Depend on a soft-hearted response (5)

I believe the answer is:

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'hearted response' is the definition.
'reply' can be an answer for 'response' (synonyms). I'm not certain of the 'hearted' bit.

'depend on a soft' is the wordplay.
'depend' becomes 'rely' (to depend on someone is to rely on them).
'on' is an insertion indicator (as in clothing 'on' a person).
'a soft' becomes 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano', soft).
'rely' enclosing 'p' is 'REPLY'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for reply that I've seen before include "Answer, respond" , "Comeback" , "Return" , "response is demanded" , "counterattack?" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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