The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 386

Theresa got the fright of her life from his antics and, on instinct, burrowed into Sophia's arms, too scared to even glance at Aaron but also worried sick about her mom getting bullied. Yet, she couldn't help but peek at him.

Sophia gave her a tighter hug and gently patted her shoulder while whispering soothingly in her ear, "Don't be scared."

Aaron watched Sophia's tender protection over Theresa, his gaze locked on Sophia.

"Who's this little girl?" he blurted out, cutting straight to the chase.

"A friend's daughter," Sophia replied, her voice chilly. After answering, she tried to leave with Theresa in tow.

But Aaron wasn't buying it and stepped forward to block her path.

"No way, you don't have the time to babysit someone else's kid. This girl has got the same vibe as you," Aaron observed, glancing at Theresa before probing Sophia, "Your daughter?"

Sophia's lips were sealed tight.

"When did you have a daughter?" Aaron pressed on, his eyes darting back and forth between Theresa and Sophia's faces.

Sophia didn't bite and tried to sidestep him to leave.

But Aaron was bigger and stronger, not to mention Sophia was holding a child. She barely took two steps before Aaron grabbed her arm and stopped her again.

"Who's the kid's dad?"

Aaron's face had turned to stone as he put on his big brother act, schooling Sophia, "Having a kid is no small deal, how could you keep this from your own family?"

Sophia didn't want to start a fight in front of Theresa.

She looked at Aaron calmly, "Aaron, we can talk this out in private. I've got an emergency and need to leave. Can you please step aside?"

Barbara rushed over to pull Aaron back, "Yeah, whatever it is, we can talk later. Don't scare the kid."

"How do we talk in private?" Aaron lost his temper, "You don't answer calls, don't come home. Nobody knows how long you've been back in the West district, and you didn't even give a heads up."

His booming voice drew curious glances from the bystanders.

Sophia, concerned Theresa might get scared, pressed her closer and then faced Aaron, still composed, "Aaron, it's not that I don't come home, it's that you don't let me. Please don't twist the truth. Keep this up, and I'll call the cops."

As she spoke, Sophia took out her phone, ready to make the call.

Aaron had no choice but to let go of her arm.

Sophia walked away with Theresa.

Aaron eyed Theresa's size and, recalling his run-in with Brandon, blurted out, "Is she Brandon's daughter?"

But Sophia didn't break stride, as if she hadn't heard, marching towards the visitor center with an expressionless face.

Aaron's suspicions grew, feeling like he'd stumbled upon some earth-shattering secret, and followed in hot pursuit, angrily trying to get confirmation, "She's Brandon's kid, isn't she? She's got to be the one you had before you left the West district, which means she can only be Brandon's daughter. Does his family even know about this? This is way out of line, you went through the trouble of having their kid, and they just ignore you? I'm gonna have a word with them."

"Aaron!"

Sophia snapped suddenly.

Aaron clammed up, his tirade cut short.

Brandon, who was on the phone by the back door, furrowed his brows and turned around, spotting the stoic Sophia and the persistent Aaron.

The surrounding onlookers had formed a crowd, whispering among themselves, but no one dared to intervene in what looked like a family matter.

Brandon quickly told the person on the line, "Sorry, I've got something to handle. I'll have Kent get back to you later."

Then he hung up and strode over to Sophia.

Sophia had turned to face Aaron and didn't notice Brandon approaching.

Theresa saw him and called out, "Daddy!"

Her voice was sharp with urgency.

"Where'd they scoot off to?" Brandon asked, glancing at Barbara.

Barbara looked just as clueless, "Probably headed out front, I guess. I wasn't really paying attention."

Brandon didn't waste any more words, whipped out his cell phone, and started dialing as he walked towards the direction where Sophia had disappeared.

Sophia had dragged Aaron to a deserted nook before finally letting go of him.

Before she could even open her mouth, Aaron was already on a rant, "She's definitely Brandon's kid. You guys didn’t secretly get hitched again, did you?"

"No way!"

She shut that down fast and turned to face him, "My daughter is just that - my daughter. She's got nothing to do with anyone else. Me, Brandon, and the entire Crawley family are donezo. So don't go getting any funny ideas."

"What kind of funny ideas could I possibly have? I'm just looking out for you here," Aaron retorted, feeling wrongly accused, "What do you mean 'no connection'? Are you out of your mind? You go through all that risk and pain to have their family's baby, and then you walk away without a claim to the throne or even child support, and still say there's no connection? Think about your kid for once. If you don't latch onto Brandon now and he starts a new family later, leaves all his assets to the new kids, won't yours feel left out in the cold? Both his kids, but why should his another wife's live in the lap of luxury while yours gets the short end of the stick? Can't you think about your kid's future?"

"It's my business!" Sophia shot back, "I don't need anyone meddling in my life under the guise of doing me a favor. Aaron, the moment Mom kicked me out two years ago, that was it for me and you guys. No connection, get it? Please, I'm begging you, stop butting into my life, will you?"

Sophia was on the verge of a breakdown by the end of her tirade. The memories of them sneaking around behind her back to approach Brandon and his folks, all while claiming to act on her behalf, flooded her mind, taking over her emotions.

They didn't care about her, so they felt free to disregard her feelings and her situation, brazenly seeking benefits from the Crawley family in the name of her own relatives.

Daniel and Patricia were biased against her, no matter how calmly she claimed ignorance or how fiercely she confronted and threatened Laura and Aaron, they just treated it like she was playing a double act.

Her in-laws despised and distrusted her, her own family ignored her insistence on doing things her way, and she was all too familiar with the feeling of helplessness caught in the middle. That's exactly why she'd chosen divorce when Brandon showed he had no love for her.

To untangle herself from these messy financial ties that cropped up because of her, cutting ties with Brandon was the only way out.

Laura and Aaron were beyond shameless.

On one hand, they felt like being in-laws made them family, lost all sense of boundaries, and took for granted what belonged to the Crawley family as if it was theirs.

But once they lost that connection through their daughter, they felt they had no ground to stand on, too embarrassed to demand from the Crawley family like they used to.