The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 425

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 scenario Louis 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 some gifts. 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 came an angry outburst:

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

"Yoli!"

Sophia wasn't riled at her words and looked at her calmly, "Marian, did you not get why I 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, I welcome it, 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 some pleas 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 tell me how 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 some solutions 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 I 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 lifetime for angering his father unto death."

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