The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 177

Sophia played it cool, pretending not to catch the hint of sarcasm in his tone, and kept mum.

"Sorry."

Peeping her silence, Brandon murmured an apology, his voice soft.

He didn't mean to piss Sophia off, but her deliberate aloofness and calm somehow managed to poke at the beast inside him, stirring up a hidden rage.

Sophia cracked a small smile, not really sweating his snark from before.

The place was buzzing, and Marian couldn't quite make out their convo, but she wasn't one for sitting on the sidelines feeling out of the loop.

Grabbing some skewers that someone had passed over, she handed one to Sophia. "Have a kebab."

Then she tossed one over to Brandon. "Hey, grab a skewer, will ya?"

That kind of upfront vibe wasn't something Sophia ever brought to the table with Brandon.

Even back in high school, when she could let her hair down around him, the most she could muster was to sidle up to him with a skewer, cheeks puffed, asking shyly, "Want a kebab? There's some left."

No way she could match Marian's no-frills straightforwardness.

Sophia even had this sneaking suspicion that someone as straight-shooting as Marian was more Brandon's type.

The childhood sweetheart thing, the matching family backgrounds,—it all seemed like a match made in heaven.

No wonder both families were going nuts trying to play Cupid.

Sophia, ever the graceful one, scooted a bit towards the fire, ducking down so as not to block the two.

Brandon shot her a look, and the calm in his eyes flickered.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

He brushed off Marian's offer with a quiet thanks, without taking the skewer.

Marian, slightly deflated, quipped, "You're such a drag."

She just chomped down on her skewer, not caring if it was ladylike or not.

Brandon didn't bite, just calmly stared into the bonfire, deep in thought.

Sophia couldn't help but steal a glance at Brandon.

He wasn't looking her way, just kept his gaze fixed on the flames.

Marian, despite ribbing Brandon for being dull, still grabbed a drink someone handed her and called out to him. "Yo, want a drink?"

As she said it, the bottle sailed towards Brandon.

He didn't look her way, but still managed to catch the bottle one-handed as it flew past, tossing it to Don who was sitting nearby, without giving him a glance.

Don couldn't help but look over at Marian.

A chubby-cheeked, wide-eyed little face filled her phone screen, calling out in a mix of confusion and excitement, "Mommy, mommy."

Sophia couldn't help but smile at her, her eyes instinctively wandering back to Brandon, who sat by the fire, his profile etched against the dancing flames.

The kiddo noticed her gaze drift and leaned in closer to the camera, all curiosity. "Mommy, what are you looking at?"

Her speech was improving by leaps and bounds, already stringing together longer sentences, though still a bit choppy and babyish.

"I'm watching the big kids play," Sophia whispered.

"Where are they?" The little one pressed her face closer to the camera, "I wanna see too."

She looked so earnest, as if getting closer would bring the scene into view.

Sophia chuckled, "Sure, I'll show you."

Her finger hovered over the camera switch on the screen. She hesitated for a moment upon seeing Brandon's serene profile but then pressed it, swapping to the rear camera.

Brandon's handsome profile appeared on the screen alongside the others and the bonfire.

The little girl peered intently, poking the screen excitedly, "Handsome uncle?"

Sophia caught where the tiny finger pointed and froze for a sec.

The "uncle" Theresa was pointing at was Brandon.