The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Rachel took Marian's nightmare-laden panic for just a bad dream and comforted her for a while before letting go, but remained

worried and suggested staying with her through the night.

“I'm fine.”

Finally, Marian spoke up, her voice still thin from distress, “You should all go back and rest first.”

With a forced smile that barely masked her lingering dread, Marian tried to reassure everyone, who, seeing her slightly improved

complexion, left a bit more at ease and returned to their rooms.

Marian locked the door behind them and went back to the bedroom, but sleep now eluded her.

She stared at the bracelet on the floor, thrown down in her moment of distress, and hesitated to pick them up.

The dreamlike memories of her youth held her in a vice grip of panic; she knew these were real.

As a child, she often had such fragmented dreams. After each nightmare, her mother would hold her tight to comfort her, and with

their patient and loving pampering, she gradually moved past those nightmarish memories. Yet, these recollections never vanished

and were fiercely awakened tonight by her desire for Sophia to be Yolanda.

She didn't sleep a wink all night.

The next day at the company, Marian found herself stealthily glancing at Sophia. The more she looked, the more Sophia's face

seemed to merge with the blurry image of her sister from her memories, and the more her heart raced with fear.

Sophia had noticed Marian's occasional stares from early on.

Throughout the morning, whether Sophia was passing through the lobby, in a meeting, or in her office, Marian would zone out

watching her now and then.

Sophia didn’t know if it was because of her planned public explanation and apology at the media press conference that day, and

she had wanted to find a chance to discuss the matter with Marian, but since Marian didn't bring it up, she pretended not to notice.

At lunch, Sophia and Don had work to discuss, so they went to eat together.

Marian followed them but unusually didn’t barge in as she normally would; instead, she silently got her own food and ate alone.

While eating, Marian occasionally looked up at Sophia's profile, spacing out as she did so.

Don had never seen Marian act so odd. He wasn’t sure if Marian had apologized to Sophia yet and quietly asked, “What's up with

Marian?”

Sophia was just as clueless and shook her head, “I don’t know.”

“Has she apologized to you?” Don inquired.

Sophia wasn't sure how to put it, “I don't know if you could call it an apology, but she did cto seeyesterday. It didn't end

on a great note though.”

Don nodded, figuring it was Marian's style.

Sophia, recalling what Marian had said about Daniel being hospitalized for a cerebral hemorrhage after arguing with Brandon and

wanting to take back his shares and insist on being with her, decided to ask Don in a soft voice, “Mr. Dempsey, | heard that

Brandon's father had a stroke and was hospitalized after fighting with Brandon about taking back his shares and stubbornly

wanting to be with me. Is that true?”

Don paused his eating and looked up at Sophia.

Sophia was quietly waiting for his reply.

Don had promised Brandon not to talk about this with Sophia, and he didn’t know why she suddenly asked. After a moment of

thought, he said softly, “I think you should talk to Brandon about this.”

“He’s been having a rough time, hasn't he?” Sophia asked softly.

Don just shook his head with a smile, not sure how to respond.

Sophia smiled back, not pressing further.

She could sense that Brandon had been troubled lately. No matter how much he tried to hide his emotions, the subtle changes in

his aura and eyes were telling. She had thought it was just because of his father's health, but now it seemed there was more to it.

“Don’t overthink it,” Don couldn't help but advise, “Brandon will handle it.”

Sophia nodded slightly, not saying anything.

No matter how strong Brandon was, he was still human. He didn’t have superpowers to manage such a large company, deal with

the conflicts between her, his parents, and the occasional troubles stirred up by her family. He simply didn’t have the energy to

handle it all.

Brandon hadn't cto the company that noon; he had gone to the hospital again, and Sophia didn’t know the exact situation

with Daniel.

Sophia couldn't get any information; probably they didn’t want her to worry, as everyone she asked said he was doing fine and told

her not to worry.

At around 2 p.m., Brandon returned from the hospital to pick up Sophia for the press conference.

The conference was scheduled for 4 p.m., with Martin to personally explain the situation with the estate project to the public, and

Marian was to apologize in person.

When Brandon arrived at Sophia's office, Marian was still there. Her eyes flickered with unease when she saw him, perhaps from

guilt or from knowing Brandon's ruthless way of handling things. Unlike before, she didn’t dare to be as casual with him and quickly

dropped her gaze to avoid his.

Brandon didn’t pay her any attention and after picking up Sophia, he called Kent, “Arrange for someone to take Ms. Barlow to the

press conference venue.”

Everyone else in the office, except for Ivan and Don, didn’t know what was going on, and they were all surprised by Brandon's

phone call and looked towards Marian.

Marian felt extremely awkward but didn’t dare to say anything, clutching her phone tightly without uttering a word.

Don cout of the office, “I'm heading there too, I'll take her on the way.”

Don looked at Marian, “Con, you can ride with me.”

Curiosity got the better of Cindy, and she couldn't help but ask Don, “Mr. Dempsey, what's this press conference about?”

Don glanced at her, “Just a press conference.”

Cindy was left hanging but sensed there was more to it that Don didn’t want to divulge.

Cindy suddenly felt a bit bummed out but didn't want to press further, so she sulkily looked away.

Don didn't even bother to respond, his gaze had already moved past Cindy, looking at Marian: "You should get ready."

With no choice, Marian acknowledged him and got up reluctantly.

On the way, she couldn't resist secretly messaging Martin, asking to delay the conference until the paternity test results were out.

But Martin didn't reply. She had no idea if he was busy or just didn't feel like dealing with her.

Without any hope from Martin, Marian had no choice but to obsessively refresh the hospital's admin system, hoping to catch the

paternity test results as soon as they were out. But by the tshe got to the press conference venue, there was still no peep from

the backend—no results yet.

Marian, frantic, went to look for Louis.

Louis was resting in the lounge when Marian barged in. He looked at her with a complex gaze; on one hand, Brandon's comparison

of Yolanda and Marian’s temperaments the day before had convinced him, and he also believed that Martin's paternity test result

was fake. But on the other hand, under this firm belief, there was a hint of uncertainty as he replayed in his mind the scenes of

Marian’s childhood disappearance that she described when she woke up from a nightmare the night before.

Skepticism and sympathy were entangled in his heart.

"Grandpa," Marian pleaded with Louis, "Could we hold off on this press conference until the paternity test results are out? It won't

be a long; the results will be out today, just a delay of an hour or so would do."

Louis looked conflicted and troubled: "Even if the results cout, what difference will it make? The apologies that need to be

made, the statements you need to issue, you'll still have to do them."

"It's not the same," Marian's words cout in a scramble, unable to fully articulate her feelings. She felt as if the forthcoming

results might act as a life preserver, eager to cling to anything that would allow her to delay the inevitable, which is why she kept

pleading softly to Louis, "How about just delaying it for an hour, can we do that?"

"Not even by a minute."

Brandon's voice emanated from the entrance, causing Marian to whirl around in shock.

Brandon and Sophia, unnoticed until now, stood at the entrance to the resting room.

Brandon was looking at his watch: "The press conference is about to begin. If Ms. Barlow doesn't want to make a public apology,

we'll have to issue the statement ourselves, and for the rest, we'll proceed legally."

Louis, thinking about Brandon's insistence on an apology statement, hesitated and looked at Brandon: "Why not delay it by an

hour? We're going to apologize anyway, what difference does it make whether it's an hour earlier or later?"

"No way."

Brandon's rejection was absolute and unequivocal.

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