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.

Brandon had their one-night stand, which led to the

buddy Susan Cooper’s begging and tagged along to the high

the guy who never showed up

reunions. They were like ships passing in the night,

had vanished even more

Whenever Sophia casually prodded her high school friends, there wasn’t a peep

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

she hid behind

perhaps out of neighborly duty, volunteered to take her home after

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,

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

the gaze and the man she’d fantasized about

they indulged to the

green as her in love

it was impossible he couldn’t have had a

why Brandon had been single a man wholly devoted to his

strict upbringing also made him

night was probably the

And for Sophia, too.

had her life all

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

never saw it coming.

they let loose a little too much, they both overslept the next day.

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.

Sophis found out she was pregnant, she was at sixes

Brandon was talking marriage, having the kid and

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

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

of the HCG report she was hiding behind her back, and

“Let me see

simple, calm sentence, but it was laced with an

handed over

staring at the report for a bit, Brandon asked her, “What’s

head, clueless. She hadn’t anticipated this baby, and its arrival had totally scrambled her life

the ball’s

“Getting married?”

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

her a couple of days

sweet on Brandon for years, but she never

longing, she took two days to think it over and then told Brandon, “So, let’s tie the knot.” Just like during a divorce, he simply nodded in

they picked up their marriage

yet somehow it all fell

imagined that she and the kid weren’t

marriage to Brandon to fizzle out

was a whirlwind start and a

two years felt like a

by familiar things in her house, Sophia felt an aching

almost tripped over a shoe and he caught her, the intense look in his eyes

the focus and the emotional turmoil in his eyes, and even now, her heart skipped a beat at

thought

like her, had harbored feelings for many years, which led to

was

ached

Brandon and his father in the study a few days ago when she was

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

reasons. Mind your

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

abruptly cut off his father Daniel Crawley,

about her. Every time she comes up, you jump to her

“She’s never coming back”

the rare moments she could detect a different emotion in his usually calm demeanor. Clearly, this “Yolanda girl held

Sophia had heard the name Yolanda, and she