The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate (Brandon and Sophia) novel Chapter 762

“Who’s my uncle by marriage?”

Betty looked up, puzzled by the question. She was so young she could barely remember people’s faces, let alone their titles.

Back when Sophia was around, she’d always been wary of Aaron and Laura’s rather possessive behavior. She almost never brought Brandon home, nor did she let him join family dinners. Even when Laura insisted on inviting him, Sophia would always deflect with, “He’s just too busy with work.”

Honestly, he really was busy back then.

So, unsurprisingly, Betty had no idea who this so-called uncle even was.

“He’s—just now—” Aaron began, ready to explain that it was Brandon, but Barbara jumped in first. “He’s the handsome man who just saved you, Betty.”

She shot Aaron a look as she spoke, her voice steady as she explained, “He just came by to check on Betty.”

Barbara wasn’t sure if Betty had seen Sophia earlier, or if she’d recognized her. The little girl had been crying the whole time, but Sophia had come right up to her. Barbara worried that Betty, being so young and innocent, might blurt something out by accident, so she continued, “He’s the one who pulled Betty out of the water. He asked me to bring her over and change her out of those wet clothes—he just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

Betty, caught up in Barbara’s explanation, nodded earnestly. “Yeah, that nice man rescued me. I fell in the water.”

But Aaron’s attention was stuck on that one word. “He’s not just a nice man, he’s your uncle—call him Uncle, not ‘that man,’ okay?” He hurried to correct her.

Barbara’s temper flared. She couldn’t help but smack Aaron on the arm. “What’s wrong with you? Your own daughter just told you she fell in the water, and all you care about is correcting how she addresses someone? Is this how a father’s supposed to act? You’re supposed to be watching her, not leaving her alone by the pond! Her bracelet fell in, she leaned over to grab it, and toppled right in. If Mr. Crawley hadn’t happened to be walking by, who knows what could’ve happened?”

She shoved the bag of wet clothes into Aaron’s arms, glaring. “I’ve never seen a father like you. If anything had happened to Betty, I’d never forgive you.”

Aaron barely managed to catch the bag. As he dug through the soggy clothes, he frowned thoughtfully. “My brother-in-law saved Betty. That’s a huge favor—I’ll need to visit him in person and thank him properly.”

Barbara just rolled her eyes.

---

When Brandon returned to the restaurant, Sophia had already ordered.

She handed her phone to him. “I picked a few dishes, but I don’t know if you’ll like them. Want to see if there’s anything you want to add? I can’t even remember what your favorites are anymore.”

“We’ve always had the same taste,” Brandon replied, sliding the phone back to her. “If you’ve ordered, that’s good enough for me. Don’t worry about it.”

“I know what Dad likes!” Theresa piped up, reaching for the phone. “Mom, let me help!”

Sophia chuckled, passing the phone to Theresa. “Oh? You know how to read the menu?”

Theresa froze, sneaking a peek at the screen. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“Well… uh… I’ll just wait for the waitress to bring the food and then I’ll tell you if it’s what Dad likes!” she finally declared, triumphant.

“And what if it isn’t?” Brandon teased, glancing at her with a smile.

Without missing a beat, Theresa said, “Then I’ll help Dad finish it all!”

Brandon laughed, giving her a warm look. “Such a thoughtful daughter.”

Then he turned to Sophia. “By the way, about what Kent told you today—don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”

“You mean the deal about selling the docks?” Sophia asked. Earlier in the study, neither had said it outright, but it was obvious to Brandon—and Sophia stopped pretending.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

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