amanda didn’t argue, just softly

reminded her, “Careful, it's hot. Take it slow.”

Sophia nodded slightly and began to sip the ginger soup. Amanda watched her drink and couldn't help but nag about her getting a

chill from going out alone, “You see, | told you not to go out by yourself. | knew your body couldn't take the cold, and lo and

behold... Just don’t get sick again, it’s rough on you.”

Sophia didn’t respond. In fact, she hardly heard what Amanda was saying. She was too spaced out, her mind fixated on that

Whatmessage from “Brandon.” Her mind was still empty, but that sour, bitter emotion lingered.

Seeing Sophia zone out again, Amanda didn’t make a peep, knowing Sophia often did this. As long as she wasn’t suddenly in tears

and distracted, it wasn’t a big deal to her. She silently picked up the foot bath that Sophia hadn't gotten around to pouring out and

took it to the washroom.

Sophia was oblivious, mechanically sipping her ginger soup until it was gone and the bowl was taken from her hands. Then she

cto her senses and looked up at Amanda instinctively.

“Hit the hay, you can’t afford to stay up with your health,” Amanda advised. Sophia quietly nodded, thanked her, exchanged

goodnights, put down her phone, and went to bed.

Though she lay down, she felt anything but sleepy, just a hollow feeling inside.

Kent noticed Brandon staring at his phone, lost in thought, but the notification for the Whatfriend request wasn’ting

through. He couldn't help but say to Brandon, “Maybe the designer's turned in for the night. Plus, it's Sunday, and that’s a work

number; might not be online.”

Brandon glanced at him, silent, his gaze shifting to the design sketches on the table. “You should head back,” he said.

Kent nodded, “You should get srest too.”

Brandon didn’t reply, his eyes still glued to the design sketches on theputer desk, then to the investigative documents he

brought in, and slowly moved to the Whathe'd rmended, his gaze fixed on that unconfirmed Whatcontact.

Kent knew Brandon was feeling rough. When he received the email from President Poe with Arlene’s information, he felt rough too.

He didn’t linger, leaving after a few words of caution.

Brandon stayed in his study all night, staring at those design sketches and that Whatcontact that wouldn't confirm.

Sophia barely slept all night, only dozing off as dawn approached, and then slept until ten in the morning. When she woke up, her

cold symptoms hadn't eased; they had worsened, and her throat was hoarse. Her post-injury body was like a wreck, with immunity

at rock bottom, unable to withstand the slightest chill or sleep deprivation.

Accepting her fate, Sophia stepped out to buy medicine, and as she opened her door, she saw Clark hurrying towards the elevator

behind Harvey Ferber. As Clark walked, he reported in a low voice to Harvey Ferber, “Ms. Bright's reshas been sent over to

Kent under President Poe's name.”

Sophia frowned slightly, puzzled by the connection between Clark, Harvey Ferber, and President Poe. But Clark and Harvey Ferber

had already entered the elevator, their conversation cut off by the closing doors. Sophia reluctantly turned her gaze back and

headed for the elevator.

Harvey Ferber listened to Clark's report with an unreadable expression. Clark looked confused, “Mr. Ferber, why let Brandon know

about Ms. Bright's existence? If he finds out you're looking for Ms. Bright, won't he use that against you?”

“As long as we find her, what do | care if he’s got something on me,” Harvey Ferber said indifferently.

Clark gave him a look, “Then why the heck did you send Ms. Bright's info under President Poe’s hto them?”

That was the part he just couldn't wrap his head around. The résumé of Arlene that President Poe had sent to Kent was actually

because Harvey Ferber had someone hack into President Poe’s email and forward it to Kent. He couldn't fathom what Harvey

Ferber was up to.

Harvey Ferber wasn’t in the mood to spill the beans, just coolly hit him with a, “You don’t need to know.”

Brandon was glued to his phone, checking Whatwith a furrowed brow. The friend request he sent out last night was still

hanging in limbo.