The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Sophia knew way back when she first met Aaron that the day would csooner or later.

Haley's call cseveral days later than she had anticipated.

"I had a daughter abroad," Sophia said softly, no longer hiding it; there was no point, since Brandon and Theresa had already

spilled the beans in front of Aaron.

"You silly girl, getting pregnant and not giving the family a heads-up," Haley couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, "Bet you've

had a tough tout there, huh?"

"It's been alright. It's all water under the bridge now," Sophia turned her attention back to him, "Dad, how have you been feeling

lately?"

"Ah, pretty good," Haley couldn't resist the urge to ramble, "Your brother and sister-in-law were saying Betty's gonna start school in

a couple of years and they wanted to move to a better school district. They took out a loan and bought a place downtown, and

they've all moved in already. | was thinking about giving you a ring then, but with you overseas and the tdifference being a

pain, and it being a hassle for you to fly back, | didn't mention it."

"That's okay, Dad," Sophia reassured him gently, not wanting to add to his worries.

"When can you bring my granddaughter hfor a visit?" Haley hesitated before asking, "I'm not getting any younger, and after

that big car accident, I'm not in the shape | used to be. I'd really like to see your kid."

At this, Haley felt a sense of relief. "It's great, Sophia, your finally have your own child."

Sophia felt a lump in her throat at his words.

Sophia hesitated, "lI won't be coming home, but how about | take you out for a meal sometsoon, is that okay?"

"Sure, sure!" Haley was as excited as a kid in a candy store, "When you find the time, givea call. | won't keep you from your

work now."

"Alright."

Sophia hung up the phone, holding it in both hands as she tried to calm her emotions.

Outside, Marian, who just happened to look up at that moment, saw the sadness on Sophia's face and frowned in confusion, her

feelings a complex mix.

To her, Sophia seemed like she had it all.

Gorgeous looks, a great figure, brains, a knack for learning anything and everything, aced it at an elite school, a passion for design

with talent to boot.

Now with a wealthy and doting Brandon and a smart, beautiful daughter, Marian couldn't understand what Sophia could possibly

be discontented with.

Thinking about Theresa, Marian had something even more complicated in her mind.

Thanks to Brandon occasionally bringing Theresa to the office, Marian found out that Theresa was Sophia's daughter.

That smart, lovely little girl, born on the sly while Sophia and she were classmates.

Sometimes Marian felt life was just unfair.

Sophia managed to have a child while studying and didn't let it derail her from scholarships, landing a great job, or creating

designs that everyone admired.

While Marian worked her fingers to the bone, yet her designs were rejected one after the other.

Designs that Sophia casually whipped up for her child to play with were hailed as masterpieces by others.

Thinking of the Frost family's reception of her work versus the one she picked up, Marian's heart soured with a tinge of jealousy.

She didn't want to compete with Sophia, but watching her get recognized by everyone while she herself got nothing but rejection

left her with a bitter taste in her mouth, feeling like the universe played favorites, blessing Sophia with talent, opportunities, and

good fortune.

In Marian's eyes, everything Sophia wished for seemed to ctrue.

With that sourness in her heart, she returned home, a little resentful, and dug out the design she had altered beyond recognition.

She put on a brave face and went to find Louis.

"Grandpa, I've revised my design, take a look."

Marian handed over the eagerly revised design to Louis with anticipation.

Before she knew Theresa's mom was Sophia, she did harbor thoughts of tweaking it a bit and using it, thinking she wouldn't be so

unlucky as to run into the original creator. But now, knowing their connection and sharing an office, Marian didn't dare to use it and

had been burning the midnight oil to make major changes, finally getting it to the point where it was hardly recognizable as the

original. She couldn't wait to show Louis, hoping to swap out the previous design.

But when Louis initially took the design with a beaming, hopeful smile and then looked it over, his smile slowly froze.

"Yoli," Louis said delicately, "I think the original one was pretty good as it was, no need to change it. You've worked so hard on this,

it breaks my heart."

"But it's not good! Not good at all, too rough," Marian threw a fit, and then clung to Louis's arm, cooing, "Grandpa, this one's got

more depth, let's use this one, please?"

Louis was in a tough spot.

Martin walked in at just that moment. "What's going on?"

"Yoli's cup with a revised design draft, wants to switch to this one," Louis said as he passed the design to Martin.

Martin glanced at it, his brow furrowing, then handed it back to Louis.

"We can't switch," Martin stated, "The design has already been submitted with the project to the relevant department and we've

started the bidding process for construction."

"What?" Marian's voice shot up.

"What's wrong?"

Martin and Louis were both startled by Marian's reaction, instinctively looking at her and asking in unison.

Marian was beside herself with anxiety. "How could you submit it without my consent?"

"What do you mean without your consent." Martin frowned, "Didn't | confirm with you that day that it was all good?"

"But | said | wanted to make schanges," Marian was on the verge of tears, "Grandpa agreed, why didn't you wait for me?"

Louis, called out, felt guilty. "It's my fault. | forgot to tell your brother."

"If the bigwigs don't think there's any need for changes, then don't bust your chops over it," Martin said, glancing at Marian. "The

real VIPs for this project are Grandma and Grandpa, and then there's me. Both Grandma and Grandpa are chuffed to bits with the

design, and so am |, so no need to mess with it."

As he spoke, he turned the newly designed blueprints back towards her. "Plus, | don't think this new revision is any improvement

over the original. The old style had a real pop to it; this one just seems like a mishmash that's lost its punch.”

Louis nodded in agreement, "Totally. With art, sometimes it's all about that initial spark. Overthink it, and it can get bogged down.

Grandpa also thinks the original hit the nail on the head—no need to gild the lily."

Marian was tongue-tied, at a loss for words, not sure how to explain. She couldn't very well admit that the original design wasn't

hers, after swearing up and down to Martin that it was her creation. She didn't have the guts to overturn her own fib, but the

thought of the project already being submitted for approval, and with Brandon's ties to the Frost family, he was bound to catch

wind of it.

Considering all the potential issues, Marian felt her scalp tingle and her whole being was thrown into a tailspin. She regretted not

going straight to Martin to swap out the design when she first found out Theresa was Brandon's daughter. There was still tback

then.

Martin, seeing Marian's frantic state, furrowed his brow even more.

"Is there a problem with the design?" he asked.

Marian hesitated, lacking the courage to cclean, and shook her head uncertainly, "Not exactly. I'm just worried about safety

issues. Yeah, that's it—safety concerns. Can we pull our submission for review?"

"You can't just pull it like it's our own little company," Martin looked at her. "The authorities will review it, and if there really is a

problem with the design, they'll kick it back. You don't need to worry about that."

Marian didn't know what else to say. She was in a state of panic, but amidst the chaos, there was a glimmer of hope that the

design might have flaws and get rejected by the reviewers.

Louis, assuming her jitteriness was due to the pressure of being the lead designer on such a big project and the fear of not being

able to shoulder the responsibility if something went wrong, reassured her with a smile, "Don't sweat it. There's strict oversight on

the construction work. Nothing's going to go sideways. And even if it does, you've gotand your brother to back you up. Just

take it easy. The design is solid, no need to fret."

Marian pursed her lips and glanced at him, her troubles hard to voice—it was not about that at all.

Martin also addressed her, "Considering Grandpa and Grandma's age, it's best to get the project rolling ASAP. Your design came

just in tand you did a stellar job. Don't stress yourself out."

"Oh," was all Marian could muster, her unease only slightly tempered by their comforting looks.

Just then, a knock at the door interrupted them, and the nanny, Amy, cin. "Mr. Frost, there's a Mr. Aaron outside looking for

you."

Martin frowned, "Aaron? Which one?"

Amy replied, "He says he's the Chairman of A-B Architects."

Louis looked at Martin, "Probably about the construction bid. Go check it out."

Martin nodded, "Yeah."

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