The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

After taking a bow, Marian grabbed the microphone. Her eyes were already moist before she could even speak, as if she was

holding back tears.

The rustling from the audience ceased at her gesture.

Everyone looked at her with concern.

"I'm sorry," Marian sniffled, remorsefully addressing the assembly. It took her a moment to steady her emotions before she slowly

started, " Standing here today, | want to formally apologize to Miss Sophia. Due to my cowardice, when my family mistakenly

believed her work was mine, | failed to correct them immediately, leading to a whole series of misunderstandings."

Brandon's brows furrowed slightly as his gaze bore into Marian.

Marian didn't dare meet Brandon's eyes and shifted her gaze away, continuing softly, " The company decided to launch this project

three months ago, and as I'm an architect and the granddaughter, my brother wanted me..."

Brandon motioned for the microphone from a reporter next to him.

The reporter hesitated but quickly complied, handing the microphone to Brandon.

Testing the microphone with a tap, Brandon raised it to his lips and looked at Marian without a trace of emotion, "Excusefor the

interruption, but please mention your words, Ms. Barlow. Yolanda is Yolanda, and Ms. Barlow is Ms. Barlow. Please don't conflate

yourself with Yolanda."

Sophia glanced at Brandon.

He didn't return her back, just calmly stated to Marian on stage, "Additionally, we hope Miss Barlow can give an objective account

of the events without making excuses for herself."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Marian's face, but she bit her lip and continued, "When the company decided to launch this

project, Mr. Frost gavea chance to try. But because my personal style is quite postmodern, | couldn't design something that

satisfied Mr. Frost and Louis, and | blamed myself for that. One day, when | was at the office, | went downstairs to meet a friend

and saw..."

Marian wanted to say she saw the unclaimed blueprint on the seat but, catching Brandon's intense gaze with the microphone in his

hand, she swallowed her words and hesitated before revealing the day's events: "There was an adorable little girl sitting there

playing. | thought she was cute, so | went over to make her laugh. She happened to be holding a bottle bag with a blueprint inside.

Curious about why such a young child would have it, | wanted to take a look but was interrupted by a manager coming downstairs.

| laid the blueprint down to greet them and then left.”

"Later, when | returned, | found the blueprints still on the seat, but the little girl was nowhere to be seen. Thinking it was discarded,

| picked it up to throw it away. But when I unfolded it, | was blown away by the design. | guessed it might be important, and worried

that the little girl would cback looking for it, so | stuffed it into my bag, planning to return it to her later."

"If you were really concerned the little girl not finding it, | think handing the blueprint to the reception would have been safer,"

Brandon cut her off, leaving no room for obscurity.

Marian's expression grew more embarrassed, but she stubbornly insisted, "l was in a rush to get back to work and didn't think too

much of it at the time, so | just shoved it into my bag. | didn't cacross the little girl in the following days and slowly forgot

about it. Until last month, when a friend's father had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, | rushed him to the hospital. Our families are

old friends, so my family also cover quickly. Later, when we were going back in the car, | was searching for my phone when

the blueprint accidentally fell out.”

"My grandfather saw the blueprint and thought it was something | designed for him. He was so surprised and touched. At that

moment, | didn't know what cover me, | just couldn't bear to let him down and went along with it."

A whispering buzz spread through the venue as people murmured their varying thoughts—ssympathetic, others in disbelief.

Marian already felt exceedingly humiliated but laid bare her story under Brandon's unspoken pressure. Between the lines, she was

justifying her actions as not wanting to disappoint her grandfather and then went along with the mistake. Following that impulsive

decision, she was plagued by guilt and tried several times to cclean to Louis and Martin but always lacked the courage.

Growing up as the exemplary 'child from another family," she had never committed an error and found it difficult to admit her

wrongdoing. Especially after reencountering Theresa and learning the design were Sophia's, she was at a loss on what to do, and

was just too scared to speak up.

"I was thinking I'd cup with a new design to replace that one and then confess my mistake. That's why | was burning the

midnight oil trying to cup with a new design, but before | could finish, Martin registered the project, which | never saw

coming."

Moving towards the computer, Marian pulled up the design she had intended to replace.

"This is what | was working on. | had planned to replace it with my own work," she reiterated.

Brandon glanced at the big screen. It was hard to tell if the design was a last-minute effort or something from before. Though it

looked quite ordinary, it was indeed tailored to the Frost family's needs.

This revelation tempered the audience's doubt about her having stolen the design purposefully.

Martin, standing aside, looked at her but said nothing.

Seizing the opportunity, Marian apologized, "I'm truly sorry for my timidity at that time, which mademiss the best chance to

confess. Later, as the project went ahead, | lost the opportunity to make changes, and my cowardice keptfrom admitting my

wrongdoing to my family. | inadvertently caused a huge misunderstanding that the Frost family estate’s design was my creation.

For the harm and loss this caused Miss Sophia, | profoundly apologize."

Marian bowed deeply to Sophia once more.

Brandon's face darkened, and he picked up the microphone again, turning his gaze to Marian on stage, "Ms. Barlow, since you

think this whole thing was just a mix-up, then please allowto ask, what reason allowed you to neglect addressing this blunder

for two months from the moment you got the design until yesterday? Furthermore, even at yesterday's bidding meeting, when all

those reporters thought you were the lead designer, what was going through your mind that made you so comfortable accepting

the praise? Moreover, you stumbled upon the design draft, not a digital file, but in the presentation Mr. Frost showed yesterday and

today, all the images were all digital renderings. So, Ms. Barlow, where did you get those digital versions?"

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