The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel 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."

"Exactly. And she was so good, 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 to keep the peace."

Kent refilled Haley's glass and laughed, "Maybe she's just hot-headed, but no mother doesn't love her own flesh and blood."

Haley didn't bite, just shook his head with a resigned smile, "Kent, you wouldn't understand. Every family's got its own set of troubles."

"True that, we all have our own battles," Kent agreed with a chuckle, then prodded, "What happened after? Did Sophia go anywhere else after you brought her home?"

"Where could she go? Back in the day, we were skint, both her mom and I were laid off, struggling to support one kid, let alone two. Eventually, we couldn't 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, offered to waive her fees because of our situation. We transferred her there, and you wouldn't believe it, her former school's principal and teachers were so reluctant to let her go."

Haley's face beamed with pride as he spoke.

Kent listened, smiling politely. This part of the story sounded 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 too.

"What about when she was younger?" Kent tried to steer the conversation back, "Before you guys accidentally lost her, was she just as sweet and sensible?"

With a chuckle, Haley breezed over the question, "Absolutely, she's been a good kid from day one, never fussy, always obedient. Neighbors, teachers, classmates—they all adored her."

Chuckling along, Kent added, "Pretty and smart, who wouldn't love that? Got any photos of her as a kid? I'm kinda curious what she looked like back then."