The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Madam, you've got the wrong person."

Sophia whispered, not turning around as she tried to gently dislodge the woman's hand from her clothing.

But Renata wouldn't let go; her withered fingers still clung tightly to the hem of Sophia's clothes, her voice quivering with a hint of

a cry, "Grandma hasn't made a mistake. Sophia, you're my Yoli. Yoli, don't be mad at Grandma. Turn around and look at me, will

you?"

The pleading tone almost brought tears to Sophia's eyes.

In the end, she couldn't bear to upset Renata and turned to look at her, softly saying, "Grandma, I'm not angry."

Her comforting tone instantly put a smile on Renata's face. Holding Sophia's hands, her eyes were tearful, but her voice was filled

with relief, "My Yoli is still the understanding and kind-hearted girl she was as a child, that's wonderful."

Sophia didn't quite know how to respond to that, so she just offered an awkward smile.

Louis wasn't too fazed by Renata's words; ever since her dementia worsened, she's always been mixing things up, confusing one

person for another, babbling on, with few moments of clarity.

He was just surprised at Renata's fondness for Sophia and gave her a glance.

Marian, who had less interaction with Renata, wasn't sure how far gone her dementia was, but this was the first tshe saw

Renata so clearly and directly mistaking Sophia for Yolanda, from her gaze to her body language, she treated Sophia entirely as

Yolanda.

Marian's frown deepened as she recalled the absent look on Sophia's face when she first saw her bracelet; she looked at Sophia

with confusion.

Sophia was trying to persuade Renata to go back.

But Renata was stubborn like a kid, shaking her head and refusing to leave, wanting Sophia to chwith her.

Theresa stood in the hallway, secretly watching the situation in the living room entrance. She was obeying her father's instructions

to wait for him at hand not to wander off, causing trouble for her mother. She had stuck her head out into the corridor to peek

out occasionally. Yet when she saw her grandmother holding onto her mother's hand, asking her to chome—the sense of

impending loss made her forget her father's words, and she hesitantly stepped out and timidly called out, "Mommy?"

To muster courage, she clutched a small doll in her arms.

Her sweet, milky voice drew Louis and Renata’s attention on her.

Louis was taken aback by the girl's familiar look, staring at Theresa in a daze.

This daze only added to Marian's confusion, prompting her to look at Renata, who had already crouched down to Theresa's level

with a puzzled look in her eyes. "How did my Yoli get so small again?"

Sophia had already turned around by then and squatted down, opening her arms to Theresa and softly asked, "When did you wake

up, Theresa?"

"Just now."

Theresa said, hesitatingly stepping into Sophia's embrace, but couldn't help glancing warily at Renata.

She remembered this old lady.

The one who got lost in the park that day, when her mother had promised to accompany her back home.

She felt sorry for the granny who couldn't find her way, so she agreed to help her mother take the granny hfirst—but now the

granny seemed intent on taking her mother away, and it frightened her.

Her hand involuntarily tightened around Sophia's sleeve; afraid that her mother would leave with someone else.

Thinking she was just shy, Sophia hugged her reassuringly and taught her to address Renata, "Theresa, say 'Hi, Grandma."

To her surprise, Theresa stubbornly shook her head and gripped even tighter.

Sophia felt confused and softly asked, "What's wrong, Theresa?"

Theresa's eyes just reddened a bit, but she said nothing, just opening her arms wanting Sophia to hold her.

Sophia lifted her into an embrace, nuzzled her cheek, and whispered words of comfort, "Don't be afraid, Mommy's here."

Theresa responded with a faint "Mmm," her gaze drifting from the puzzled Renata to Louis, who was still staring at her in a daze.

Her eyes shifted from wariness to confusion and then, upon seeing Marian, settled into a look of hurt and displeasure.

Marian didn't care how Theresa looked at her; she was lost in thought, observing Theresa and Sophia, and subtly glancing at the

befuddled Renata and the dazed Louis, her suspicions growing.

Sophia turned to Louis, "Mr. Frost, | need to tend to my little one, so | can't entertain you any longer. Please, feel free to head out."

Then she turned to Renata with a mild tone but a firm intention, "Grandma, could you and grandpa head back for now? I'll visit you

when | find the time."

Renata glanced with a touch of disappointment at Theresa in her arms and then at Sophia. She opened her mouth to say

something but ultimately just nodded in agreement.

Louis made one more attempt to persuade Sophia, his tone still kind and polite, "Ms. Yearwood, could we possibly cin for a

while to talk?"

Sophia just apologetically shook her head, "Sorry, Mr. Frost, it's not a good time."

" May | use your restroom then?" Marian chimed in suddenly, "I'm sorry, | really need to use the bathroom."

Sophia gave her a look, hesitated, but then nodded and stepped aside.

Marian seemed in a real hurry, heading straight for the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her with a loud "bang" that was a

bit too forceful.

Grace, concerned, went to keep an eye on the door.

Indeed, Marian was in a rush to use the bathroom.

But as Marian sat in the privacy of the restroom, her mind couldn't escape from the images of the past: the way Brandon and

Martin flipped out when they saw her bracelet, and how Sophia was totally dazed by it. She remembered telling Sophia she found it

and Sophia's subconscious reaction, asking her if she was adopted too. Aaron's disdainful tone for Sophia over dinner, Renata

almost stubbornly called Sophia "Yoli," and the way Louis froze when he saw Sophia's daughter.

All these wild coincidences were smashing together in her head, gradually coalescing into a hazy suspicion.

Her gaze drifted slowly towards the bathroom drain where sstrands of hair entangled with debris caught her eye.

Marian's eyes lingered on the twisted hair, and after a moment of hesitation, she squatted down in front of the drain and reached

for the hair, only to pull back halfway, grossed out. She turned to leave but only made it halfway before she stopped herself.

With her bottom lip caught tight under her top teeth, she yanked a few paper towels and carefully gathered all the tangled hair

from the drain.

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