The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 336

Sophia was at the airport waiting for her flight when she received the message.

Susan, Theresa, and Grace were hanging out with her.

She had wrapped up all her work with Ivan that morning, touched base with the clients around noon, and handed off the project to Ivan. Only after making sure everything at work was squared away did she head out to the airport.

Susan and Grace brought Theresa along to the airport separately.

Since this was a spur-of-the-moment decision to go on a long trip, there wasn't enough time to plan a destination or pack properly, so they just grabbed their IDs and some essentials and took off.

They bought their tickets at the airport, opting for the next available flight, destination unknown.

Thanks to the off-season and the fact that it was a weekday, they scored tickets with ease.

She didn't plan on vanishing without a word, but saying goodbye in advance wasn't an option either—she was worried about complications.

She did draft emails to Don and Brandon to explain and apologize; she just set them to send later.

She'd clear the air with the work group chat in time.

Upon seeing Cindy's message, Sophia stared at her phone silently for a bit, then replied, [Don't sweat it, no worries.]

Her nonchalance was a huge relief for Cindy, who quickly messaged back, [Thanks, Director Yearwood.]

But still a bit anxious, Cindy asked, [Won't this affect you, though? I mean, Mr. Crawley seemed pretty upset about it.]

[It won't, don't stress,] Sophia texted back, [I'll handle it. Just focus on your work and don't mind the rest.]

[Thanks, Director Yearwood,] Cindy sent another grateful message, [By the way, where did you go? Are you coming back for lunch? Mr. Crawley packed lunch for you—it's still on your desk, might be cold now. Shall I heat it up for you?]

She attached a photo of the unopened lunch box.

Sophia opened the photo. The lunch box was a big portion, carefully packed, sitting quietly on her desk.

Looking at the photo, Sophia spaced out for a moment, remembering how he had offered to have lunch with her that morning and she had said, "Let's do dinner."

She had lied to him.

In fact, as soon as she told Don not to take a leave of absence, she was already organizing today's departure.

She knew Brandon had sensed something, but they just didn't call each other out on it.

Sophia didn't know what Brandon was feeling when he packed that lunch, probably believing that she wouldn't and couldn't leave just yet.

Feeling a bit sad, Sophia rubbed her phone screen, not moving, her eyes turning slightly red.

There were a few missed calls from Brandon on her phone.

She hadn't answered them, didn't dare to.

She even planned to cancel the SIM card as soon as the plane landed.

Susan, sitting next to her and engrossed in her phone, glanced up and noticed Sophia's reddening eyes, asking with concern, "What's up?"

Sophia shook her head, "It's nothing."

She turned her head slightly to hold back the tears and sent Cindy another message. [No need, thanks.]

Then she put away her phone and didn't look again.

Theresa sat in her lap, fiddling with a Rubik's cube, and sensing Sophia's mood swings, she looked up confused and asked, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Sophia managed a smile for her, "I'm fine."

Her gaze lifted to the boarding gate in the distance.

The boarding area was still quiet.

Although it was nearly boarding time, there was no announcement calling passengers to board yet.

Susan couldn't help but check her watch, "I hope the flight's not delayed."

Sophia shook her head, "I don't know."

Sophia glanced at her watch; it was time to board, but there was no call yet—probably a delay, but no telling for how long.

She thought back to the apologetic text from Cindy and the several calls from Brandon, feeling a twinge of unease, and looked towards the crowded waiting hall.

The hall was packed, the boarding staff hadn't arrived at the gate, and there were no signs of boarding starting anytime soon.

Sophia was fiddling with her phone, her fingertips brushing against the screen hesitantly. After a moment of indecision, she picked it up and called Susan. "Hey Susan, how about we switch up our ride."

Her words trailed off abruptly as she spotted a tall figure approaching through the crowd, and she couldn't help but slow her pace down.

Brandon had spotted her too, and his steps gradually came to a halt, his gaze shifting slowly from her face down to Theresa, whom she was holding by the hand.

Theresa, oblivious to Brandon's presence, was craning her neck to look at a boutique they were passing by, its shelves stocked with all sorts of pretty toys and gifts.

She was quite taken by the display and tugged at Sophia's hand, tilting her head up to say, "Mommy, can we go in and check it out, please?"

Kent, who'd been trailing behind Brandon, came to an abrupt stop, his eyes widening in shock as he looked from Sophia to Brandon.

Brandon's gaze had drifted back to Sophia's face, and he stood rooted to the spot, silent, his eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made his Adam's apple bob violently with emotion.

Sophia turned her head slightly away, biting her lip hard, too scared to meet Brandon's eyes, her complexion ghostly pale.

Without waiting for Sophia's response, Theresa gave her hand another puzzled shake and called out again, "Mommy?"

Sophia managed to squeeze out a tight smile and gave a small nod, her throat constricted.

Thrilled by her mom's consent, Theresa happily dragged Sophia towards the store, excitedly pointing out, "Mommy, look, I wanna see this one."

Brandon turned his head slightly away too.

The afternoon sun spilled through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, bright and dazzling.

Amidst the blinding light, Kent caught a glimpse of Brandon's throat working furiously and the hint of red rimming his eyes, a faint shimmer of moisture almost visible.

But with the light glaring from behind, Kent couldn't see clearly.