The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 335

The line was open, but no one was picking up.

Tried calling a few times, same thing.

Don was glued to Brandon's side, even tried dialing with his own cell.

Same deal - call goes through, but no one's on the line.

"Maybe she's tied up with something and missed her phone," Don couldn't help but make an excuse for Sophia. "She's usually swamped with meetings at work, phone's on silent most of the time. Missing a call or two's nothing weird."

"Smart cookie, that one," Brandon said as he turned and headed for the underground garage.

Don was a bit slow on the uptake. "What do you mean?"

"It's no rocket science. If it happens all the time, you don't start thinking it's out of the ordinary."

Brandon's voice was faint, his stride unbroken.

It was all in Don's head – she'd already flown the coop.

Don's brows knitted slightly, but he caught on quick.

What Brandon meant was that Sophia was intentionally throwing them off the scent.

Turning off her phone or canceling her number would've been a dead giveaway that something was up.

But getting through and not being able to reach her? Happens to everyone. It's a dime a dozen. At most, you'd think the other person's just tied up, not convenient to talk, didn't notice their phone, or maybe doesn't want to chat and so on. Loads of possibilities, but you wouldn't jump to the conclusion they've gone AWOL.

Don got the picture, but his forehead was still furrowed.

"I don't know what's gone down between you and Sophia these past couple days, but aren't you being a bit jumpy?"

He couldn't fathom why Sophia would take off. With her personality, even if she planned to leave, she'd surely get all her ducks in a row and hand in her notice properly.

Even if what Cindy said was true, that she'd secretly had a kid, there was no way she could've foreseen Cindy spilling the beans, especially since Cindy hadn't let it slip when Sophia was heading downstairs.

But Brandon just curled his lips into a cool, detached smile.

"That's 'cause you never really got the measure of her."

Sophia was the type to make big moves in silence.

She always played her cards close to her chest, never making a peep until the dust settled and then – bam – hitting you with a bolt from the blue.

Divorce was like that, applying for study abroad too, and even having a kid - she pulled it off without anyone being the wiser, let alone leaving.

For her, it was like second nature.

Don fell silent.

Brandon ended the call and slowly pressed harder on the accelerator.

The car rocketed away.

Back at the office, Cindy, who was waiting for Sophia to return, stood up instinctively as Don walked in.

"Mr. Dempsey, hasn't Director Yearwood come back yet?"

She felt an uneasy premonition. Brandon had stepped outside the office to instruct Kent over the phone, and she hadn't heard the conversation, but she could tell from his expression that something was off. The untouched lunch on Sophia's desk also unsettled her, making her worry that something was amiss.

Cindy's keen concern made others glance towards Sophia's office too.

It was unusual for Sophia not to return to the office around this time.

Don had a hunch about what Cindy was worried about and reassured her with a smile. "Director Yearwood had to take care of something at home, took some time off. She might not be back this afternoon. You needed her for something?"

"She took time off, huh?"

Cindy seemed a bit disappointed and even more anxious, worried that her slip of the tongue had caused trouble. After sitting in her seat, wrestling with herself for a while, she hesitated and then composed a message to apologize to Sophia.

[Director Yearwood, I'm sorry. I saw your news while I was having lunch in the cafeteria and accidentally mentioned that you had a child through a sperm bank. Mr. Crawley was there too, and he seemed to have a big reaction. I hope it hasn't affected you. I'm really sorry.]

After agonizing over it for a while, Cindy steeled herself and sent the message.