Sophia pressed her lips and turned off her phone with a press, leaving his message hanging. But she couldnât stop her eyes from reddening a bit, still feeling a sting.
She didnât wake Brandon or spill the beans to him.
His go-to move would just be to have a chat with Daniel; that was all. But Daniel was in no shape to handle any sort of face-off with Brandon.
She didnât want Brandon to carry the weight of potentially sending his dad to an early grave.
Daniel knew the score with his health. He was playing the sick card, betting on his frailty so no one would dare to cross him, aiming to clear the air in one fell swoop, even if it might cost him his life.
Sophia couldnât tell if he was just being pigheaded, or if his deep love for his son drove him to gamble with his life to keep her away from his boy.
The next day, Sophia kept her cool so Brandon wouldnât catch on. But her eyes were still puffy from the nightâs tears.
Brandon only caught the red in her eyes while they were freshening up, pausing with a complicated look in his eyes.
âIs it really that rough?â He asked, his voice raspy.
His words tugged at Sophiaâs heartstrings, making her eyes water again. She didnât know how to put it; this wasnât about Brandon.
He was already a dream, nothing short of perfect.
âItâs not about you.â she said softly, âIâm just about to hit that time of the month; sometimes I just canât help feeling down.â
Brandon just said an âOkayâ, eyeing her for a moment before letting out a sigh and stepping closer for a gentle hug.
His tenderness made Sophiaâs eyes sour all over again.
After breakfast, they headed to the office together just like any other day, each to their own workspace.
At the company entrance, Sophia bumped into Marian unexpectedly.
Marian was usually on the dot, often running late because of Daniel, but showing up early like today was a rare bird.
Maybe because of yesterdayâs drama, Marian dipped her head and skirted past Sophia to her desk without a word.
The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate ï¤Chapter 445 The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus)
ï¤Chapter 590 Forgive Us, My Dear Sister ï¤Chatper 494 The office was filling up; most had seen the press conference from the day before. They were shocked but kept mum, pretending like nothing happened.
Don was already at the office too, and caught the moment between Marian and Sophia.
The issue of Marianâs stay or leave was giving him a headache. Marianâs plagiarism didnât go down on a company project; it was off the clock, so it wasnât clear-cut to fire her by the book.
Plus, Marian got her foot in the door through connections from Martin, Louis, and Brandonâs folks. He was thinking, since she was not Yolanda, there shouldnât be any hard feelings about letting her go, but then yesterday it came out she actually was Yolanda, and now there were all these social niceties to consider, making things tricky for him.
But Don remembered Martin swearing up and down to Brandon that the report was fake, and with all these truths and lies, it was even harder to make a call. He wasnât like Brandon who could keep it cold and fair; he was somewhat caught up in these social niceties, mindful of saving face for all involved.
He decided he needed to get the lowdown from Martin.