NovelEnglishSophia's steps instinctively faltered as she glanced over at Brandon.
Brandon's pace also hesitated slightly as he eyed the slightly ajar door of the private room across.
Don's voice continued to spill out from inside, "You guys keep flipping between fake and real, then back to fake. You're making my
head spin. Givethe straight dope, will ya?"
"It's true." Martin's voice cthrough, sounding a bit indifferent, "She and | went to the hospital for a paternity test ourselves."
Don exclaimed, "Huh?"
Sophia couldn't help but look over at Brandon.
She saw the calm facade on Brandon's handsface wash away for a moment, his expression dimmed, but it was just a flash. He
caught Sophia's gaze, and for a split second, his face froze.
Sophia just politely pressed her lips into a shallow smile, not saying a word.
The waiter, seeing both of them stop in their tracks, turned back in confusion and called out, "Ma'am? Sir?"
Theresa, equally puzzled, looked at Brandon and Sophia, "Daddy? Mommy?"
The familiar voice at the door reached the two inside, and Don, recognizing Theresa's voice, paused in his tracks.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtMartin looked at him, puzzled, "What's up?"
Don shook his head, his expression a bit more serious than before, but he didn't speak. He stood up, pulled open the room door,
and saw Brandon and Sophia, along with Theresa, walking past.
He squeezed out a smile and greeted them, "Brandon, Sophia, you guys are here for a bite too?"
Sophia turned and nodded with a smile, "Yeah, the little one wanted sof the dishes here, so we thought we'd check it out."
Don gestured towards the private room behind him, "Well, con in and join us. Let's eat together."
Brandon looked back at him and declined, "No, that's okay."
His gaze had already shifted to Martin who had followed Don out. Martin also glanced at Brandon but didn’t speak.
He figured Brandon must have overheard the conversation, and there was no need to explain further; facts were facts.
Without greeting Martin, Brandon simply bid Don farewell and then he, along with Sophia and Theresa, entered the neighboring
private room.
Don couldn't read Brandon's mood from his calm demeanor and didn't want to pry, especially with Sophia there.
Actually, it didn't really matter to Brandon that he heard, but the fact that Sophia did; that was the main thing. There had always
been a Yolanda between them.
But he couldn't glean anything from Sophia's calm face either.
Back in their own private room, Sophia and Brandon didn't seem affected by the little incident, attending to Theresa as lovingly as
ever.
The little tyke was too young to understand the complex adult conversations that didn't concern her. The simple joy of her parents’
presence was all that mattered to her.
After the meal, Sophia and Brandon took her to the mall's play area, where she had the tof her life until she got sleepy around
nine and they headed home, like any ordinary family.
Once home, Sophia, as usual, took Theresa for a bath, while Brandon stepped out onto the balcony to handle swork calls on
his phone.
Then it was baths and bed for everyone, without discussing the issue at hand.
Sophia, tired from a restless night before, fell asleep quickly.
Brandon, however, lay awake, staring at the dark ceiling, his mind void of sleepiness, replaying Martin's words, "It's true. We went
to the hospital for a paternity test ourselves." His feelings were a jumble - flashes of Yolanda, who had been a quiet presence since
his mother's death, the 17-year-old Sophia who was quietly mischievous, and the now ever-calm and reserved Sophia. For the first
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmtime, he had to forcibly separate Yolanda from Sophia in his mind.
The paternity test result from Martin and Marian shattered all his illusions, all the situations he didn't want to face, he had to
confront.
They had both gone to the hospital themselves, and with the previous hair sample results, they would have had to get blood tests
for confirmation.
This stark reality left Brandon feeling a bit hollow and tinged with faint regret.
His gaze involuntarily shifted to the now sleeping Sophia, as memories of the quiet and lovely girl were painfully pulled away from
her, bit by bit.
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