The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 236

"Probably by giving a lump sum of money to the kid's mom, asking her to take the child and vanish, pretending the kid doesn't exist. But my brother would never agree to that; he might not care for the child's mother, but he would never give up on his kid – after all, it's his own child, so I guess in the end they might pay off the kid's mom and take the child back."

Yvonne then gave an awkward chuckle to Sophia, "But hey, I'm just shooting the breeze here. It's not like it's for sure my brother's kid. How could he cheat, right?"

Sophia forced a smile but replied seriously to Yvonne, "Your brother's not like that. He wouldn't cheat."

Sophia's confidence took Yvonne by surprise. "Wow, you really believe in my brother, huh?"

"Your brother's a stand-up guy. He wouldn't do anything to hurt the family. Don't jump to conclusions."

Sophia's words made sense to Yvonne, and she tilted her head in thought. "True. My brother's the type who didn't even bother dating before. How could he have an affair? Besides, that woman isn't exactly a knockout, and she looks older than him too."

But then Yvonne thought about the unusual tenderness Brandon showed towards the child and couldn't shake the feeling something was off. A shocking possibility popped into her head, and her mouth dropped open.

Sophia watched Yvonne's expressions and couldn't quite figure out what was going through her mind, but she was sure it wasn't any clever deduction.

Sophia hadn't spent much time with Yvonne, but remembered her as a bit of a 'beautiful airhead'—a nickname lovingly used by those around her. Yvonne never took offense; instead, she embraced her persona.

Sure, she had a bit of a princess attitude, but she was pretty straightforward, a total romantic, always speaking and acting on impulse, without much thought to others' feelings or reading the room.

It wasn't on purpose. She was just a bit clueless.

So, Sophia didn't take Yvonne's blunt words too seriously.

But now, seeing the changing expressions on her face, Sophia figured Yvonne was probably jumping to conclusions again. Just as she was about to speak up, Yvonne turned around, her face full of shock, and blurted out, "Sophia, do you think my brother hooked up with someone while drunk?"

Sophia didn't say anything.

Seeing Sophia's silence, Yvonne became even more convinced she was right.

That would explain why her brother and Sophia split so suddenly, why he doted on a little girl he barely knew, and why the child's mother seemed like an odd match.

Sophia cleared her throat and said, "Um, I think you might have the wrong idea about your brother."

"He's not like that," Sophia continued, "He's always been fond of kids. Maybe he just clicked with that little girl. She likes him, and he didn't want to let her down—it's just about making a kid happy."

This made sense to Yvonne again. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"You know your brother best. He's always been on the straight and narrow. How could he have a love child on the side? And he's always been able to hold his liquor. When have you ever seen him passed out drunk?"

Sophia added this to reinforce her perspective, hoping to prevent Yvonne from impulsively probing into Brandon and Theresa's relationship.

Yvonne, easily swayed, nodded in agreement. "True. There's no way my brother would do something like that."

Sophia stayed silent.

Her stop was coming up.

Yvonne dropped her off at the entrance to her apartment complex, said goodbye, and left.

Though Yvonne was nosy, she didn't have much else to talk about with Sophia, nor did she feel that familial warmth.

Sophia was used to it, politely thanked her, and went on her way.