The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate (Brandon and Sophia) novel Chapter 740

“For a long time, I didn’t have the courage to step back into your world. We didn’t get married for love, and we didn’t divorce because we stopped loving each other. It was just that we… weren’t right together. We came to terms with that two years ago, but now—two years later—we’re forced to reconsider it all because of the baby…

“I was adopted. My birth mother never really wanted to keep me—I begged my father through tears to let me stay, because I had nowhere else to go. So I have a family, and yet I never truly had a home. All my life, I’ve wanted to know what it feels like to be truly loved…

“You were the first person I ever cared for, and the only one I’ve ever truly loved. I never got any affection back from my family, so I placed all those impossible hopes—my need to be wanted—on you. I always believed that if I loved you enough, you’d love me back in the same way…”

Sophia’s hand trembled violently as she clutched her phone, her vision blurred by tears.

A crushing weight pressed against her chest, making it almost impossible to breathe—she felt trapped, suffocating, her hope slipping away.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Through her tears, Sophia looked up and saw Brandon stepping toward her, a mug of steaming milk in his hands.

He looked up and caught sight of her tear-streaked face, then noticed the phone in her hand. His expression changed instantly. With a sharp thud, he set the mug down on the table and strode quickly to her side.

He took the phone from her hand in one swift motion. All it took was a single glance at the screen—like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head, every inch of him went cold.

He’d been putting off giving Sophia her phone back, terrified she’d stumble upon that letter.

This wasn’t the right time for her to remember her past—their past.

The sudden emptiness in her hand snapped Sophia out of her daze. Flustered, she rushed to explain, “I—I’m sorry, I just wanted to look at that book. I saw the pages were stuck in the drawer, and I was afraid they’d rip, so I opened it, and then—”

Her voice broke off. She couldn’t even finish her sentence, completely lost for words.

Brandon caught her hand, stopping her frantic explanation.

“I told you before,” he said gently, “this is our home. There’s no yours or mine between us. Anything that’s mine, you’re free to look at or use—don’t ever worry about what I might think.”

He looked her in the eyes, repeating his words softly.

Sophia managed a weak smile but said nothing. Her eyes were still red and swollen from crying.

She’d agreed to stay because, deep down, she’d wanted to believe they were still husband and wife. She thought the sense of distance between them was her own fault—that after the accident, she’d forgotten him, so it made sense that everything felt unfamiliar. She had hoped she could move closer to him, that they could act like any ordinary couple, that maybe it was possible to try again.

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