The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Hannah couldn't figure out what type of gal could make Brandon give that look. Or maybe, was she just reading too much into it? She'd known Brandon for ages and never seen him take a shine to any chick. Even back in their school days when he hung out with Sophia a bit, it wasn't anything special, just a tad closer than with other classmates. And that fizzled out over time.

Hannah couldn't buy that a guy who barely batted an eyelid at women suddenly did a 180. She couldn't help but sneak a peek in the direction of Brandon's gaze, but saw nada.

With a puzzled frown, she turned to look at the other execs in the elevator.

Turns out they were all doing the sas her, craning their necks following Brandon's gaze, and just like her, they saw squat. Hannah: "..

|| Leading the pack was the Head of Business Development, her ex-boss Sean.

Sean knew about Hannah's old school ties with Brandon - he was the one who hired her. He didn't just value her work chops; her connection to Brandon played a part too. It wasn't just the high school alumni thing; Patricia had put in a good word, and he owed her one.

At that time, he didn't know Brandon was already hitched.

When he found out about Brandon's marriage, he was already divorced himself, and then out of the blue, Brandon was a dad, handing out candy in the office to celebrate his "little bundle of joy." Back then, Brandon was strutting around, full of beans. But who'd have thought it wouldn't be long before the news hit that Brandon was dropping a cool billion to find Sophia.

Like most in thepany, Sean was clueless about who Sophia was or what she meant to Brandon, but it was plain as day that Brandon had changed post-newsflash.

Brandon used to be all about the grind, sharp and efficient, always on full throttle. Then his spark just dimmed. He'd zone out during big meetings, then wrap things up in a rush.

The execs, who'd known Brandon for years, could see it; he'd gone from workaholic to knocked for six.

His smile had vanished - not that he was Mr. Smiley before, but at least he used to have a calm demeanor and not the lifeless look he'd been sporting for months.

And now, this guy, who seemed to have lost all zest for life, was inexplicably lost in a soft, tender gaze that he couldn't hide.

"Mr. Crawley in love?" Sean, aware of Hannah's connection to Brandon, couldn't help but whisper, "He's like a whole new person, ain't he?" Hannah didn't expect Sean to think the same. She glanced at him but immediately dismissed the thought: "As if. Does Mr. Crawley look like he's got tfor love?" "Right. Like Mr. Crawley would fall for someone, especially with his ex's situation being so recent..." "Well, ex is ex for a reason, right? Moving on is only natural, and Mr. Crawley is still young..." "How could he not care about his ex? Haven't we all seen how he's been these past few months..." "Maybe he's over it. Mr. Crawley sure looks like a man in love now. Didn't see him like this even when he was married..." The others couldn't hold back and started to murmur among themselves.

Everyone had noticed Brandon's changes; they'd been holding it in for too long and couldn't help themselves now.

Listening to the chatter, Hannah's brow furrowed deeper, pondering the odds of Brandon being in love when the man of the hour, Brandon, suddenly turned to look their way.

The whispers died down instantly.

Everyone knew he couldn't hear them from that distance, but his sudden glance sent a shiver down their spines, and they straightened up, trying to look nonchalant under his gaze.

Brandon's eyes had lost their warmth as he scanned the group with a cool gaze.

Hannah's heart skipped a beat when Brandon looked over, and she held her breath without meaning to.

But Brandon's eyes didn't linger on her; they moved to Sean beside her.

Sean stepped up with a smile: "Mr. Crawley." Brandon nodded slightly, acknowledging the greeting but not asking why everyone was there.

(ent, who had just stepped out of his office, saw the execs walking oward them and Brandon, leaning gainst the railing. He approached vith a smile, explaining, "Annual exec meeting for all departments, et last week." w Brandon nodded slightly: "Right, you handle it." Was that his way of saying he wasn't joining? The crowd exchanged surprised glances.

Kent was caught off guard too. When he didn't see Brandon earlier, he'd messaged him about the meeting, thinking Brandon would attend.

Without further explanation, Brandon turned and headed toward the lounge.

Hannah wasn't there for the meeting; she was there to report in. Seeing Brandon leave, she called out in a rush, "Mr. Crawley, I'm here to report to you." Brandon didn't stop.

Kent, always good at reading the room and recognizing Hannah, knew she was transferred back, as the overseas development department had filed a report. With a smile, he took over, "Ms. Abbott, just giveyour report and work documents, I'll take care of it for you." "But..." Hannah frowned, wanting to say more, but Kent cut her off with a smile, reaching out his hand, "The documents, please." Hannah had no choice but to hand over her report and work papers to Kent.

"You can head back to work now." Kent grabbed the materials, "Just run it by HR as usual, and my assistant will buzz you if there's any hiccups." With that, he shifted his gaze to the other execs, signaling them to head to the conference room to get set up. Without another word to Hannah, he was off.

By the the reached the meeting room, Daniel had shown up too.

Kent wasn't surprised to see him there.

These past few months, with Brandon not giving a hoot about thepany and Daniel, who'd been shoved out of the limelight despite Brandon's warnings, waltzed back into the biz. It seemed like Brandon was so crushed by losing Sophia that he couldn't care less about running thepany, let alone Daniel stirring the pot.

Originally, Brandon had put the brakes on Daniel for Sophia's sake. Now that she was gone, those restrictions seemed pointless. So, with Daniel fretting about Brandon nosediving and taking thepany with him, he started popping into thepany more often.

"Mr. Crawley playing hooky from the meeting again?" Daniel asked, spotting Kent heading for the stage. He was pretty much used to this drill by now.

Kent, as always, just nodded subtly. But unlike the heavy vibes from before, he was all cool and collected now.

Daniel didn't pick up on the shift. He was too caught up in his blues over Brandon's slump, heaving a sigh, "This can't go on forever." He was riddled with regrets - for stopping Brandon from being with Sophia, and even more for messing with the construction schedule on his own accord.

If he hadn't gone rogue, Sophia wouldn't have had her accident, and Brandon wouldn't be in this mess.

Kent stood by respectfully, keeping mum and not spilling the beans about Sophia's return. That wasn't his place to say.