The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 637

"She's Sophia," Brandon finally spoke up, breaking the stunned silence that had enveloped Kent. "Sophia took a nasty fall, hit her head, and lost all memory of her past life."

Kent's brain short-circuited for a split second, and he could only echo one thought, "She's Sophia."

It's actually Sophia!

She's alive!

Sophia is actually still alive!

She's really, truly alive!

A tidal wave of joy instantly swept over him.

Kent suddenly felt his eyes well up, and in utter disbelief, he choked out to Sophia, "You're alive, you're really alive, and that's... that's just amazing..."

His words trailed off into a garbled mess as his throat tightened and his nose began to sting uncontrollably.

He had never entertained the possibility that Sophia could come back from the dead.

The incident was ancient history by now. She had fallen into the river from such a height, on a frigid winter night, her head cracked open. Police and rescue teams had dredged the river time and again, a billion-dollar bounty couldn't turn up a trace of Sophia, and now they'd found a body in the sea that could be hers. He dared not even dream of her survival.

Compared to Brandon, who was blinded by his loss and refused to face reality, Kent was more of a realist, an outsider looking in.

After riding the rollercoaster of hope and despair with Brandon time after time, Kent had all but given up on the idea of Sophia ever returning.

He never imagined that in his lifetime, he'd see Sophia again—a living, breathing Sophia.

Perhaps it was witnessing the agony Brandon, Theresa, and Susan had endured without Sophia these past few months that made the shock of seeing her alive and well all the more overwhelming. The disbelief mingled with joy made his throat clench tighter, and his eyes reddened even more.

Sophia herself seemed touched by Kent's raw emotion.

Even though she still felt he was a stranger, the shock and sincerity he showed upon seeing her sparked a warm feeling inside her.

Encouraged by this warmth, Sophia couldn't help but offer him a small smile.

This smile was a shade more personal than her earlier polite confusion.

Brandon nodded slightly, "Go ahead, you handle that."

But Kent, as if he hadn't heard, waved goodbye to her, "No worries, you two chat."

With that, he left the room without waiting for a response from Sophia, even gently closing the door behind him.

Sophia: "..."

As soon as Kent stepped out of the room, he couldn't wait to pull out his phone and dial Susan.

"Where are you at?"

[Next chapter at midnight; also, I've merged a 1600-word internal monologue of Kent's into the previous chapter, so if you feel there's a disconnect, feel free to look back.]