The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon frowned slightly and instinctively looked back in the direction of Harvey Ferber.

Harvey Ferber had wandered off with Kent, leaving only a tall and indifferent silhouette behind.

"What's with the weird vibe?" Brandon asked Theresa in a hushed tone.

Theresa shook her head blankly: "I don't know."

"Weird" was about the only adjective her little mind could muster up.

Brandon gave her a reassuring smile: "No worries."

He tried to probe a bit more: "Does the way uncle looked at you make you feel ufortable?"

Theresa shook her head again: "No."

Brandon: "Does it scare you?"

Still shaking her head, Theresa replied: "No."

So it wasn't a look that would unsettle or frighten a kid.

Brandon's heart settled a bit, and he softly consoled her: "Maybe uncle's seeing you for the first time, so he's just a bit curious,

that's all."

"Oh."

Theresa nodded, not quite understanding, as Brandon carried her out of the mall. The doors opened to fewer people outside than

in, so she wriggled to be let down to walk by herself.

Brandon bent down to set her down, straightening her clothes as he spoke: "Stay with godmom for a sec, daddy's gonna fetch the

car"

The end-of-year mall rush had the underground parking lot jam-packed, so he had no choice but to park in the open-air lot.

Theresa obediently nodded: "Okay."

Brandon ruffled her hair, gave Susan a few words of caution, and then turned to head toward the car.

Theresa, hand in hand with Susan, ambled toward the curb, her curiosity getting the better of her as she gawked around. When

she caught sight of the "West District Sky Mall" logo, a familiar figure turning away caught her eye. Her expression shifted, and

suddenly she broke free from Susan's grip, dashing toward the figure while calling out "Mommy" as she ran and cried.

The square wasn't as packed as the mall, but there were still plenty of people around.

Being small and nimble, Theresa darted into the crowd, and it wouldn't have taken much for her to get knocked over and trampled.

Susan turned pale with fear, chasing after her and calling out urgently: "Theresa, stop!"

Her cries made Brandon freeze in his tracks and whirl around to look for Theresa.

She was like a little whirlwind, weaving through the crowd, now in tears and screaming for her mommy.

Brandon's face went ashen as he quickly turned and dashed toward Theresa.

The onlookers were startled by her actions, pausing to watch the unfold.

People walking by, oblivious to her, could easily trip her up, and that's precisely what happened—Theresa tumbled to the ground.

The crowd gasped in shock.

She didn't know if it was the fall or the exhaustion, but after a struggle to get up, she just sat there, crying her lungs out for Sophia,

who was long gone, with relentless cries of "Mommy."

Sophia, having crossed the street, seemed to sense something and glanced back toward the square.

She was standing at a bustling intersection, with traffic and pedestrians creating a cacophony of noise.

The edge of the square was crammed with electric bikes, and the square itself was teeming with people. She couldn't see anything

from that distance.

Amanda, puzzled, looked at her: "What's up?"

Sophia shook her head in a daze: "It's nothing."

She hesitated, not moving from her spot.

An electric scooter, unable to get past, honked its horn in irritation several times.

Amanda quickly tugged at Sophia to step aside: "Let's go, it's too busy here, we shouldn't block the way."

Sophia glanced at her, then apologetically said sorry to the scooter rider and let Amanda pull her away.

Brandon reached Theresa, scooping her up, and checked her over with concern: "Did you hurt yourself?"

From the moment Theresa took off, he had eyes only for her.

His heart nearly stopped when she tripped, fearing the crowd might accidentally trample on her tiny frame.

Theresa didn't respond, just shook her head and kept crying.

Susan, heart pounding with fear, caught up and anxiously looked at Theresa: "Did you get hurt anywhere, sweetie?"

Theresa just kept crying, gasping for air, like a little lost animal that couldn't speak.

Brandon hugged her tight, gently patting her back, trying to soothe her.

It took a while, but Theresa finally caught her breath and sobbed to Brandon: "Mommy, mommy doesn't wantanymore."

Brandon looked at Theresa: "Why would you think that all of a sudden? Mommy hasn't left you."

Theresa glanced at Brandon through tearful eyes, not saying a word.

"Did you see something just now?" Brandon asked softly, looking at her.

"I saw mommy." Theresa said, "But she didn't stop, even when | kept calling her."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened again, filled with hurt.

"That means she wasn't your mommy," Brandon said gently, "Mommy wouldn't want to see Theresa upset."

Theresa looked at him, hesitated, but then seemed convinced, nodding earnestly: "Yeah."

Her gaze drifted unintentionally back to where Sophia had disappeared.

Brandon followed her gaze, turning to look down the street.

At the crossroads, the flow of cars and people was bustling, but every face was a stranger's.

Even if there's the odd silhouette that kind of looks like Sophia, Brandon knows it isn't her.

For months now, he and Theresa have stopped in their tracks over and over for every Sophia look-alike in the crowd. But every

tthey get all worked up, grab the person's arm, and the stranger turns around with a shocked face, all their hopes crash and

burn in that moment.

Tand again, whether it's him, Theresa, or even Susan, they all get their hopes fired up by sdoppelganger of Sophia, only

to get slammed back down to earth by cold, hard reality.

Susan couldn't help but steal a glance at the bustling street, then back at Brandon and Theresa.

Truth be told, she's just like Brandon, deep down knowing full well that Sophia isn'ting back. The only reason they keep

hanging on is clinging to that sliver of hope, forcing themselves to keep pushing forward.

Brandon slowly pulled his gaze back from staring off into the street and quietly asked Theresa, "Are you hurt from the fall?"

Theresa shook her head, "No, I'm good."