The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 59

Haley seemed to realize what he had just blurted out and quickly waved his hands in denial, “Nope, no way, how could my own little girl be a foundling? You must’ve heard me wrong. I was saying I didn’t expect how her mom dislike her when she gave birth. I ain’t got no great talents, always busy with work, slaving away outside all day, hardly had time for her. Poor thing had to rough it out when she was

little.”

He denied it so naturally, without a hint of panic or shifty eyes, cool as a cucumber, almost making Kent wonder if he’d misheard. Kent chuckled awkwardly and poured Haley another glass of booze, “Man, my ears must be getting old before their time, I could’ve sworn you said Sophia was picked up by you guys.”

“No way, I must’ve just been tongue-tied. Drinking too much this early, can’t even talk straight,” Haley chuckled, trying to steer the conversation away.

But Kent was on his tail, “Sophia’s so lovable now, must’ve been a real sweet and cute kid, huh?”

“You bet. She was such a darling, a real heart-stealer since she was tiny, pretty as a picture, all rosy-cheeked. Back then, she must’ve been five or six years old, middle of winter, all alone outside, freezing her little face off, but no fussing, no crying. Just huddled up, knees to her chest, staring at me with those big, clear eyes full of terror, not making a peep.”

Maybe it was the booze talking, but Haley got all nostalgic, knocked back his drink, and went on, “When I walked over, she asked me in this tiny, weak voice, ‘Mister, are you here to take me home?”

Kent didn’t point out the slip-up, just filled up Haley’s glass again and asked softly, “What happened next?”

“Seeing how pitiful she was, I rushed her to the hospital. She clearly felt awful the whole way, but didn’t cry one bit, just clung to me for dear life, afraid I’d leave her behind. It was heart-wrenching, really.” Haley downed another glass, “She had hypothermia which led to a bunch of complications, ended up with pneumonia, high fever for days. When she came to, she was out of it, didn’t remember anything, just me. She’d cling to my shirt, scared I’d ditch her, sick as a dog getting poked and prodded for blood, daily shots, IVs, and through it all, not a single whimper. Tears would well up, but she wouldn’t let them fall. Broke my heart to see it.”

Haley paused, then with a sheepish grin, he looked at Kent and said, “It’s all my fault, really. She was so small, and I wasn’t careful enough, let her get lost. We searched for days and nights, thank goodness we found her.”

Kent just smiled and didn’t call out the inconsistencies, just kept the booze flowing and said, “Sounds like she had it tough, such a small kid going through so much. Breaks my heart just hearing about it.”

so obedient, such a great kid. How could her mom not love her?” Haley sighed, downing another glass, “All my fault for being so coward and useless. Her mom had a temper since I met her, always throwing fits, smashing things, making the house a madhouse. I tiptoed around her just

just hot-headed, but no

“Kent, you wouldn’t

chuckle, then prodded, “What happened after? Did

find work back home, had to drag the siblings here to scrape by. But Sophia’s always been understanding, helping out at home, never a word of complaint, and she did well in school too. Got into a top middle school in the city, but we were too broke to send her, though she didn’t let that hold her back, got into a top high school too. I talked it over with her mom, insisting we let her go, but she wouldn’t have it. Ended up letting her study near where we worked for a couple of years until we got transferred to the West district. I didn’t want her all alone over there, so we moved her to a school in West district. She was a stellar student, the schools were falling over themselves to have her, even the high school she ended up at, the best in West district,

beamed with pride

pretty standard, nothing too out of the ordinary, except for the bit about moving to West district high school. Kent remembered Brandon graduated from there

the conversation back, “Before you

a good kid from day

wouldn’t love that? Got any photos of her as a kid? I’m kinda curious what she looked like back

barely scrape together enough to eat, let alone have spare cash to snap photos.’ Haley waved his hand dismissively and took a big

he was crushing on Sophia too, since his phone was secretly recording the conversation. If Brandon got wind of it, who knew how he’d grind

sending back the money before she left. The look Brandon gave him could kill, and

responded or not, just drowning his sorrows in booze. “She’s got a personality that everyone adores. How come her mom can’t stand her? Is there really such a thing as mutual

smiled and poured him another glass. “Guess some people

been the peace-loving, dutiful type. But her mother’s the drama queen, always stirring up a storm at home. Like the money they returned a while ago, Sophia insisted on giving it back to Mr. Crawley. Her mother’s been holding a grudge, ranting about cutting ties with Sophia, banning her from coming home. What’s with all that

in; he remembered the incident but didn’t

spot, stuck in the middle. But I don’t call the shots at home; no one listens to me.” After his somber spiel, Haley reached for his glass,

don’t hit the bottle

loaded up Haley’s plate with food and chatted with him until Sophia’s brother Aaron came back.