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.

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

her buddy Susan Cooper’s begging

the guy who never showed up to these things,

didn’t join the class group chats or reunions. They were like ships passing in the night, briefly crossing paths before vanishing

Brandon had vanished even more

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

mix of thrilled and nervous. 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 was stiff and formal, especially with him sitting right next to her their proximity made her even stiff

she hid behind eating and drinking,

volunteered to take her

she tripped over shoes left by the door as soon as she entered. Brandon, 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,

hook-ups. She’d never even had a boyfriend, but that night, she got lost in Brandon’s deep. soft, yet intense

the gaze and the man she’d fantasized about

they indulged to the fullest, both inexperienced but

Brandon to be as green as her in love

it was impossible he couldn’t have had a

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

made him a stickler for clean

probably the only slip-up in his

And for Sophia, too.

life all

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

saw it

loose a little too much,

time to swing by the pharmacy for the morning-after pill. She was also kind of ng her fingers, hoping that she was in the clear since it was supposedly her safe period.

found out she was pregnant, she was at

talking marriage, having the

Brandon in the first place, but as luck would have it, she bumped into him at the hospital where

was a bit red-faced and wanted to keep the test

the HCG report she was hiding behind

“Let me see

sentence, but it was laced with an aura that brooked

Sophia handed over the

bit, Brandon asked

baby,

baby, Brandon said. “But the ball’s in your court. If you’re not

“Getting married?”

gobsmacked. She thought Brandon was pulling her leg, but then she saw him nod earnestly, “I’m

gave her a couple of days to mull

sweet on Brandon for years, but she never imagined that one day he’d pop

Brandon, “So, let’s tie the knot.”

day, they picked up their

yet somehow it all fell into

and the

expect her marriage to Brandon to fizzle

whirlwind start and a

past two years felt like

her house, Sophia felt an

she almost tripped over a shoe and he

turmoil in his

had thought that

feelings for many

was just a

heart ached with this

remembered overhearing a tiff between Brandon and his father in the study a few days ago when she was

she was pregnant with. your child,

got my reasons.

trouble, and look at you. Because of Yolanda Frost, you wouldn’t date anyone, and then you go to some damn reunion,

cut off his father Daniel Crawley, his tone icy. This

her. Every time she comes up, you jump to her defense I’m just asking, what if Yolanda comes back? Don’t forget, you were

“She’s never coming back”

moments she could detect a different

Sophia had heard the name Yolanda,