The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 443

Sophia looked up and caught Brandon spacing out while staring at her. She couldn't help but flash him a grin, "What is it?"

Brandon chuckled and shook his head, "Nothing."

But his gaze didn't wander away from her; he just quietly observed her.

It was a strange thing, really. Most of the time, Sophia was just Sophia, plain old Sophia. He didn't even think about Yolanda, nearly forgot the name.

But whenever Yolanda came into the picture, his gut reaction was to protect Sophia from taking the blame.

Brandon wasn't eager to dig into the why's or face another so-called DNA test result. It just didn't matter anymore.

"Where'd you wander off to just now?" Brandon asked, changing the subject.

"Just strolling around." Sophia murmured, then looked at him and decided to spill the beans, "I accidentally passed by the hospital where your dad's staying. Hung around downstairs for a bit. I thought about checking in on him but figured it might not be cool, you know, might mess with his recovery or something."

"He's doing fine. You don't have to worry about him," Brandon said.

Sophia nodded slightly, stirring her soup in front of her, and then asked softly, "Being stuck in the middle like this gotta suck, right?"

Brandon paused abruptly, his eyes on her. Sophia didn't look up, but her soup-stirring slowed to a stop.

"I've pieced it together." She said softly, "Your dad's current situation is kinda on me, at least partially."

She looked up at Brandon, "If he can't stand me, he can't stand me. Sometimes it's just about clicking with someone, and if it's not there, it's not. No use forcing it. Don't waste your energy."