The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 550

Brandon tried clicking on the draft box, but the page was dead as a doornail. Clearly, only Sophia's linked phone had the magic touch to get in and edit stuff.

Brandon had no choice but to back off, staring at the phone screen as messages like "Brandon, let's make up," "Brandon, I'm sorry," and "Brandon, happy birthday" kept popping up and disappearing, without him making a move.

He could almost picture Sophia, phone in hand, hemming and hawing over her words, her hesitations flickering on the screen with every typed and deleted character.

Maybe she didn't know what to say, or maybe she did, but felt that given the odd vibe between them, those words just didn't sit right.

The unique boundaries they had, unlike other couples, made her weigh every word she said to him.

They were close enough to already own a kid together, but there was this distance, a closeness that was intimate yet strangely aloof.

Although she didn't stay close to people, she wasn't the type to be cold or distant with others. Whether with Susan, Cindy, or even Don and Kent, she managed to keep up normal social ties. But around him, she was all politeness and restraint, probably because he never gave her that signal that she was different from everyone else.

She grew up in a chilly home without a shred of warmth, and no doubt, as a kid, she must've been desperate for that parental love. She might've tiptoed around, trying to please everyone in the family, but to no avail. As people like Laura and Aaron, her gesture would only meet with more scolding or worse from. Over time, she stopped showing her longing for love.

Her feelings for him were the same. Deep down, there was still that little Sophy, craving love but too scared to reach out.

She loved him, but he never made a move towards her, never told her he felt the same, so she never dared to close the gap.

Her "Brandon, let's make up" must've taken a ton of mental prep before she worked up the courage to write it, only to delete it for fear of seeming off. She switched to a softer "Brandon, I'm sorry," and finally settled for the harmless "happy birthday."

probably feeling guilty about ignoring his peace offerings and her stubbornness about leaving him, thinking she hurt him, so that

she was the one who got hurt the most in their

"I'm sorry."

a typewriter, Brandon whispered an apology as if Sophia was on the other end of the phone, chatting

Sophia was standing right there, gazing at him with her usually calm, gentle eyes, and saying in her soft

choked up and barely audible,

he saw

spook the Sophia on the other end of the line, "Will you

response. Just the cursor moving to the

still curled in a slight smile, his eyes wet and indulgent, as if Sophia was right in front of him and this "I'm sorry" was just her playing

get.

his hand gradually went dark, returning to a silent black. Brandon's smile faded, and the

his hand, not bothering to light

tang of sadness rose in his throat again, his expression finally shifted as he silently grabbed a bottle of water nearby, twisted it open, and gulped it down before tossing it aside. His gaze lingered on a necklace on the dashboard; he paused, and then slowly reached for it, his fingertips gently touching the mini white jade

hint of noise. Brandon put on the necklace and then

out of the elevator, he spotted a hunched figure squatting at the end of the

it was Sophia's foster father, Haley Yearwood.

the corner, also saw him and hurriedly stood up, walking