The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 2

Brandon bee-lined home.

It was his first time ducking out of work to head back

His pad, spick and span, no longer had any traces of Sophia, except for that divorce agreement on the coffee table, all mussed up by the breeze.

Brandon reached for it

The agreement was straightforward. Sophia didn’t want a thing. What was hers before the marriage stayed hers after

Her signature was already on the dotted line

Her handwriting was gorgeous, all flowy and elegant.

Brandon zoned out staring at the signature on the divorce papers.

No clue how much time had passed when the rustling sound of the door opening snapped him back to reality

Brandon whipped his head toward the entrance.

Patricia had just stepped in, and his sudden glance startled her big time

“What’s up?” she asked, puzzled, clearly noticing the flicker of hope on Brandon’s face slowly fade into dead calm.

“Nothing much, he replied coolly. “What brings you here?”

“I was worried Sophia might be bored stiff at home alone, just dropped by to keep her company, Patricia said with a smile, moving towards him, “What’s with the sudden home run today? Something up with Sophia?”

As she spoke, her brows furrowed with concern, her head turning towards the room.

“She’s fine, Brandon said, looking at her, “Do you drop by often?”

“Not really, just now and then.”

Patricia’s face was painted with awkward embarrassment, and upon finishing her sentence, she saw Brandon’s brow furrow

She quickly changed the subject to the papers in Brandon’s hand “What’s that?”

Reaching to grab them, but before her fingertips could touch the documents, Brandon pressed them down first.

“It’s nothing. Brandon said, looking at Patricia, “No need for you to come over if there’s no issue. Sophia’s got her work. cut out for her. We’ll come visit you when we get the chance.”

“She, Patricia began, almost blurting out “What work could she possibly have?” but quickly bit her tongue, “Alright then.

She couldn’t help but remind Brandon, Sophia’s been recuperating for over a year and still no baby bump. I hope she hasn’t got some lingering issues. Have her get checked at the hospital when she can. I wouldn’t want troubles with having kids later.

Brandon said. “It’s the kid I didn’t want.”

Patricia looked at him, baffled

Brandon issued the boot. “You better head back, and don’t come around unless it’s necessary.”

Patricia’s mouth hung open, wanting to protest, but ultimately, she shut it under Brandon’s icy stare, and turned to leave.

Brandon watched the door close, glanced around the house now devoid of Suphia’s presence, heaved a long sigh, picked up his phone, and dialed his assistant Kent. “Kent, set up a meeting with the lawyer, gotta sort out this divorce

Huh? Kent was taken aback. Wasn’t it just yesterday he’d sent Sophia over? They didn’t seem to be at odds.

Brandon hall aiready hung up, tossing the divorce papers on the coffee table and stepping out the door

Sophia moved back to her smell suburban house.

Chapter

She’d bought it before getting hitched, just the right size for her solo living.

it was in this tiny place where she and Brandon had their one-night stand, which led to

Cooper’s begging and tagged along to

Brandon, the guy who never showed up to these things, would

high school, she and Brandon lost all contact, didn’t join the class group chats or reunions. They were like ships passing in the night, briefly crossing paths before vanishing into their own

had vanished even

what he’d done. Whenever Sophia casually prodded her high school friends, there wasn’t a

The crush she never dared to voice was swirling in her chest, but she never found the courage to spill it, even talking to him

afraid it’d show, she hid behind

duty, volunteered to take her home after

quick on the uptake, caught her and in the inertia of the moment, she ended up in his arms. The lights were off, Brandon had had a few himself, and whether it was the booze or the night’s spell, when their gazes met, the chemistry was undeniable. Alone, tipsy, and with the man she’d pined over for years, their locked eyes became impossible to break away

for casual hook-ups. She’d never even had a boyfriend, but that night, she got lost

and the man she’d fantasized

the

to be as green as her in love and other

and looks, it was impossible he

a man wholly devoted to his work didn’t have the

also made him a stickler

the only slip-up in his

And for Sophia, too.

life all mapped

in architectural design in college and had a decent amount of talent and skills. She was looking to get some advanced training and was already getting her ducks in a row to apply to the School of Architecture of Apex Engineering University. But one unexpected night threw a wrench into all

it

hadn’t played it safe that night, and because they let loose a little too much,

morning-after pill. She was also kind of ng her fingers,

out she was pregnant, she was at sixes

Brandon was talking marriage, having the kid and all

on telling Brandon in the first place, but as luck would have it, she bumped into him at the hospital where he was visiting

wanted to keep the test

was hiding behind her back, and reached out

“Let me see

sentence, but it was laced with an aura that brooked

handed over

bit, Brandon asked

this baby, and

the ball’s in your

“Getting married?”

She thought Brandon was pulling her leg, but then she saw him

couple of days

but she never imagined that one day he’d pop

think it over and then told Brandon, “So,

third day, they picked

absurd, yet somehow it all fell into

never imagined that she and the kid weren’t meant to

did she expect her marriage to Brandon to fizzle out

a whirlwind start

past two years felt like a

her house,

tripped over a shoe and he caught her,

and the emotional turmoil in his eyes, and even now, her heart skipped

thought that

for many years, which led to that night’s

wasn’t the case. He was

heart ached with

remembered overhearing a tiff between Brandon and his father in the study a few days

ill back then. He was fond of you and wanted to see you married before he passed. You didn’t want him to leave with regrets, so you rushed things with Sophia. It just so happened that she was pregnant with. your child, so I didn’t say much. It gave your grandpa peace, but it’s been two years, and that child wasn’t meant to be with you guys You’re not planning to drag

reasons. Mind your own

you wouldn’t date anyone, and then you go to some damn reunion, and

his father Daniel Crawley, his tone icy. This

to her defense I’m just asking, what

“She’s never coming back”

tell that Brandon’s voice faded a bit. It was one of the rare moments she could detect a different

the name Yolanda, and she felt a