The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 201

Brandon went back home in the dead of night.

The neon lights outside were starting to fade into oblivion. The whole world was dozing off.

Two years of living solo, and he'd never really gotten the hang of it. In the still of the night, thoughts of Sophia would creep up on him. Getting used to life with her wasn't something another habit could replace.

Heaving a long sigh, Brandon headed to the closet, dragged out a suitcase from the corner cabinet, grabbed a few outfits off the rack, and began packing.

There was a merger deal to discuss in Skyrim City in a couple of days; planning a business trip right now seemed like the perfect way to distract himself.

As he popped open the suitcase and was about to tuck in the neatly folded clothes, the sight of a yellowed piece of paper in a mesh pocket made him pause.

The back of the paper still bore the messy creases. This was the same suitcase he’d used for a trip to Wye City two years back, and that creased piece of paper was the DNA paternity test report.

Suddenly, memories of the day Sophia went to the hospital for the abortion flooded back.

He’d gone out to get her some food; she didn’t want to see him, so he paid someone to deliver it.

Standing alone on an unfamiliar street, watching strangers pass by, he felt a pang of heartache and confusion.

He thought to himself, if it wasn’t for that paternity test, if it wasn’t for their talk about Yolanda, would she have kept the child?

That paternity test was crumpled in a moment of turmoil, and though he didn’t throw it away, he stuffed it into the suitcase when he got back.

Two years of hustle and bustle, and he’d almost forgotten it existed. Brandon stared at the slightly yellowed paper for a while, then slowly placed the clothes back down, unzipped the pocket, and pulled out the paternity test.

The roughness of the paper under his fingers instantly took him back to that afternoon, the call from Susan telling him Sophia was at the hospital, deciding not to keep the baby. He’d rushed over, and there she was, weak from surgery, being wheeled out of the OR, both of them silent and apart in the lengthy hallway.

A dull ache surged in his chest again. Brandon pressed his lips, turned around, and crammed the crumpled report into the vanity drawer. Out of sight, out of mind.