The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 320

Brandon's forehead veins were pulsing like mad, trying to hold back his emotions. The way he was looking at Sophia was fierce and intense, like he was about to go ballistic.

Palms sweating up a storm, Sophia was wound up so tight from the tension that her recently bumped head was spinning more and more.

Her fingernails were digging into her palms, the pain keeping her brain from totally fogging up.

The thought of protecting her kid trumped everything else.

She could live without Brandon, but she couldn't go on without Theresa.

Brandon's dad had made his stance crystal clear—they weren't going to welcome Theresa with open arms.

Sophia knew Daniel and Patricia all too well. If they weren't keen on you, they had a whole arsenal of ways to knock your confidence and bring the pain.

And they sure would know how to hurt a kid.

Physical wounds heal, but the scars from words and attitudes stick around forever.

In the same city, with Brandon's parents, and in an age where everyone's connected, she can't just put up walls and expect to keep them out.

Sophia wasn't about to let Theresa go through what she'd been through.

Adults can patch themselves up, but kids? Not so much. And she couldn't put her trust in Brandon. Their divorce was the end product of a slow build-up of disappointment, but reality hadn't given her a chance to start rebuilding any trust in him.

Sophia was clear-headed about what she was doing. She was digging her nails in deeper, her face turning whiter during the standoff.

Brandon watched her go pale and forced himself to not go soft.

After one last icy glance, he let go of her hand and stormed out.

Sophia stumbled, crashing into a chair that clattered against the table, causing a loud racket.

Brandon paused for a moment outside the door.

He turned back to see Sophia, hand on the table, the other on her head, gasping for air.

Their face-off had drained her of all her strength.

With a grim face, Brandon stepped forward and, without a word, scooped her up in his arms.

Sophia instinctively struggled, trying to get down on her own.

But Brandon, expressionless, pinned down her arms.

"Don't push me." His voice was ice-cold.

Memories associated with this place surged at her like a tidal wave, a thick shadow that was suffocating her, nearly making her pass out.

In the end, Sophia broke down in tears, pleading with him to stop pushing her.

She had lost her child here, buried her love here.

This place had turned her bright hopes for the future into a grim and murky haze.

It was filled with all the repression and self-doubt she'd suffered those two years.

Brandon watched her struggle and sob unflinchingly.

Finally, Sophia was a mess, sobbing uncontrollably, gasping for breath on the ground.

She felt awful, mentally and physically drained, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness she couldn't shake off.

When she pushed Brandon, he always had a thousand ways to push back.

By the end, Sophia was almost ready to get down on her knees and beg him for mercy.

All she wanted was to live her life quietly, that was it.