The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 4

Sophia chuckled awkwardly, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, just happened to walk by. I'm really sorry for causing such a hassle for you and your folks. This whole marriage was a comedy of errors, anyway. We're from different worlds. You've got your own true love, and I've got my pride. Your parents can't stand me, and I'm not about to twist myself into a pretzel to fit in. So, let's just call it quits, shall we?"

Brandon's eyes were locked onto her, his lips pressed into a thin line, silent.-

Sophia held his gaze quietly too.

"I know my family background and personal circumstances might not be up to par with yours, but there's someone out there who'll think I'm the bee's knees. I won't force a square peg into a round hole," Sophia said with a smile, "I wish you and Yolanda all the best. May you lovebirds find your happily ever after."

Brandon remained silent.

Sophia didn't push the conversation further. She offered a polite smile and turned to head back to her room.

"Yolanda is Mr. Frost's youngest daughter. She went missing when she was five. I was the one who lost sight of her," Brandon suddenly spoke up.

Sophia turned around in surprise.

"If she's still alive, she'd be about your age," he continued, locking eyes with her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about her." Sophia instinctively apologized.

"It's fine," Brandon cut her off. "There's no issue of one of us not being good enough for the other. I'm sorry I didn't take better care of you."

"It's my fault," Sophia said.

"It's not on you," Brandon exhaled softly, regaining his usual composure, "I'll have the lawyers handle the divorce, and make sure the assets are divided fairly."

"No need," Sophia declined with a smile, "It really wasn't anything to do with me anyway."

Brandon didn't respond, just watched her quietly from a short distance, his gaze as deep and still as a dark, bottomless pool.

Sophia's smile faltered, her hand gesturing towards the back, "Well. I'll be off then."

Suddenly, Brandon stepped forward and enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"Take good care of yourself," he whispered in her ear, then quickly let go and walked away without looking back.

Sophia stood there, watching his retreating figure. His tall silhouette, stretched by the lights, remained firm and resolute, devoid of any hesitation or dragging of feet.

It was the Brandon she knew.

She couldn't help but chuckle, but soon her tears started to fall uncontrollably, big, heavy drops.

Sophia wanted to stop them, but for some reason, she couldn't, and her throat was tight with emotion.

Tilting her head back, she forced the tears back and, upon returning to her room, she deleted Brandon's WhatsApp and phone number. After that, she dove into the hustle and bustle of preparing to study abroad.

She was lucky. Her visa came through quickly.

The day before leaving the country, Sophia found time to swing by her family home.

As soon as she walked in, she saw her brother Aaron Yearwood lounging on the couch playing video games, looking totally content.

Aaron, six years her senior, was a handsome guy with a decent education. He'd been a hard worker in his student days, but as the only son, their mother Laura Yearwood had spoiled him rotten, never wanting him to endure hardship. This coddling had inadvertently bred laziness in him. He couldn't handle the grind, had lofty ideals but low work ethic, and couldn't keep a job for more than six months. He'd either complain about the mundane work wasting his life, gripe about the low salary not worth his time, or claim his boss was a bonehead who didn't get him. In the end, it was always someone else's fault, never his. So, seven or eight years post-graduation, he had achieved zilch, always daydreaming about striking it rich with his own startup, draining his parents' retirement funds in the process. Loads of start-ups, loads of money down the drain, but never a success, just bumming around the house all day.

He didn't notice Sophia enter, but their mother Laura, busy in the kitchen, did and immediately came out, her eyes instinctively scanning behind Sophia, "Sophia? Why are you back alone? Where's Brandon?"

Laura wasn't exactly like Aaron, trying to figure out how to make a killing off of Brandon. She was just straight-up eyeing Brandon's dough.

Ever since she married Brandon, Laura puffed up with pride, walking tall and proud, bragging to anyone who'd listen about her swanky marriage, how her son-in-law was the bee's knees, and how he'd bend over backwards for her family. This led all the busybodies and even the relatives out of left field to come knocking, dumping every little thing on their plate, from borrowing money to scoring jobs to pulling strings. Laura, always one to keep up appearances, would say yes to everything, then bug Sophia about it.

Sophia wasn't having any of it and shut it all down. Laura, same old story as Aaron, when she realized Sophia wasn't budging, pulled the mother-in-law card and went behind her back to Brandon. She even went to Brandon's folks with lines like, "Sophia's too shy to ask, so we're here to talk," or "Sophia's worn herself out having your grandkids. She's sacrificed so much for your family, just think about it." – the whole guilt-trip spiel.

Sophia only caught wind of all this through Patricia's snide remarks. No wonder Brandon's parents looked down on her, thinking she was calculating, using her marriage to Brandon as a way to siphon off the family wealth. Sophia got it, but she had no clue what Brandon thought; he never mentioned any of it.

But she guessed he probably wasn't too impressed either.

Knowing all this made her feel super awkward.

Aaron, though, couldn't grasp why she was so mortified. When she mentioned his shady-looking company, he lost it. "How come I'm suddenly a bogus company? Sure, you married rich and now you're too good for us poor relatives. I see right through you; no wonder you're always dodging us."

Laura looked sour too. "Sophia, how can you talk that way about your brother? It's just a suggestion. If his projects can go to strangers, they can go to family too. Why not give us a leg up? It's not like we're after anything."

"Then let him win the bid fair and square," Sophia said, dropping her bag, "I'm heading to my room."

As the door closed behind her, Laura's unguarded tirade broke out, "I told your dad we shouldn't take her in when he found her, not from our own flesh and blood, but no, he wouldn't listen, had to keep her. Great, now after we scrimped and saved to raise her, put her through school, she's all grown up and too good for her poor old folks."

Sophia sat down numbly at the table, her gaze drifting from the empty room to the jewelry box on the table. Hesitating, she reached out and took it.

Inside was an antique-looking, high-quality white jade necklace that had a masculine vibe, but Sophia vaguely remembered wearing it as a child, though she couldn't recall who put it on her.

The white jade necklace was her only memory from her early years.

She knew she was picked up by her parents at some random place. Sophia had known that since she was little.