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.

young face lit up with wonder as she

saw Sophia, she'd light up with joy and excitement, but never fussed or clamored to see her mom, a well-behaved

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

had feelings for nearly a decade. There was bound to be a sense of times gone by and a

truly the best

made Sophia

sitting nearby, definitely

asked, "You

you guys and then I can't help but wonder if coming back was the right

"That was a great opportunity, and 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

grows up, she won't thank you for it. She'll just see her mom as someone who didn't do anything with her life, someone who can't give her

her a playful look, "Your mind's running

quality time. 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

get it; no need to worry

knowing Sophia was smart enough to figure this

that. You've got more experience with this than I do." Susan said, steering the conversation elsewhere, "Speaking of which, have you visited your mentor since you've been

blinked, "He's in

hadn't been aware of this, as they hadn't been in touch much since their last get-together

Sophia, "He retired a couple

didn't know; she'd been abroad at

a visit soon," Sophia

been convenient to visit when they were in different cities, but now that they were in