The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 32

His eyes had already given her the answer.

Sophia had no clue why Brandon suddenly linked her with Yolanda out of the blue.

It came totally out of left field.

There wasn't a hint of this earlier in the day.

"You ran into some trouble or something?" Sophia asked with a frown, "What made you think of this all of a sudden?"

Brandon didn't beat around the bush. "I came across a girl who might be Yolanda."

Sophia felt a sting in her heart, but quickly let it go. After all, she had divorced Brandon while she was still in love with him, and it hadn't been long since their split. She wasn't completely over him yet, so it was natural to feel a twinge at the mention of another girl.

After shaking off the feeling, she looked at him with a smile and genuine goodwill. "Well, that's great news, congrats!"

But Brandon's expression suddenly turned bleak.

Sophia picked up on the drop in his mood, "Aren't you happy about it?"

"No," he replied curtly, his face betraying his true feelings.

Sophia pretended not to notice and gave a forced chuckle in response, suddenly at a loss for how to continue the conversation. So, she just picked up her glass and quietly sipped her water.

Brandon looked at her. "Aren't you curious?"

Sophia looked back, puzzled. "Curious? Why should I be?"

It wasn't the first time he'd linked the two. The first time he saw Sophia in high school, standing at the podium, nervously introducing herself with, "Hi everyone, my name is Sophia," her quiet, gentle, and well-behaved demeanor had instantly reminded him of Yolanda. The similarity and familiarity of their manners drew his attention to her, but it was also because of this attention that, on graduation day, he found out Sophia had never skipped a grade.

Yolanda was about three years younger than him; she was in kindergarten when he was already in second grade. Without skipping any grades, she couldn't possibly be in the same grade as him, and the ages wouldn't match up.

So, even though he felt let down at the time, he had to accept the truth. Luckily, they had graduated, and Sophia had disappeared, allowing him to return to his old life trajectory, and their paths never crossed again.

Just like before, this time he had no indicators or leads to suggest that Sophia had any connection to Yolanda. It was merely because when he saw that girl who might be Yolanda, he felt a deep-seated resistance.

He knew people change, especially someone like Yolanda, who'd been through being lost. Her upbringing could have taken a complete 180, and it wouldn't be impossible for her personality to have changed in a different environment.

Brandon was well aware that he just couldn't accept the sweet little girl from his memories turning into someone completely different. So he'd rather subjectively choose to fit Sophia into Yolanda's shoes.