The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 286

On the way back, Sophia and Louis were among those sharing a ride in the same

car.

Gerald was behind the wheel, with Rachel riding shotgun.

Sophia joined Louis and Renata in the back seat.

Maybe it was the comfort of being in the car, but Renata's grip on Sophia's hand relaxed a lot. She just held Sophia's hand gently in hers, caressing it back and forth without a word, just looking at Sophia with this mix of heartache and nostalgia.

Sophia felt a bit awkward under her gaze, kind of like she was wearing someone else's shoes.

Louis noticed her discomfort and softly reassured her, saying.

"Sweetheart, don't mind it. Yoli is my granddaughter. She got lost when she was just a kid, and after searching for over a decade, we never found her. My wife always kept her in her thoughts, especially these past few years with the disease setting in. She forgot everyone but always remembered her missing granddaughter."

Sophia gave an awkward chuckle, not quite sure how to respond.

Louis went on. "We finally found her two years ago, but by then, Renata had lost all her memories. She couldn't even recognize her own granddaughter standing right in front of her. Now, she goes up to any young girl she sees on the street to see if it's her. She probably mistook you for Yoli because you two are around the same age."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Renata blurted out a scolding, "Nonsense, she is my Yoli."

Seeing Renata getting agitated again, Louis quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulder, soothingly saying, "Alright, alright, she is Yoli. Don't get upset; getting worked up is bad for your health."

Eventually, Renata settled down again, naturally leaning on Louis's shoulder.

Sophia looked at the loving couple and felt a pang of envy.

fell ill, she forgot everything." Seeing his downcast look, Rachel turned to comfort him, "Dad, don't worry. Didn't Martin say he's going to recreate all the places you and mom visited when you

and

smiled at

many places together when they were young, and that's

few years ago, they were planning to revisit those places to rekindle those memories, but before they could even set off, my dad almost had a stroke. He couldn't make the trip, and by the time he got a bit better, my mom had developed Alzheimer's and forgot everything except for a few spots where they

again, but neither of them can handle the strain of travel anymore, so he thought of fulfilling a promise they made when they were young: to recreate those special places in the estate

pulled out an old photo album from the pocket behind the back seat. "Look, these are all the places they've been. My mom doesn't

the album Rachel handed

Martin had shown her the other day, but this album was obviously reprinted more recently

she flipped through the album, it was clear that the couple was

glanced over at

in

at Renata, who was still gazing at Sophia with a dazed affection, "When you're young, you always think there's time, no

you moping about? Once the design is finalized, we'll hire a few more construction crews and get it done within

Gerald chimed in with a

at him, his sadness not quite eased, and seeing Sophia

bit embarrassed. "Miss, we're just rambling

smiled back.

gaze drifted out the car window unintentionally, and she realized

a bit aged now, with private villas enclosed by tile walls and iron fences, the latter

and interwoven, all exuding an air of

at the vintage fences and trees, feeling

"We're here."

Sophia back from her reverie. She hesitated, then