The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 606

"Who's that?" Susan blurted out.

She never thought she'd see the day when Brandon would be humming and hawing over whether to delete a WhatsApp message or not. It just didn't seem like his style.

She figured only lovebirds caught up in romance had those kinds of dilemmas, but Brandon...

She couldn't help but sneak a peek at Brandon, then back at the WhatsApp he was brooding over, though she couldn't make heads or tails of it from the message itself.

Brandon had already pocketed his phone and turned to her, "Sorry for the hassle tonight."

Susan chuckled, "No sweat, I'm just babysitting Theresa for Sophia."

She'd been tiptoeing around mentioning Sophia in front of Brandon, knowing full well that it was a torture to him. Every time someone dropped Sophia's name around him, it was like a stab in the chest.

But seeing Brandon's indecision over the WhatsApp, a tinge of discomfort had sprouted within her - feeling it wasn't fair to Sophia.

Back when Sophia and he were getting a divorce, he had cut ties so cleanly, so decisively. Now, she didn't have a clue who was on the other end, but there he was, hesitating.

Susan figured whoever could make a guy waffle like that had to be a girl. Even though Sophia was gone and Brandon had every right to start fresh, it felt too soon for Susan's liking.

What's more, Brandon had never shown this kind of hesitation with another woman, not even with Sophia. He hadn't hesitated for a second when Sophia brought up divorce.

But now, all because of a WhatsApp contact, Brandon waffled. A wave of sympathy for Sophia surged, and Susan nearly choked up at the mention of her name.

"Sorry, I lost my cool." Susan quickly apologized, but her straight-shooting nature added, "I can't recall you ever showing any hesitation with Sophia. You always dealt with her matters so swiftly and decisively. If only you had shown a sliver of reluctance, her life might not have ended with such regret."

Brandon pressed his lips, silent. He turned and pushed open the door to his study, stepping inside.

As the study door closed, Susan stood still, unmoved. She knew her words had hit a nerve with Brandon.

There was nothing more painful in the world than waking up too late with no chance to make amends.

In the hotel, Sophia looked at her phone, her face tinged with awkwardness. Brandon's message, "Kent will inform you when there's an update," made her feel like she was imposing.

She thought that since he had added her on WhatsApp and called her, maybe he appreciated her work and wanted to discuss it further. Turned out she was reading too much into it.

That moment she saw Brandon's message, she felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head, extinguishing the earlier eagerness and enthusiasm for her design work.

She cooled down suddenly, feeling that whether her design was accepted for the science museum or not wasn't so important after all.

Her original intention was just for kicks, and getting President Poe's attention was already a huge honor and surprise.

As for the outcome, it didn't seem all that important anymore. Sophia put down her phone and got up to pack her bags.