The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 198

Brandon chuckled and shook his head, deftly changing the subject, "Do you plan on settling down in the West district for good?"

Zachary responded with a smile and a finger point, "There you go dodging the bullet again. Don't tell me you plan on staying a bachelor for life?"

Still smiling, Brandon simply shook his head and glanced at the chessboard with a game still in play. He picked up a black piece and placed it firmly on the board.

"Mr. Gardner, let me keep you company with a game of chess."

Clearly, he wasn't keen on dwelling on the topic.

Mr. Gardner shook his head with a smile, knowing it was best not to pry further and picked up a white chess piece, "Let's go for it. It's been a while since we've had a good spar."

Sophia also knocked off work early today, not really in the mood for her job, and bolted as soon as the clock struck quitting time.

Seeing her pack up, Ivan started to shut down his computer and got ready to leave too.

"Let's grab dinner together tonight," he suggested.

Sophia wasn't really feeling it. With a smile, she declined, "Some other time. I've got stuff to handle today."

Ivan just smiled back, "Sure thing." He didn't push it.

Sophia headed home alone, and couldn't tell if it was the sweltering heat making her sluggish, but she didn't feel like cooking and casually ordered some takeout online.

engrossed in her Legos, her young face lit up with wonder as she stumbled over her words excitedly explaining what she was building

never fussed or clamored to see her mom, a well-behaved sight that

like this, Sophia felt a pang of longing, and couldn't help but think back to running into

be a lie; after all, it's someone she'd had feelings for nearly a decade. There was bound to be a

truly the best

haze, looking at Theresa made Sophia wonder, did she make a mistake

definitely caught Sophia zoning

asked,

Sophia shook her head, "Just missing you guys and then

you might not have gotten another chance like it. And if you're feeling guilty about Theresa, you shouldn't. It's not like you're away for good; it's just for a work trip, that's all. I'll be back once my work handover is done, and it hasn't been that

think about becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom. When she grows up, she won't thank you for it. She'll just see her mom as someone who didn't do anything with her

gave her a playful

Whenever you're working, something's bound to eat into your time, and you can't be with your kid every second of the day. So, no need to feel guilty about Theresa. You're just on a business trip, okay? This happens with any job you take unless

get it; no need to worry

smile back, knowing Sophia was smart enough to figure this out

Susan said, steering the conversation elsewhere, "Speaking of which, have you visited

blinked, "He's in the

in touch much since their last get-together in Wye City due to their busy

"He retired a couple of years ago and settled down in the West district. I

made sense Sophia didn't know; she'd been abroad

pay him a

visit when they were in different cities, but