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.

was in this tiny place where she and Brandon had their one-night

Susan Cooper’s begging and tagged

the guy who never showed up to these things, would be there

lost all contact, didn’t join the class group chats or reunions. They were like ships passing in

had vanished

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

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 and

hid behind eating and drinking, unwittingly getting

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

she was a bit drunk, she wasn’t out cold. Still, the alcohol did a number 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

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

was the gaze and the man she’d fantasized about countless

to the fullest, both inexperienced but incredibly

to be as green

family background and looks, it was impossible he couldn’t have

understood why Brandon had been single a man wholly devoted to his work didn’t have the spare effort or time

upbringing also made him

was probably the only slip-up in his

And for Sophia, too.

had her life all mapped

getting her ducks in a row to apply to the School of Architecture of Apex Engineering University. But one unexpected night threw a wrench

never saw it coming. She

and because they let loose a little too much, they both overslept the next

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. But as fate would have it. she was

was pregnant, she was

talking marriage, having the

in touch since. Sophia hadn’t planned on telling Brandon in the first place, but as luck would have it, she bumped into him at the hospital where he was

bit red-faced and wanted to keep the test results under wraps, but

she was hiding behind her back, and

“Let me see

simple, calm sentence, but it was laced with an

Sophia handed over

staring at the report for a bit, Brandon asked

head, clueless. She hadn’t anticipated this baby, and its arrival

Brandon said. “But the ball’s in your court.

“Getting married?”

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

of days to

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

and 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

they

absurd, yet somehow it all

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

expect her marriage to Brandon to fizzle out before

a whirlwind start and

past two years felt like

familiar things in her house, Sophia

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

focus and the emotional turmoil in his eyes,

thought

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

the case. He was just a

heart ached with

the study a few days ago when she

just so happened that she was pregnant with.

my reasons. Mind

at you. Because of Yolanda Frost, you wouldn’t date anyone, and then you go to

his father Daniel Crawley, his tone icy. This

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

“She’s never coming back”

could detect a

had heard the name Yolanda,