The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 1

Sophia Yearwood made her way to Brandon Crawley’s office, guided by his secretary.

Two years into their marriage, this was her first time stepping foot in his company.

“Mr. Crawley is still in a meeting. Please take a seat for a moment.”

The secretary offered a warm cup of coffee with a thoughtful explanation.

“Thanks.” Sophia took the coffee politely and settled herself on the sofa, scanning the spick-and-span reception room with its minimalist gray and white decor-totally Brandon’s style

The secretary sneakily sized up Sophia too. She looked young, her wavy hair cascading over her shoulders, and bangs naturally framing her face, giving off a fresh and soft vibe. She wasn’t much of a talker.

The secretary was still reeling from the fact that the lady in front of her was Brandon’s wife.

More shocking was the idea that Brandon, who always kept his cool and stayed away from the ladies, was actually hitched.

She couldn’t picture Brandon being all lovey-dovey with a woman.

The noisy chatter from outside snapped her out of her thoughts.

The meeting might be over, the secretary said quickly, “Sit tight, I’ll go check.”

Sophia instinctively glanced towards the door.

A tall person appeared, his head slightly tilted, deep in conversation with someone next to him. The sharp profile cut through the light and shadow, his expression serious and intense.

The person next to him…

Sophia froze when she caught sight of the girl’s beaming smile and stood up without thinking.

Brandon looked up and saw her standing in front of the sofa, hesitating for a moment before frowning.

“What are you doing here?”

The girl discussing plans with him looked up at the sound of his voice and was visibly taken aback to see Sophia.

Sophia flashed a polite smile at her before turning to Brandon and handing him the file she was holding. “Your,” she started to say “Your mom,” but switched to “Mom asked me to bring this over to you.”

Brandon’s mom wasn’t thrilled about her lazing around the house, and since Sophia didn’t fancy hanging around his mom either, she took the chance to drop it off.

Brandon took the file. “Have you eaten?”

Sophia shook her head “Not yet.”

Brandon closed the file and turned to his entourage. “We’ll continue the meeting this afternoon. Everyone go have lunch.”

The girl by his side seemed to want to say something but bit her tongue, nodded obediently, and then led the curious crowd away, all of them sneaking glances at Sophia.

Brandon took Sophia down to the company’s cafeteria for lunch.

While waiting for their food, Brandon was still glued to his laptop, fingers flying over the keyboard, his usual cold focus on display.

Sophia propped her cheek with one hand, quietly watching him.

He was good looking, with sharp features and a stern brow, his noble nose casting a shadow as he looked down, radiating a cool authority.

He always looked this unflappable and aloof, even in their most intimate moments.

She had secretly crushed on him for eight years, from sixteen to twenty-four, but now, she didn’t want him anymore.

her bag resting on her thigh

palm rested on the papers

wrong. He just didn’t love

so maybe not loving her wasn’t really

at?” His deep voice interrupted her

her

busy and fixated on

Brandon work

get a response, his

Sophia smiled. “Nothing.”

casually asked, “When did Hannah start

shared a class with them for a year. She was a transfer student, while Brandon and Hannah had been classmates since their first year of high school, both the class’s heartthrobs and top students, always the go-to for school events. Rumors had swirled about them being into each other, but for some reason, they never got together, and Sophia, the underdog, ended up

she arrived, Brandon and Hannah were the center of attention, and she was the new kid. By the time she started making waves, school was over, and they all went their

returned to his computer, “I don’t really

nodded and

what

their peace, it wasn’t a big deal,

at the next table, playfully feeding each

felt a pang of

kind of intimacy was something she and Brandon would never

man only had eyes for

a

a science, knowing exactly what

a man wasn’t cut out

Neither was she.

on your mind?” Brandon looked up, noticing

eyes with a

Brandon’s attention

“Go ahead with your work. We

“Alright.”

an hour later when Brandon finally wrapped

he asked

Chapter 1

realizing he was asking

of checking out the bookstore, not heading

“I’ll have Kent take you there.

someone Sophia had met a

She nodded. “Okay.”

blandly, just like

from the

with a chuckle. Look at you, totally pampered with food, litter, the whole nine yards. Can’t make a dime, but you are so extravagant! Neither being considerate nor being lucky to get pregnant. You are not a princess but sure have a princess’s attitude What’s the point

the ear,

pretended not to catch the subtext in her words and gave a casual hello before heading back to her room. And sure enough, a

just picture Patricia’s sourpuss face, which made her miss the freedom she had before getting hitched even more Back then, she only had to fend for herself, with no expectations from anyone,

that Patricia had never

why. After all, she and Brandon were from different worlds,

a twist of fate that they ended

his illustrious status. She thought he was just like her, a regular Joe grinding away for his daily

worlds between them, she never would have agreed to marry Brandon. It was a shotgun wedding with no love to

hopes for the future, which made putting up with Patricia’s two-faced

with different plans in mind for her future, she couldn’t care less about

stormed out of the house in a huff, frustrated

cook and just ordered some takeout to get

late. His company was still expanding; long

had grown accustomed to

eleven, Brandon finally got home, while Sophia was still busy in