The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate



After breakfast, Brandon dropped Theresa back home and left her in Grace's care.

Maybe it was the haunting image of him with blood at the corner of his mouth from the night before, but Theresa wasn't her usual obedient self this time. As soon as Brandon tried to put her down, she instinctively clung onto his clothes for dear life.

This instantly took Brandon back to the time when Sophia was in trouble, and Theresa cried her eyes out, begging Sophia not to go. He felt a lump in his throat and his nose tingled with the onset of tears.

The incident had cast a much longer shadow over Theresa than anyone else.

"How about I take Theresa to the office, would that be nice?"

This time, Brandon didn't try to persuade her to stay at home like before. Instead, he did his best to soothe her.

Finally, the tension on Theresa's little face eased, and she nodded gently, "Okay."

When Brandon and Theresa arrived at the office, everyone couldn't help but sneak curious peeks at Brandon.

It was the first time he had shown up at the office since Sophia's accident.

Even though everyone was still pretty clueless about the nature of Sophia and Brandon's relationship, as they had hardly ever indulged in any public displays of affection at the office. The closest they had come to that was when Tia had made a beeline for the cafeteria to confess her feelings to Brandon.NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

In the video that had gone viral across the company chat groups, Brandon didn't linger on Tia's face. Instead, his gaze had drifted over her shoulder to Sophia, who was not far behind her. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he took Sophia's hand and left Tia standing there mid-confession.

That was as close as the company got to witnessing any kind of romance between Brandon and Sophia.

Back then, apart from the employees at Star Dempsey Architects and a select few, nobody knew who Sophia was.

When Brandon suddenly announced to the whole company that he was a proud father of a baby girl, he didn't reveal who the mother was, so most people were in the dark about the connection between Sophia and him. However, his recent splurge on finding leads for Sophia had everyone in the company buzzing with surprise and excitement.

Speculations had been running wild inside the company, with those in the know keeping mum and the clueless ones munching on the gossip, with all eyes on what exactly was the deal between Sophia and Brandon.

Amidst this swirl of guesses, a touch of romance and tragedy colored the discussions.

The entire company was aware of Brandon's self-control, seriousness, and discipline, and his lack of any scandalous love life. From publicly rejecting another girl's advances to whisking Sophia away, to the sudden announcement of his daughter, and now the extravagant search for Sophia's whereabouts, combined with his absence from the office for a couple of days - something previously unthinkable - it all pointed to the growing suspicion that Sophia was Brandon's secret woman.

So, when Brandon finally reappeared at the office after being away for so long, everyone couldn't contain their curiosity, stealing glances at him, especially while waiting for the elevator.

Though it wasn't the peak of rush hour, the company had a great amount of employees, plus there were many people passing through offices in different floor, and there was a fair crowd waiting for the elevator.

As they saw Brandon holding Theresa, they couldn't help but look behind him and then back at him, trying to do so without being too obvious, out of respect for his authoritative aura.

Brandon seemed oblivious to their stares, his expression cool as he stood to the side, waiting for the elevator with everyone else.

Theresa, however, did notice the sneaky glances at her dad. She was puzzled but didn't say anything. It was only when she saw young ladies also sneaking looks at her dad that she couldn't help but hug Brandon tighter, her little body draped over his in a display of possession.

Brandon glanced down at her. Theresa remained silent, but her eyes were a touch woeful as she clung to him.

"What's up, Theresa?" Brandon whispered to her softly.

His gentle tone, different from the one he used with his employees, made the young ladies in the elevator sneak a few more glances at him. Theresa instinctively tightened her grip around Brandon. Sensing her emotional fluctuations, Brandon held her closer, comforting her until they stepped out of the elevator. Then he softly asked, "What's the matter, Theresa?"

After hesitating and looking at him, Theresa pressed her lips and finally spoke in a tiny voice, "Daddy belongs to mommy."