The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Marian was still a bit in the dark, clueless about what Sophia's detailed recounting and her “And then?” had to do with her. Sophia

didn’t articulate her demands clearly, so Marian could not grasp the connection between Sophia's words and her point of

contention.

But she didn't dare to ask outright. With an uncertain hand, she gently jostled Louis" arm, signaling for him to step in on her behalf.

Sophia noticed how Marian beseechingly looked to Louis for support. Her gaze lingered on the hand Marian wrapped around Louis"

arm, then lifted her eyes to meet Marian’s, but she didn't say a word.

It was Louis, having caught Marian's cue, who turned apologetically to Sophia:

"Ms. Yearwood, what Yoli did was indeed wrong and caused you a great deal of pain. Our family owes you an apology. Whatever

your demands may be, we will do our utmost to make amends. We only ask that you see past this, considering our long

acquaintance, and try to diminish this whole affair. After all, Yoli's still wet behind the ears; blowing this up isn't going to do her any

favors."

"Didn't she think of the consequences when she did it?"

Sophia shot back, " Did she forget that we all knew each other when she took it? When my daughter asked her if she'd seen ‘my

drawings,’ didn't she realize her denial would hurt an innocent child who's already blaming herself? My daughter blamed herself for

so long for losing my design sketches, even going so far as to ask her, did she spare a thought for my child's feelings then? No

matter how young and naive, could she be more so than a 2-year-old?"

Sophia has never been the aggressive type. Even in handling with this situation, she had not intended to corner them demanding

justice; she merely believed in consulting to arrive at a rational and prudent solution, thus never considering pressing for an

outcome.

But now, here's Marian showing up unannounced with the elders, spouting apologies but without a hint of remorse in her tone or

expression. She wouldn't even say sorry without being prompted, and Louis was all about defending and protecting her, coercing

Sophia into a moral corner to safeguard Marian's future, yet completely ignoring the harm they'd done.

They called it an apology, but there was no sincerity, no solution, just moral blackmail that filled their mouths.

Sophia hadn’t been even angry at first, but the tag-team frustrations of Marian and Louis had started to fan the flames of her ire.

Louis, stunned by Sophia's rebuke, struggled to find a response; he too was puzzled by Sophia's demands, which made things even

trickier.

At least Brandon had laid out his demands clearly, allowing for targeted negotiation.

Without Sophia stating her demands, they were walking on eggshells, not knowing what might trigger her, and the negotiation had

turned utterly reactionary—a scenaLouis hadn't anticipated.

He had met Sophia a couple of times before, picturing her as a gentle, easygoing girl who valued relationships, so he hadn't

prepared much, just thoughtfully picked out sgifts. He didn't expect that their arrival would not even get them through the

door but instead escalate the conflict.

Marian's face shifted from pale to red as Sophia rebuked her. Her privileged temper flared, and out can angry outburst:

"Well, what's done is done, what more can | do? I've apologized, | brought gifts; if you're still not satisfied, then why don’t you just

tell us—what do you want?"

"Yoli!"

Louis chided her sharply, trying to prevent her from provoking further, but it was too late. Marian had already let everything out in

one breath.

After venting, she felt regret, especially when she saw Sophia's calm demeanor, but her pride wouldn't allow her to apologize.

She had always subtly resented playing second fiddle to Sophia, and it took a lot of mental preparation for her to cand

apologize today.

Not only had Sophia not accepted her apology, but she also con strongly, which only exacerbated Marian's discomfort. Once

her temper flared, she becreckless. And now, after venting, the thought of conceding was unbearable; so she petulantly

pouted, turning away from Louis in a sulk.

Louis had no choice but to mop up the mess, smoothing over the situation with a placating smile as he apologized to Sophia:

"Ms. Yearwood, I'm really sorry. Yoli has been spoiled by us since childhood; she can be a bit hot-headed. Please don't take it to

heart."

"They say ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child,” Sophia wasn't too keen on this mindless clean-up act and calmly faced him, "I get

that you dote on your granddaughter, but Ms. Frost is an adult. She can take responsibility for her actions. You don’t have to

shoulder the blfor everything; this isn’t on you."

"Sophia, you can criticize me, but you have no right to speak about my grandpa."

Marian turned cold, no longer the apologetic figure she was before, standing protectively in front of Louis, facing off with Sophia

arrogantly: "I admit | was wrong for using your work without permission. Just tellstraight up how you want to handle this."

Louis frantically tugged at her sleeve, urging her to calm down and talk it out, but Marian turned and said, "Grandpa, it's not that

we don't want to talk things over. Aren't we humbling ourselves enough? It's her who's being unreasonable, refusing to accept our

apology. Why bother with any further humiliation?"

Sophia wasn't riled at her words and looked at her calmly, "Marian, did you not get why | followed your apology with 'And then?’

Someone who apologizes sincerely comes with a solution, not just a cursory 'sorry’' to gloss things over. If you're here to truly

apologize, | welcit, but if you're just here to guilt-trip me, I'm sorry, I'm not buying it."

Marian was stumped.

This hadn't crossed her mind.

She thought a simple “sorry,” a bit of charm, and spleas considering their old school ties would be enough to let bygones be

bygones—there was no need for solutions in her view.

"Well, then you tellhow you want to solve this," Marian's tone softened, but her pride was still there.

Sophia wasn't indulging her, "I think Brandon must have already thrown ssolutions your way, right? Whatever solution he

suggested is fine by me."

Marian was silent

"Do you always hide behind Brandon when things get tough?" Marian couldn't resist a jibe, "Just now you insisted this was between

you and me, asking Grandpa to stay out of it. But when it comes to you, you're dragging Brandon into the mix? No wonder | say

you're slick. What a convenient way for you to handle conflicts with your in-laws—throw the problem at Brandon, and when his

father suffers a life-threatening stroke because of it, you just wash your hands. Brandon may be foolish enough to take the fall for

you, but eventually, you get to stand aside while he's cursed for a lifetfor angering his father unto death."

Sophia was momentarily lost in thought, her gaze shifting to Marian.

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