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?"

Brandon's lips twitched into a fleeting half-smile, then he looked at her again. "Fair point."

Sophia was a bit lost as to what he meant, and since Brandon didn't seem inclined to explain, he steered the conversation back. "I'm still not sure if it's really her."

Sophia was stumped on how to reply, thinking maybe her earlier "congrats" had been premature.

"So." Sophia was still struggling to wrap her head around it, "What does this have to do with me? Why'd you come to me with this?"

She recalled him asking if she had ever changed her name or had any special experiences as a child, and a flicker of a thought crossed her mind. She looked at him uncertainly. "You don't think I'm Yolanda, do you? Do you have any clues or anything that make you think I might be her?"

"No."

Sophia frowned. "Then what made you suddenly think of this?"

"I don't know," Brandon admitted, truly at a loss as to why he once again drew a connection between Sophia and Yolanda.

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.