The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 249

Grace was just chilling on the side when she saw Theresa suddenly bolt towards the road like a bat out of hell, scaring the living daylights out of her. Grace's face went ghost white and she hightailed it over, hollering as she ran, "Theresa, stop!"

But Theresa, usually obedient, acted as if she was deaf to the world and sprinted even harder.

Brandon hopped out of his ride and flashed Grace the universal "hold up" sign as he went to intercept Theresa. He squatted in front of the incoming missile and caught her in his arms.

Theresa threw herself into Brandon's embrace, her chubby little arms latching onto his neck like there was no tomorrow, chirping and buzzing with excitement.

Brandon couldn't help but catch the excitement bug from her. He scooped her up and asked with a softened tone, "Did you have a blast with Grace today?"

Theresa nodded seriously, "Yeah."

"And what did Theresa get up to, huh?" Brandon asked, voice all mellow.

Theresa pointed at the slide and gave Brandon the lowdown, "Went down the slide. And,"

She twisted around to point at the merry-go-round, "The carousel."

Brandon glanced at the carousel and quizzed her, "Was it fun?"

"Super fun."

After answering with her cute baby voice, Theresa turned back to Brandon, a puzzled look on her face as she asked, "Where'd you go?"

Brandon guessed she was curious about where he'd been these past few days. He was kind of touched that she remembered him, and his voice softened even more, "I went home."

Theresa gave a nod, only half-getting it, and peered at him with big, curious eyes, "Where is your house?"

That question was a toughie; spouting off an address wouldn't make a lick of sense to a kid. So Brandon went with something vague, "It's way, way far away."

Theresa didn't have a clue how "far" that was and looked at him with confusion, "So, can I come over to your house to play?"

"Totally." Brandon chuckled, "But only if Mommy and Daddy say it's cool, okay?"

Theresa didn't quite get the "Daddy" part, but she understood "Mommy" and her eyes lit up, "Mommy says yes."

Brandon couldn't help but chuckle, "You haven't even asked your mom, and you know she'd say yes?"

As if to prove it, she burrowed deeper into his embrace, wrapping herself tightly around him. Brandon's heart melted into a puddle of goo.

But he remembered she wasn't his kiddo, and despite his emotions stirring up a storm, he patted her back and tried to soothe her, "I’ve gotta work today, but how 'bout I take you out when I'm free in a few days?"

Theresa was a tad disappointed but nodded, "Okay."

"How about you go back with Grace now?" Brandon suggested, intending to hand her over to Grace.

Theresa obediently nodded again, but when she was actually passed over to Grace, she couldn't help but her eyes began to water, tears threatening to spill.

Brandon pretended not to notice and headed back to his car. As he opened the door, he couldn't resist glancing back at Theresa.

The little one's eyes were brimming with tears, but she was fighting them back, her little lips pursed, looking all kinds of pitiful.

Brandon felt like he'd been socked in the chest. He closed the car door he'd just opened.

Before his brain could be taken over by logic, he found himself walking back towards Theresa. Her eyes lit up with unmistakable joy and disbelief.