The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 417

"You found the blueprints the day they went missing, and a few days after that, my daughter ran into you at the company. She flat-out asked you if you'd seen her blueprints, and you said no."

Brandon looked at her, totally chill, "From the time the blueprints went missing up until now, you've had plenty of chances to clear the air, but you didn't. You just let Martin keep pushing the project forward, and even today, you're still basking in the glory of being the lead designer. If you had even an ounce of a desire to come clean, you wouldn't have let things get this far."

"I was too scared to admit it because my grandpa and Martin had already taken the designs, thinking they were mine. I was totally freaking out at the time and didn't know how to handle it, so I had to deny it."

Marian was all flustered, trying to explain, "Ever since that day, I've been feeling super guilty and scared. I wanted to be honest, but I was afraid of letting my grandpa and Martin down. I really didn't know what to do. I've never faced anything this big before. My parents and my family have always been so proud of me, and I've always been the good girl in their eyes. But just like that, I took a wrong turn because of a moment's hesitation, and I'm scared to see the disappointment in their eyes. That's why I've been so indecisive and delayed everything. It's all because I'm too cowardly. I really didn't want to let everyone down."

As Marian spoke, she started crying again, racked with guilt.

Louis saw her crying so sadly and felt so bad for her that he quickly started patting her shoulder to comfort her, "There, there, don't cry. Nobody's perfect, and I believe you didn't mean to steal someone's work. It's partly my fault for being so thrilled at the time that I put this pressure on you. But we need to own up to our mistakes, including yours, and work to correct them."

"Yeah," Marian sniffled, barely managing an apology, and with teary eyes, she looked up at Sophia, who was watching them with mixed emotions, and stammered out an apology, "Sophia, I'm so sorry, really. I shouldn't have let my fear and cowardice lead to everyone being misled, mistaking your work for mine, and causing you immeasurable harm. I truly didn't do it on purpose."

"Don't use fear and cowardice as an excuse," Brandon cut in, "Someone who's truly timid wouldn't have the guts to take credit for someone else's work. Not every screw-up can be wiped away with a simple 'sorry.'"

Brandon looked towards Martin, who had remained silent, "Martin, what do you think? How should we handle this?"

Martin's lips tightened slightly, and he gave Brandon a silent glance.

"Let's talk privately," he said.

Brandon nodded, "Alright."

Then he turned to Don, "I'll leave this place to you for now."

Don nodded, "Sure."

Brandon looked back at Sophia, wanting to say something, but he swallowed his words and instead spoke softly to her, "You take care of Theresa for now. I'm going to have a chat with Martin. I promise I'll sort this out to your satisfaction."

Just as Martin had guessed.

Marian was operating under the name "Yolanda," so Brandon would never allow her to admit to plagiarism and apologize under that name. Nor would he allow it.

So from the moment Louis unconditionally defended Marian and Brandon's gaze cut through the crowd directly at him, he was already making his stance clear.

Setting up a private meeting elsewhere was just to spare the elder from any potential shock to his health.

This situation had also caught Martin off guard.

Originally, he had confirmed with Marian multiple times to prevent today's scenario. He didn't want "Yolanda's" identity to have any blemishes.

He hadn't expected Marian to be bold enough to blatantly plagiarize.