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.

tiny place where she and Brandon had their one-night stand, which led to the pregnancy that bound them

resist her buddy Susan Cooper’s begging and tagged along

guy who never showed

reunions. They were like ships passing in the night, briefly crossing

Brandon had vanished

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

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

hid behind eating and drinking, unwittingly

neighborly duty, volunteered to take her home after the

and in the inertia of the moment, she ended up in his arms. The

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

was the gaze and the man she’d fantasized about

the fullest, both inexperienced but

green as her in love

it was

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

upbringing also made him a stickler for

probably the only slip-up in his

And for Sophia, too.

had her life all mapped

majored 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.

saw it coming. She was

played it safe that night, and because they let loose a little too much, they

pharmacy for the morning-after pill. She was also kind of ng her fingers, hoping that she was in the

she was pregnant, she was at sixes

talking marriage, having the kid and

on telling Brandon in

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

the HCG report she was hiding

“Let me see

a simple, calm sentence, but it was laced with an

Sophia handed

the report for a bit,

this baby,

towards us getting married and having the baby, Brandon said. “But the ball’s in your court. If you’re not up for it, I won’t

“Getting married?”

leg, but then she saw him

a couple of days

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

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

the third day, they picked up

absurd, yet somehow

she and the kid weren’t

expect her marriage to Brandon to fizzle out before

a whirlwind start and

years felt

by familiar things in her house, Sophia felt an

night she almost tripped over a shoe and he caught her, the

turmoil in his eyes, and even now, her

had thought that was

her, had harbored feelings for

He was just a bit too tipsy, that’s

heart ached

and his father in the study a few days ago

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 this out for a lifetime, are

my reasons. Mind

not? They say liquor leads to trouble, and look at you. Because of Yolanda Frost, you wouldn’t date anyone, and then you go

Daniel Crawley, his tone icy. This is my fault, not

alright, I won’t talk about her. Every time she comes up, you jump to her defense I’m just asking, what

“She’s never coming back”

could detect a different

first time Sophia had heard the name Yolanda, and she felt