The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Although Don kept saying that, he didn't have the guts to actually leave Martin hanging and eventually stepped in to rescue him

from Brandon's clutches.

Martin had a ring of bruises around his mouth.

He didn't fight back, just gently touched the bruise with the back of his finger, then slowly stood up straight and looked at Brandon.

"Brandon, you've got someone you want to protect, and I've got mine. This whole name-dropping business was mutual from the

start, no one was twisting anyone's arm. If she’s cool with it, great, we can all work together and have a blast. If not, no one's

forcing her to jump on board. If Ms. Yearwood is making such a fuss about this, you probably know better thanwhy that is.

Taking it out onwon't change a thing."

Brandon looked at him. "That's no excuse to disrespect Sophia."

Martin's lips curled up slightly, then he continued, "All | want is for Grandpa to live out his days without regrets. I'm not here to

cater to everyone else's feelings."

"You think you're saving him from regrets, but did you ever ask if this is what he wanted?" Don couldn't help but interject, "What if

he finds out you've lied to him."

Martin cut him off. "He won't find out."

He turned to Don. "All that matters tois that he enjoys the rest of his life. As for what happens after his death, truth or not

won't matter by then."

With that, Martin walked away without looking back.

Don watched his retreating figure, sighed heavily, and didn't follow.

Although he didn't agree with Martin's approach, he could understand it.

Martin and Brandon were both raised and personally mentored by their grandfather, fostering a deep bond between them.

Louis had been wallowing in guilt and regret over losing his granddaughter, and his health had suffered significantly from years of

emotional strain. As he was facing his final days with remorse and regret, Martin didn't want him to die with that burden and found

a convincing girl to impersonate the granddaughter he lost. Rationally speaking, Don understood.

If he were in Martin's shoes, he might have done the same.

But as an observer, his feelings were somewhat mixed.

His feelings for Yolanda weren't as deep as Brandon's, but she was still a sweet memory from his youth. He had thought Yolanda

had really been found, only to realize it was all just an illusion.

Don felt a bit down and his gaze shifted to Brandon.

Brandon had turned away, grabbed a bottle of already opened alcohol from the table, poured himself a full glass, and downed a big

gulp, looking like he was in a bad mood too.

Don sighed again, stepped forward, and patted his shoulder in a comforting way, tactfully avoiding the topic of Yolanda, and

instead asked him.

"Sophia doing okay?"

Brandon nodded slightly. "Yeah."

"That's good."

Don said, his thoughts drifting to Sophia, feeling a little conflicted.

In his view, Brandon's marriage to Sophia was also to fulfill the dying wish of Brandon's grandfather.

While Brandon's grandpa liked Yolanda, he didn't expect his only grandson to spend his life alone holding on to someone who

might be gone. He didn't care much for family status. Brandon's willingness to start a family was the greatest comfort to him.

At that time, Brandon brought ha pregnant Sophia and they got married, allowing the old man to pass away without regrets.

Now, Martin wanted to fulfill his grandfather's sense of debt to his granddaughter by using the nof the fake Yolanda to borrow

Sophia's work to make his grandfather happy.

In a way, Sophia was made to play the role of the tool twice.

And both times her role was tied to Yolanda.

Don could understand Sophia's unusual behavior that afternoon.

Perhaps it was because of this complexity in his heart that when he saw Sophia at work the next day, Don couldn't help but pay

extra attention to her.

After a night's reflection, Sophia seemed the sas usual, her face and eyes calm and serene, embodying her typical unruffled

and stable demeanor; she was focused on her work as if yesterday's events hadn't affected her.

Don didn't intentionally bring up the project to her.

Instead, Marian couldn't contain her curiosity, being her usual informal self, and called out to Don when she saw him passing by

the office area. "Mr. Dempsey."

Don looked back at her. "What's up?"

Marian stood up, resting her elbows on the partition of her cubicle, and lowered her voice to ask him.

"Did my brother cto you with a project yesterday? Can | take it on?"

"l want to give them a surprise," Marian added in a soft, whiny tone.

Don didn't know whether Marian was in on the fake Yolanda ruse or was also kept in the dark. He couldn't jump to conclusions, but

he kept his usual smile on his face.

"You should ask your brother about that."

Effectively tossing the ball back to Martin.

Marian pouted. "If he'd tell me, why would | be asking you?"

"Then | definitely can't say," Don replied with a smile. "You gotta talk to your brother about that. I'm not in charge."

Marian pouted again, clearly not giving up. "It wouldn't happen to be that estate design for my grandparents, would it?"

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