Chapter 30


    At the most hyped-up local bar Brandon was chilling in a corner, nursing a drink, and zoning out as he


    stared into his ss


    Don picked the joint himself saying it was a rare chance to get Brandon out for a drink, so obviously, he


    couldn’t let Brandon down. But after searching high and low, and being a barfly himself who’s not into


    clubbing, Don was clueless about where to head Finally, he found this ce online, boasting to be a


    hotspot for both local and international travelers.


    Only when they got there did Don realize it was a hunting ground for flirts


    The thumping music in the dance area was sting his eardrums, and the shing lights were a pain in


    the eyes, not to mention the wild dancing scene


    Don had some regrets, but Brandon seemed unfazed.


    As soon as he hit the bar, he found aer, ordered a random bottle of booze, and started sipping


    away casually, not bothering to check out his surroundings. He was drinking at his own pace, as usual,


    taking his time, looking all ssy and highbrow


    Don couldn’t figure out what was going on in Brandon’s head


    If you’d say he was having mantal issues, he didn’t look like the typical down-and-out divorced dude.


    He still had his poise, and his emotions didn’t seem all over the ce


    But if you’d think everything’s peachy, there was something off about Brandon, a slight deviation from


    the cool and collected guy Dan knew, like his mind was somewhere else.


    Don couldn’t help but scoot closer to Brandon and almost had to shout over the booming music,


    “Brandon, spill the beans, man You and your wife hitting a rough patch?


    But even without the music, Brandon wasn’t giving him the time of day, let alone now


    He took a leisurely sip, looked at Don, and asked, “How long you nning to hang around here?”


    “Not sure yet” Don shouted back, Depends on how the job hunting goes. We’re hoping to find some


    long-term stable partnerships, so might take a while.”


    Then he asked, “What about you?”


    Brandon replied, “We’ll see.


    Don raised an eyebrow. “You too? I thought your life was all ns and schedules, knowing exactly


    what to do at every moment, never missing a beat”


    Brandon said, “Life throws you curveballs sometimes


    “Like what?”


    Brandon nced at the girl approaching them with a drink in hand.


    “Now.”


    Just as the girl was about to drape her arm over his shoulder, Brandon sidestepped, and her arm


    landed on Don instead. Don instinctively brushed her hand off, not minding her startled expression, and


    stood up abruptly, “Brandon!”


    But Brandon was already off, not giving him a second nce.


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    Don hurried after him.


    They had to cross the dance floor to get out.


    Young guys and gals were jumping to the rhythm of the music.


    Don tried to push through the crowd to catch up with Brandon, but every time he got close, the throng


    pushed him back


    “Brandon, wait up: Don yelled, desperate


    Brandon either didn’t hear or didn’t care, just kept going.


    In a rush, Don shoved through the crowd, identally bumping into a girl’s shoulder. “What the hell?”


    came a sharp scolding, and Brandon, who was just plowing ahead, paused and looked back at Don.


    Don also looked back and when he recognized the girl’s face, he blurted out. “Ynda?”


    The girl he had just seen on Brandon’s phone earlier.


    But the girl didn’t seem to react to “Ynda, giving him a puzzled look. “What Ynda? Can’t youe


    on to someone without being so cliché?”


    Don nced up at Brandon, suddenly feeling like he got where Brandon wasing from. But seeing


    Brandon’s gaze on the girl’s raised wrist and the bracelet, he paused for a moment, then cheekily said


    to the girl, “My bad, beautiful Got you mixed up with someone else”


    The girl was cool “No worries.”


    Don patted her shoulder, You look a lot like a friend of mine. Mind if I get your contact?”


    To show he was serious, he pulled out his business card, “I’m Don, the boss at Dempsey Architects.


    Interested in


    connecting?


    The girl looked him over skeptically, then slowly took his card, nced at it, and pulled out her phone,


    “Sure, let’s add each other on WhatsApp.


    Brandon didn’t step in, just turned around and left.


    Brandon didn’t head straight for the parking lot, but wandered aimlessly instead.


    He didn’t want to go back to the hotel, but also had no idea where else to go.


    The quiet exotic streets were alien to him at night, with few passers-by except the asional couple.


    Brandon’s gaze lingered on a yful young couple walking past, then emotionlessly shifted away,


    looking down the long


    street


    The thick walls had already blocked out the bar’s loud music behind him.


    He wasn’t into the bar scene or wasting time walking or window-shopping, but for him, right now, it was


    the best way to


    kill time.


    Images of a young Ynda and the girl who had just scolded Don, raising her phone, kept intertwining


    in his mind, but they never quite matched up. As they intertwined, Sophia’s face unexpectedly


    appeared.


    Brandon’s steps slowed, he looked up at Sophia’s apartment building, then turned and headed for his


    car parked outside the bar Before he even reached it, he pulled out his keys to unlock it, swung the


    door open, and hopped in. His hand on the steering wheel made a swift turn, and the ck Cayenne


    smoothly slid out of the spot


    Just as Don burst out of the bar, he saw Brandon and waved frantically. “Wait up.”


    Brandon rolled down the window and replied, “Got something to do, take a cab home”


    He tossed a set of keys to Don, rolled up the window, and zoomed off.


    Don was speechless


    Sophia had just finished showering and drying her hair, getting ready to hit the lights and call it a night,


    when a knocking came from the door


    Sophia shot a puzzled nce at the door and flicked off the hairdryer With hesitation in her step, she


    walked to the door and called out, “Who’s there?”


    “It’s me, came Brandon’s calm voice from the other side.


    Sophia’s confusion grew as she checked out the clock on the wall. It was already past eleven.


    “What’s up?” she asked.


    Just open the door,” he replied, his tone still cool and even, not loud but with an undertone that brooked


    no argument.


    Sophia furrowed her brows, a bit thrown off, but eventually she stepped forward and opened the door


    There stood Brandon, now donning a slightly more casual long ck coat.


    His gaze followed the opening door andnded on her face-deep, serene, and inquisitive.


    Sophia felt oddly scrutinized and her words stumbled out involuntarily choppy, “What’s going on?”


    Brandon didn’t speak He just kept looking at her with those deep and tranquil eyes