The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 278

Sophia's vision was a bit blurry, but for some reason, she got hooked on the cocktail of emotions swirling in his eyes and zoned out staring at them.

Brandon just silently watched her, not saying a word.

After a while, his hand, hanging by his side, twitched, and then he raised it, gently brushing away the stray hair the wind had whipped onto her forehead.

The moment his fingertip touched her hair, Sophia snapped back to reality, tilting her head slightly and awkwardly dodged his reaching hand.

Brandon looked at her, his expression unaltered by the interaction.

"Martin hit you up, didn't he?" he asked softly, gazing at her.

Sophia let out a laugh, shaking her head lightly, "Nah, it was just some work stuff, nothing major."

Brandon nodded, picking up on her reluctance to dive into details. He didn't pry and simply said, "You know, Martin can be a bit off the wall sometimes. You don't have to bother with him."

Sophia nodded in agreement, "Mhm."

Brandon glanced across the street at the mall, then turned back to her, "Fancy grabbing a bite?"

Sophia pursed her lips slightly and turned him down, "No thanks, I'm not really in the mood to eat out."

He nodded, no hard feelings, and just walked her back to her apartment complex.

When they reached the entrance of the complex, Sophia turned to say goodbye, "I'm good from here, thanks for the company."

"No biggie," replied Brandon, yet he made no move to leave.

Sophia didn't linger either. After a polite nod, she turned and walked away.

Not rushing or dragging his feet, Brandon followed her to the base of her apartment building.

He showed no sign of saying goodbye.

After a moment of silence, Sophia looked back at him, "Aren't you heading home?"

"I never said I was," Brandon replied.

Sophia fell silent.

At the table, Brandon, as he always did, unwrapped and cleaned the utensils for her, then picked up the menu and handed it to her.

"See what you fancy."

"Mhm."

Sophia hummed a response, casually picked a few dishes, then handed the menu back to him, "I'm all set."

Brandon took the menu, added a couple more dishes—ordinary home cooking, but all her favorites.

Sophia felt a mix of emotions watching him close the menu and hand it back to the server. She then quietly asked him, "How did you know I left?"

"I swung by your office looking for you, but you weren't there," Brandon said, picking up the kettle and pouring her a cup of water.

"I wasn't feeling great today, so I left early," Sophia hesitated and then added softly, "Martin wanted me to take on a project as a gift for his grandparents, but it was supposed to be under Marian's name, presented as her gift. I turned it down."

She looked at Brandon, "I don't want to be the ghostwriter for anyone else, especially not for Yolanda."