The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Theresa nodded, "Yeah, mommy also said | can't accept gifts from Mr. Evert."

"Did mom say you can accept gifts from dad?" Brandon whispered to her.

Sophia cleared her throat lightly and pushed the freshly served boat congee in front of Theresa, "Here, Theresa, have scongee

first."

Theresa's attention was instantly drawn to Sophia, and after crisply saying "Okay", she leaned forward a bit and took the small

spoon Sophia handed her.

Brandon glanced at Sophia.

Sophia pretended not to see, just watched Theresa intently as she clumsily scooped up a small spoonful of congee, blew on it

gently before bringing it to her mouth, and then took a tiny bite. Then she beamed at Sophia with a smile that reached her eyes.

"Mommy, it's yummy."

After that, she picked up a spoon nearby, scooped up a little bit, and brought it to Sophia's mouth, "You try too, Mommy."

Sophia tasted it and smiled back at her, "Mm, it's delicious."

Theresa was even happier and, using the spoon Sophia had just used, scooped up another small spoonful and turned to offer it to

Brandon, "Daddy, you try too."

Sophia instinctively started to protest, "I've already served sfor daddy."

Before she could finish, Brandon already opened his mouth and drank the congee Theresa offered.

Theresa looked at Brandon expectantly, "Daddy, is it good?"

Brandon nodded and smiled back at her, "Yeah, it's really good."

A happy Theresa switched back to her own spoon and took another taste herself.

Her spoon-handling skills weren't as steady as an adult's, but she ate her congee methodically, bit by bit, without making a mess

like other kids might.

Brandon also noticed Theresa's eating manners and looked at Sophia, "You've done a great job teaching Theresa."

"She's just naturally smart and well-behaved," Sophia said, her gaze unconsciously drifting to Theresa, who was earnestly eating

her meal.

She had consciously started training Theresa to hold her own bottle at seven months old and encouraged self-feeding from the age

of one.

No matter how slowly she ate or how messy it got, Sophia patiently and seriously let her finish on her own, never snatching the

spoon away to feed her quickly and save time. Theresa had becmore and more adept with each attempt.

Probably thanks to this conscious nurturing from a young age, coupled with Brandon's inherent meticulousness and discipline,

Theresa didn't need much adult supervision when it cto eating.

Brandon too watched Theresa eat with focus.

"I'm not just talking about how she eats," he said, looking at Sophia.

Sophia had done a fantastic job teaching Theresa, not just in terms of independence but also in her manners, upbringing, language

skills, and logical thinking, all of which were above those of her peers.

He hadn't met many children, but he did have spoints of reference, and not many could raise their child so well.

Sophia had given all her gentleness and patience to her child.

Brandon hadn't forgotten how patiently Sophia had taught Theresa earlier that day at the airport when she had accidentally

bumped into clothes at the boutique.

There was no scolding, no irritation, no impatience - just a calm and equal conversation, gently and patiently explaining right from

wrong and how to solve problems, without making the child feel guilty or shirk responsibility.

He had always known Sophia was gentle and patient, and thought she would be a great mother. But thinking so was one thing, and

seeing it with his own eyes was another.

The moment she patiently educated Theresa had struck his heart; the world seemed to quiet down, and all he could see and feel

was Sophia, holding the child and speaking to her softly and soothingly.

Sophia couldn't help but look up at Brandon, the depth in his eyes catching her off guard.

"These past two years must have been tough," he said softly, looking at her.

His voice was gentle, low, and soothing - a simple statement that almost brought tears to Sophia's eyes.

She slightly averted her gaze, a bit flustered.

"It's been okay." She said softly, "Apart from being a bit clumsy and not quite used to it at the start, everything's been fine.

Theresa's easy to take care of, and life's been fulfilling."

"Did she cry a lot as a baby?" Brandon glanced at Theresa, who was concentrating on her congee, and asked.

"She was mostly good, only fussy when she felt uncomfortable." Sophia said quietly, "Her constitution is a bit like mine; she has a

sensitive stomach and was allergic to milk protein. Back then, | lacked breast milk."

Sophia paused a moment, "So she suffered a bit more. We didn't know she was allergic to milk protein and fed her regular milk by

normal steps. She started having issues with intestinal tympanites at a month and a half. | didn't understand much then, so she

suffered quite a bit from it and cried a lot. Later, | learned to do sexercises to ease her condition, and things slowly improved.

Once she felt better, she stopped crying and was very easy to take care of - just eat and sleep."

"How's her health?" Brandon asked.

"Her immunity is a tad weak; she gets sick easily." Sophia said, looking at him, "She was born premature. | was in poor health

during the pregnancy and had to be hospitalized to save the pregnancy once. Despite trying hard to nourish myself, my poor

stomach absorption meant | couldn't get enough iron, leading to severe anemia by the late stages of pregnancy. At 30 weeks, | had

a sudden placental abruption, and the doctors had to perform an emergency C-section. She was born with all her indicators

seriously off and had to stay in an incubator for a while. Thankfully, she was strong and pulled through. These past two years, apart

from being prone to colds and coughs with the slightest change in weather, she's been doing quite well."

Brandon was somewhat familiar with placental abruption, a common but severe obstetric condition that could lead to fetal death,

maternal hemorrhage, renal failure, and other complications, endangering the lives of both the fetus and the mother.

Brandon couldn't even begin to picture how dicey the situation had been. All the hair-raising risks and close shaves sounded like a

walk in the park when Sophia talked about them.

"Scared?" He whispered.

Sophia chuckled softly, "How could | not be?"

One stroke of bad luck, and she could kick the bucket right there on the operating table.

Brandon chuckled too, and then suddenly leaned in, giving her a gentle hug.

"I'm scared too," he murmured into her ear.

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

mMMwWLIIOfiflO&1