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.

and Brandon had their one-night stand, which led

Susan Cooper’s

never showed up to these things, would be there

Brandon lost all contact, didn’t join the class group chats or reunions.

had vanished

one knew where he’d gone or what he’d done. Whenever Sophia

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

and afraid it’d show, she hid behind eating and

out of neighborly duty, volunteered to take

on her balance. In her tiny one-room house, 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, 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

boyfriend, but that night, she got lost in

and the man

the fullest, both

be as green as her in love and other

his family background and looks, it was impossible

over those two years, Sophia understood why Brandon had been single a man wholly devoted to his work didn’t have the

strict upbringing also made him a stickler for clean

night was probably the only

And for Sophia, too.

her life

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

never saw it coming. She was

because they let loose a

She was also kind of ng her fingers, hoping that she

was pregnant, she was at sixes and

Brandon was talking marriage, having the kid and

hadn’t been in touch since. Sophia hadn’t planned on telling Brandon in the first place, but as luck

a bit red-faced and wanted to keep the test results under wraps, but it was too

caught a glimpse of the HCG report she was hiding behind her

“Let me see

sentence, but it was laced with an aura

handed

bit, Brandon asked her, “What’s your

shook her head, clueless. She hadn’t anticipated this baby, and

getting married and having the baby, Brandon said. “But the

“Getting married?”

her leg, but then she saw him nod

her a couple of days to mull it

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

days to think it over and then told Brandon, “So, let’s tie

the third day, they picked

yet somehow

that she and the kid weren’t meant to

to Brandon to fizzle out before their

whirlwind start and

two years felt like

familiar things in her house,

the night she almost tripped over a shoe and he

his eyes, and even now, her heart skipped

had thought that

for many

He was

heart ached with

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

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

liquor leads to trouble, and look at you. Because of Yolanda Frost, you wouldn’t date anyone, and then you go to some damn reunion, and next thing you know, that woman sneaks into

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

alright, I won’t talk about 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”

detect a different emotion in

the name Yolanda, and she felt