The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate (Brandon and Sophia) novel Chapter 777

Patricia didn’t bother arguing with Haley, Laura, or the others—she simply turned and walked away.

Haley stood there, hollow-eyed, watching Patricia’s retreating figure until she disappeared from sight. He seemed lost, unwilling or unable to move.

In the dimly lit underground parking garage, Brandon sat in his car, his face impassive as he watched security footage on his phone. When he caught sight of Haley’s broken expression on the screen, something finally flickered in his gaze.

He sat in silence for a moment before opening the car door and stepping out.

Haley, Aaron, and Laura were just about to leave when Brandon emerged from the elevator. The moment they saw him, their faces brightened in surprise.

“Hey, brother-in-law!” Aaron called out enthusiastically, hurrying over to greet him with an outstretched hand.

But Brandon acted as if he hadn’t even seen him. Without breaking stride, he walked right past Aaron and headed straight for Haley.

Aaron’s smile faltered, his hand left awkwardly hanging in the air. Laura’s own smile turned brittle—not just from being ignored herself, but from seeing her son brushed aside. Still, she forced a polite greeting: “Brandon, just got back?”

Brandon barely acknowledged her, but perhaps remembering that Laura had raised Sophia, he did glance her way. “You should join us for this conversation as well,” he said, before turning to unlock the apartment door.

Laura and Haley exchanged uneasy looks, hesitating at the threshold. Aaron, much taller than the two older folk, peered readily into the living room, his eyes flicking over the balcony and the room itself, as if searching for any trace that Sophia had once lived here.

Brandon pushed the door open and, with a curt “Come in,” stepped inside.

The three of them followed him in, almost automatically surveying the place for signs of Sophia’s presence.

Brandon saw what they were doing but didn’t comment. He simply sat down across from them, meeting their eyes.

“Sophia isn’t your real daughter,” he said, blunt as ever.

The three of them stared at him in astonishment. They had never told Brandon that Sophia wasn’t their biological child. How did he know? And why bring it up now?

Haley couldn’t recall ever letting that slip, not even that drunken night with Kent—he’d been so far gone he barely remembered what he’d said.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Haley stammered, his voice trembling.

“Mr. Yearwood, I’ll discuss that with you privately later,” Brandon replied, then turned to Laura. “I am grateful you raised Sophia.”

He pulled a bank card from his wallet and held it out to her. “There’s money on this card—a token of my thanks for taking care of Sophia all these years.”

Laura glanced at the card, then back at Brandon, unable to muster a smile. “Brandon, what exactly do you mean by this?”

Brandon’s voice was cold. “I know you never liked Sophia. You never treated her as your own—not from the day she came into your home. You gave her no warmth, no kindness. She never felt like she belonged.”

Laura’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“This is compensation,” Brandon continued, pushing the card toward her. “Consider it severance for whatever mother-daughter bond you think you had. From now on, what happens to you and your family has nothing to do with us. I hope you won’t come looking for Sophia again. If we meet in the future, we’re strangers.”

He pressed the card across the table toward her.

Laura hesitated, hand half-raised, afraid to take it. Aaron was just as paralyzed.

“So, brother-in-law, are you saying Sophia is still alive?” Aaron asked tentatively.

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