The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Harvey Ferber didn't have a clue what the deal was between him and Brandon, or what kind of mess they were tangled up in.

Frankly, he didn't give a hoot.

Saving Sophia in the first place was just a spur-of-the-moment humanitarian thing - they couldn't just stand by and watch her die.

It wasn't until he caught wind of Brandon offering a hefty reward to find Sophia that he figured he could use her as a bargaining

chip to swap for Aurora Wharf.

But he wasn't sure if Brandon would bite or not.

After all, Brandon might've been ready to shell out a fortune to find a woman, but the revenue a dock could generate was way

beyond that kind of money.

In Harvey Ferber's book, Sophia was small potatoespared to the wharf.

So, during the brief layover of the cruise ship at the West district dock, he hatched a plan to meet up with Brandon. He wanted to

strike a deal while Sophia was still unconscious, but before he could get down to business, Brandon had to leave urgently.

With the ship's departure tupon them, they had no choice but to set sail.

Once Sophia was fully conscious, Harvey laid it on the line and told her straight up: it was him who saved her.

But let's get real, he wasn't the type to play the hero for nothing. He didn't know who she was, nor did he care about her

connections. It was just his luck that the moment he saved her, someone was ready to pay a fortune to find her, and that someone

just happened to be his business rival. So, he planned to use her as a bargaining chip.

Despite being patched up by the doctors, Sophia was still weak. Confronted with Harvey's blunt truth, she wasn’t scared or freaked

out. With a frail, soft voice, she just asked him, “Swap for what?”

“A dock,” Harvey Ferber said, not missing a beat.

Sure, it's not exactly noble to cash in on a good deed, but he wasn't about to stoop to dirty tricks, so he didn't keep Sophia in the

dark.

She seemed a bit dazed at first, then managed a weak smile and said, “Who would give up a dock for one woman?”

He chuckled back at her, “Wanna find out?”

Deep down, he was hoping Sophia would agree.

If she gave the nod, he'd be on the phone with Brandon in a heartbeat.

But Sophia said no.

She shook her head slowly and firmly, still weak: “No thanks.”

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“Don't you want to know how much you mean to that guy?” he baited her, figuring most women would want to know their worth in

the eyes of the man they cared about.

But clearly, either Brandon wasn't Sophia's type, or she genuinely didn't care. Lying in her hospital bed, she shook her head again:

“Don't care.”

Her gesture and gaze were resolute, without a hint of hesitation.

In that moment, Harvey Ferber had to admit, he just couldn't figure this girl out.

Her eyes were clear and calm, and beneath that serenity was an ironclad resolve.

That mix of gentle firmness and peace had him second-guessing whether Sophia really had amnesia.

But earlier, when she hade around enough to chat, the confusion and bewilderment in her eyes were real.

When he asked her again if she remembered who she was, her hesitant shake of the head was genuine.

She had otten herself.

The hematoma inside her skull was pressing on her brain, messing with her memories.

As to whether she'd get her memory back, the doctors couldn't say.

It mighte back quickly, or maybe never at all.

It was all uncertain.

They were at sea with no chance of surgery, so they had to make do with medication.

But maybe she was just lucky, because by the tthey docked at the next port, the hematoma had mostly been absorbed,

leaving only a tiny spot deep inside her skull.

The risk of operating on that spot was extremely high, and there was no guarantee that surgery would bring her memory back. So,

after a big discussion, the consensus was no surgery - just too risky. Better to let her body heal on its own.

That little blood clot was something that could resolve itself, theoretically.

As neither kin nor husband, Harvey Ferber didn't dare make that call for Sophia.

So, no brain surgery for her, and no memoryeback either.

Harvey had thought that if Sophia was on board, he'd get in touch with Brandon to negotiate. But her refusal threw a wrench in his

plans.

With her awake and aware, he couldn't just bypass her wishes and negotiate with Brandon like when she was unconscious. That

wasn't his style.

Sophia didn't even ask who the guy was.

Over the past few months, even though she was often confused, she was always calm and stable, never panicking about being

without a past or a future, just lost.

So, Harvey Ferber had to admit, he just couldn't figure this girl out.

To him, not asking, not caring meant she didn't want anything more to do with that person.

Truth be told, he hadn't had much to do with Sophia in those months.

Apart from the odd check-in about her recovery and that one chat about using her to trade for the dock, they hadn't really crossed

paths.

Their relationship was anything but close, even though she had be his mom's goddaughter.

Taking Sophia as a goddaughter was more his mother's wishful thinking.

She was into Sophia's quiet, unassuming nature, loved herpany, and since Sophia couldn't remember her own family, she

figured it must be fate and proposed bing her goddaughter.

With Amanda taking care of Sophia hand and foot in the hospital and literally saving her life, Sophia couldn't turn down such a big

favor and reluctantly agreed.

But Sophia clearly wasn't good at cozying up to folks either. She might have agreed to Amanda's proposal to be her

goddaughter, and they did start calling each other "godmom" and "goddaughter," but Harvey Ferber could tell there was a gap in

their closeness.

She kept everyone at arm's length.

But hey, saving a life is worth more than anything.

Harvey got why Sophia was feeling out of her element; he wasn't much for getting close to people himself.

The reason he'd popped over at this twas just to let her and Amanda know he wasn't planning on leaving West district anytime

soon.

So if they wanted to head back first, he'd make sure someone gave them a lift out.

Sophia looked totally lost.

"I want to think it over a bit more," she said.

Harvey nodded, not pushing her to make a quick exit.

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Amanda was itching to leave and seeing that neither of them was ready to go, she scrunched up her brows.

"Why stick around for a few more days?"

She almost lost her cool on the spot, but managed to clamp it down when Harvey glanced her way, smoothing out her tone as best

as she could, "I don't get why we'd linger now. There's nothing going on business-wise in West district, and with the holidays

around the corner, you know Dad wants us all to spend it together."

Harvey's lips curled like he'd heard a good joke, "All of us, together? What all of us' are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Amanda clammed up.

The awkward silence made Sophia glance her way.

Confusion was written all over Amanda'’s face, tinged with a mix of guilt and a touch of resentment.

It was the first tSophia saw anything but kindness and peace on Amanda's face.

She couldn't help but look at Harvey too.

He had turned his face towards the window.

His good-looking profile was cast in the light and shadows outside, looking a tad tense.

And for Sophia, it was her first glimpse of the under-the-surface tension between mother and son.

She didn’t know the first thing about what had gone down between Harvey Ferber and Amanda, let alone anything about the

Ferber family.

Though she'd agreed to Amanda's request to be her goddaughter, they weren't close enough to pry into each other's family

affairs. She was even less familiar with Harvey.

Sophia tried to say something to diffuse the tension, but before she could, Amanda softened up and murmured to Harvey, "If

you've got stuff to handle and can't make it back, don’t worry. Sophia and | will head back."

She had made the decision for Sophia.

Harvey looked at Sophia.

"I..." Suddenly the center of attention, Sophia had to look at Amanda. Hesitating a moment before speaking her mind, she finally

said, "I might... want to stay a few more days, too."

"Why, though?" Amanda looked upset, "Don't you want to spend the holidays with your godmom?"

"No, that's not it," Sophia quickly shook her head, "I've just been cooped up in the hospital and on that ship for months, and I'm

kind of stir-crazy. | want to get out and see more things."

"Then it's settled," Amanda said gently, "godmom will tag along with you."