The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 36

Sophia just gave a slight nod.

“If I’m not around here, I’ll make sure someone else takes care of you, so don’t sweat it, Brandon said, as he helped her lug her bags into the master bedroom. Glancing at his watch, he added, “It’s getting late, you should hit the sack.”

Sophia nodded silently again.

“You too get some shut-eye.”

Brandon let out a soft “Hmm” and on his way out, he kindly closed the door behind him.

Sophia had already freshened up back at home, so she turned off the lights and got into bed.

The mattress in this five-star hotel was comfy and plush, but sleep just wasn’t coming to Sophia.

In just half a day, it seemed like everything had looped back to square one.

Not a great feeling, to say the least.

Her hand instinctively rested on her flat belly, knowing full well that the heart of the matter was the child inside her, just like it was two years ago.

The thought of retracing her past life steps was something she instinctively pushed against.

In the dead of night, amidst this resistance, she drifted into a fitful sleep, caught between dreams and reality. Every time she closed her eyes, she was besieged by dreams. In the bizarre dreamscapes, Sophia felt like she was back in Brandon’s West district house, living there alone year-round, a place vast and empty, devoid of life and, contrary to her expectations, free will. Patricia, with her graceful and proper demeanor, appeared in her dreams, her words laced with hidden barbs, waking Sophia in a cold sweat. When she looked out the window, the sky was already bright.

hair to the back of her head, feeling the dampness at

silence for a while, taking in the empty beauty of the room. Just one night, and

an en-suite bathroom stocked with

through the motions of washing up and getting dressed with a wooden expression. Only then did she

door to leave her

adjacent bedroom was

the living room, where, in the open-plan kitchen, Brandon

casual home wear, lacking the usual sharp aura he had in a suit, replaced instead by a more

could cook, and he was pretty darn

taste his cooking or see him bustling about in the

ordinary life and the day-to-day domesticity were never part of his world. His

it was because

had developed a Pavlovian response to cook meals on time, as if only

had always despised

remember the last time she had seen such a scene. The last memorable occasion

Back then, cooking had

had come full circle,

his egg-frying, then turned around

he asked, turning

a gentle

kind of out

and stood in front.

hesitation, Sophia

you grief? Or just not your cup of tea?” he asked, brushing

her head

gave her a deep look but didn’t pry