The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate (Brandon and Sophia) novel Chapter 677

Sophia played dumb to their puzzled looks, politely nodded at them and then gestured towards the house behind her, "He's in there getting the kiddo cleaned up, I'll holler for him for ya."

Without waiting for Daniel and Patricia's response, she spun around and headed into the house, leaving the door ajar as she went straight to find Brandon.

Daniel and Patricia followed suit, stepping inside.

Both were momentarily distracted by Sophia's remark about "him inside getting the kiddo cleaned up," simultaneously furrowing their brows in confusion.

"Why's a grown man like Brandon gotta babysit bath time?" Daniel was the first to chime in. "That's woman's work. The guy's slammed with work all day, and now he's gotta come home and play bath time? Gimme a break."

"Exactly," Patricia chimed in, also frowning, "He's a big shot CEO, and he's home doing what a woman should be doing? If word gets out, it's gonna be a laughing stock. Ain't there a nanny in the house? And even if the kid doesn't want one, isn't there a mom?"

Her mention of "mom" jogged Daniel's memory.

They were there to suss out if Sophia was the real deal, and Patricia's words were inadvertently treating the Sophia before them as if she was the genuine article.

He coughed slightly, a nudge for Patricia to watch her words.

If this woman really was Sophia, he wasn't too keen on hearing Patricia trash-talk her.

Patricia glanced at him, reluctantly shut her trap, and followed Daniel into the house.

-----------------------

Brandon was running hot water to bathe Theresa. The "whoosh" of the water momentarily muffled the sound of the phone call at the door.

Not quite at ease, Brandon pressed the showerhead into Theresa's tub to check what was happening outside.

Sophia had just come in and gave him a puzzled look at his actions, then pointed to the living room behind her, "Your folks are here for you."

Brandon: "......"

His reaction made Sophia spell it out: "They say they're your parents."

"Did they give you a hard time?" Brandon asked, turning off the tap with a "click."

Sophia shook her head, "Nope."

Then she added, "You go handle them, I got Theresa's bath."

"I'll bathe her in a bit," Brandon said, standing up. "You and Theresa head back to the room."

Sophia nodded. She wasn't nosy and didn't fancy facing Daniel and Patricia, nor did she plan on hiding in her room. She was set on giving Theresa her bath first.

But Brandon's hand was already on her shoulder, gently nudging her towards the master bedroom while telling Theresa, "Theresa, go with mommy to the room, daddy will bathe you later, okay?"

Theresa obediently bobbed her head, "Okay."

Brandon ushered Sophia and Theresa into the master bedroom and closed the door behind them before stepping out.

Daniel and Patricia were already inside, scrutinizing the house with furrowed brows.

"Why would you live in a place like this?"

Patricia couldn't hold back any longer. With Brandon's wealth, he could have any house he wanted, and she couldn't fathom why he'd settle for such a modest place, not even 200 square meters, which was smaller than a single bedroom in the Crawley family villa they used to live in.

Daniel was also peering around the less-than-impressive house when he spotted Brandon coming out. He coughed and instinctively looked past him, "Where's Sophia?"

Brandon didn't pay him any mind, just motioned for them to leave with a wave of his arm and didn't utter a word.

Daniel and Patricia were taken aback and exchanged glances.

“Why do you ask?” Brandon inquired, wrapping the string back up without giving her a direct response.

He didn’t plan on giving her a straight answer.

Patricia’s quest for the truth about Sophia was far more urgent and fervent than Daniel’s.

Back when Sophia was around, Patricia wouldn’t even deign to give her a glance; this sudden urgency seemed out of the ordinary.

Facing his directness, Patricia just gave an awkward chuckle, “I’m just looking out for you, don’t want you to get conned, you know?”

“It doesn’t seem like any of your business,” Brandon said, taking the file, “You guys should head back.

And don’t let me catch you snooping around for her again, or I'll have to send you to the slammer to keep you in line.”

With that, Brandon didn’t wait for a response and closed the front door with a “thud.”

The sound wasn’t too loud, careful not to alarm Sophia and Theresa inside.

He didn’t leave but stood by the door, his expression blank as he opened the peephole camera and hit playback.

The footage of Patricia’s condescending and bossy demeanor towards Sophia was vividly displayed on the monitor.

“So, I heard you’ve got amnesia?”

“Are you really Sophia?”

Patricia’s words were few, but the haughty way she looked her over was captured in full glory.

Brandon’s expression cooled, his face emotionless as he closed the playback of the recording and pulled out his phone to make a call.