Chapter 94
Sophia didn’t make a beeline for the little girl’s table.
Instead, she just breezed past it.
The little girl, being tickled pink by a tall, chubby woman, didn’t even look up.
Sophia kept her profile, cool as a cucumber, all the while.
After strolling past the little girl’s table, she stopped by another one near the window. Still on her phone, she looked around, her eyes scanning the room with a puzzled look, as if she were searching for someone.
But it seemed like a no–go. When the waiter came over with a menu, she politely waved him off. After a quick recon outside the window at the mall, Sophia headed out the front door.
Brandon threw a glance at the munchkin still being entertained by the tall, chubby woman. The kid didn’t seem all in, just curiously and confusedly looking around,
Brandon couldn’t put his finger on why he was linking the little girl with Sophia.
Maybe it was the same ballpark age, or maybe it was the peace and quiet in her eyes that brought Sophia to mind, along with a childhood memory of Yolanda. Seeing her, it felt like something hit him in the chest, but it was so fleeting he couldn’t nail it down.
Strictly speaking, the little girl didn’t really look much like Sophia,
He didn’t know if it was his preconceived notions messing with him, like how he mistook Sophia for Yolanda at first. Seeing the little girl, he naturally thought of Sophia, thought of that child, and then on auto–pilot started looking for her.
Even though she did just happen to be there.
But she didn’t interact with the little girl at all.
The little girl seemed to notice Sophia leaving, but her expression didn’t change–no tears, no fuss, no excitement, just the same curious and puzzled look she gave everyone else.
A young woman with Zenithan features came up to their table with an apologetic smile, sat down opposite the tall, chubby woman, dropped her bag, and turned to playfully engage the little girl.
The kid giggled away, clearly cozy with the stranger.
Even though it was the most normal thing, Brandon couldn’t deny the pang of disappointment that surged in
him for a sec.
Life’s not chock–full of coincidences and strokes of luck.
Brandon’s gaze drifted from the little girl’s face to Sophia, who was already outside. After a moment’s silence, he followed suit.
Don had been wolfing down his food, oblivious to Sophia who had just walked by. It was only when Brandon approached that he looked up, ready to invite him to dig in while it’s hot, but Brandon was already saying goodbye, “You keep at it, I gotta run, Catch you later.”
Don was like, “Huh?”
Brandon had already bent down to grab the bill from the table, scanned a code on his phone to pay, and was out the door.
Sophia hadn’t gone far, just hanging by the mall entrance, waiting. She turned when she saw Brandon approaching
Compared to the surprise of their sudden encounter earlier, Sophia was now all cool and collected. She even
da smile and greeted him, “Are you here for a bite?
Chapter 94
Brandon nodded slightly, “Yeah.”
He glanced behind her, “Waiting for someone?”
Sophia nodded, “Yeah, a friend for dinner.”
Then she asked him, “What brings you here?”
“Business trip.”
Sophia gave a soft laugh, checked her watch, then looked outside, obviously still waiting for someone
Brandon followed her gaze outside and then turned back to her, “Congrats on graduating.”
Sophia smiled, “Thanks”
She remembered when he had Susan tell her not to drop out, that he wouldn’t bother her again, and as her lips pressed together in a slight smile, she looked at him and sincerely thanked him, “For back then, thank you.”
Brandon didn’t reply, just kept looking at her.
Sophia felt a bit awkward under his gaze, barely pulling a smile before looking away.
Finally, Brandon broke the silence, “How’ve you been these past years?”
His voice was as calm as ever.
Sophia said, “Pretty good.”
She politely returned the question, “And you?”
“Not too bad.”
Sophia wasn’t sure how to keep the conversation going. They weren’t big talkers back in the day, and now with a couple of years and the awkwardness of once being married between them, she wasn’t sure what to chat about. She just smiled and looked outside, using the wait as an excuse to dodge the awkwardness.
Brandon also looked out the door. “What’s the plan now? Heading back home?!
Sophia shook her head lightly, “Not going back.
Brandon looked at her, “Why not?”
Sophia pursed her lips, not really wanting to answer, but Brandon’s eyes were fixed on her, waiting.
“There’s no home to go back to. It’s all the same,” she said with a smile. Just then, her phone beeped–it seemed a WhatsApp message came in.
Sophia checked it and then apologetically said to Brandon, “My friend’s here, I should go.”
