The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 596

"I just can't stop worrying about her," Amanda grumbled.

"Then find a way to calm yourself down. No one is obligated to shoulder your anxieties," said Harvey Ferber. "Don't forget how you pushed your own daughter to the brink."

Amanda's face turned ghostly pale.

"Love isn't wrong, but excessive love is suffocating. Trying to make up for your guilt about your daughter through her is your business, but you'd better know when to stop, or you'll end up scaring her away."

With that, Harvey Ferber fell silent and turned back to his room.

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Sophia took a cab straight to the mall.

Her contact had already booked a private room at the restaurant.

When Sophia walked into the room, President Poe was already waiting.

Seeing Sophia enter, he stood up enthusiastically, smiled, and extended both hands to greet her: "Hello, are you Ms. Arlene Bright?"

"Hello," Sophia replied, extending her hand for a polite shake.

President Poe studied Sophia, smiling, "I didn't expect Ms. Bright to be so young."

Sophia offered a courteous smile but didn't engage further. Perhaps due to her lack of past memories, she didn't feel a strong connection to the identity of "Ms. Bright."

Arlene was the temporary identity Harvey Ferber had given her.

She had been rescued and brought on board the ship without any identification.

At the time, she had a cerebral contusion that couldn't be cleared, and faced the risks associated with a craniotomy. Harvey Ferber had already arranged for the next port of call, along with hospital and surgical preparations.

But without any identification or visa, she couldn't enter another country.

So, to get her off the ship for surgery smoothly, Harvey Ferber lent her Arlene's passport and visa, allowing her to enter the foreign country under Arlene's identity.

She had seen Arlene in the passport photo—similar in demeanor, face shape, and features, and close in age, which made the transfer to the local hospital smooth. Although the surgery was later deemed unnecessary, the identity of Arlene remained with her.

Harvey Ferber had managed all this while Sophia spent most of the time unconscious, so she was unaware of these arrangements.

Later, when she had finally recovered enough energy and strength to face the world, Harvey Ferber filled her in.

He told her she had no identification and that he had to use Arlene's identity for the time being. From now on, she could only temporarily be Arlene.

"Who's Arlene?"

Sophia remembered weakly asking Harvey Ferber.

Sophia nodded again: "That's fine."

She liked the idea of working directly with the decision-makers, which could cut out a lot of pointless middleman chatter.

"That's settled, then. I'll hook you two up after I touch base with them," said President Poe, relieved by Sophia's easygoing response, and they firmed up the arrangement.

Sophia nodded in agreement: "Alright."

After dinner, President Poe couldn't wait to hit up Kent, spilling the beans that they had snagged a killer proposal for the science museum. They'd already had a face-to-face with the designer, who was cool with letting the plans go for a song. The bigwigs at the school were all jazzed about rolling with this blueprint, and as for the nitty-gritty tweaks, they figured they could hash that out with the designer later.

Kent was blindsided by President Poe's sudden score on the design front, and he wasn't about to give the green light just like that.

Since the science museum was being donated in Sophia's honor, Brandon would have to vet every aspect of its design and reputation, making sure it wouldn't catch even a whiff of bad press.

"Let me huddle with Mr. Crawley first and circle back to you, okay?" Kent said with a smile.

"Sure thing, sure thing," President Poe chuckled. "If it's cool with you, maybe you could also loop in Mr. Crawley for a meal?"

"No sweat," Kent grinned. "I'll sync up with Mr. Crawley and we'll let you know."

After wrapping up the call, Kent rang Brandon to give him the lowdown.

Brandon was en route to West District High with Theresa when he got the news, his brow furrowing instantly: "They've settled on a design?"