The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 368

Martin caught a glimpse of the embarrassment hidden in her smile through the rearview mirror, and it made him frown, but he kept it to himself and just quietly drove the family home.

As soon as they got home, Louis couldn't wait to show Renata the design drawing, "Hey, Yoli whipped up the blueprint for the manor. Take a look, whatcha think?"

Renata, who'd been zoning out on the balcony staring at the yard, perked up the moment she heard "Yoli" and hurriedly sat up from her chair, asking anxiously, "Where's Yoli?"

Louis was used to her topsy-turvy way of talking and assumed she was asking about the design drawing. He quickly passed them to her saying, "See? Yoli designed it for us."

Renata hastily put on her reading glasses and took the drawing, her expression softening with nostalgia and contentment as she looked them over, "That's lovely, really beautiful. Our Yoli is so thoughtful, knows exactly what I like."

"Yeah," Louis agreed, comforted by the look in her eyes.

Martin and Marian were also looking on.

Martin, noticing the couple's fondness for the designs, couldn't help but glance at Marian. Marian, her eyes landing on the design drawing Renata was holding, seemed to harbor a mix of conflict and complexity, not quite sharing the joy.

"Marian, come with me to the study," Martin said in a hushed tone.

Marian, puzzled, glanced back at Martin, who had already started heading upstairs.

After a moment's hesitation, Marian followed. She entered the study behind Martin, not quite sure what he wanted to discuss.

Martin was already at the desk and turned to look at her, "Close the door."

With a bit of trepidation, Marian did as she was told and asked hesitantly, "Martin, is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"There's no one here; you don't have to act so close," Martin said, looking at her.

Marian let out a reluctant "Oh", dropping the act, "So what do you want to talk about?"

She knew she wasn't the real Yolanda.

Two years ago, Martin had shown her the paternity test results and they'd struck a deal: she'd play the role of Yolanda until the real one returned or until the Frost family's elders passed away. In return, Martin had invested in her father's hotel, which was nearly bankrupted by Brandon, saving her family's business.

Their collaboration had been smooth over the past two years.

Marian didn't mind this arrangement and had even grown fond of the identity of Yolanda. The Frost family showered her with love and gave her anything she asked for, making her feel at home in a foreign land.

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if she might actually be the real Yolanda. How else could she have Yolanda's bracelet? But the DNA results Martin had shown her confirmed they weren't blood-related.

She even suspected that Martin might have mixed up the samples and thought about doing another DNA test with the Frost family members.

"Where did that design come from?" Martin ignored her state of getting lost in thought.

"Of course, I designed it myself," Marian snapped back to reality, facing Martin with confidence.

have your name tagged to the design, but I don't want

be an indelible

considering that it was just a toddler's plaything that wasn't likely to be significant, and given the vastness of the world and the unlikelihood of that little kid running into any trouble, she decided to take a gamble, "Designer's styles are prone

original draft?" Martin didn't want to take any risks, "I

pause, Marian

room and booted up her computer. There was indeed a design draft on her computer, quite similar to the one she had shown

the original is right here," Marian pointed at the computer screen, showing

generally similar, with only minor color differences, which could be attributed to monitor color discrepancies. After all, one was printed and the

met his gaze squarely, "You believe

apologetically and

called out to him, "I think there's still something off about this design. I want to make some

should discuss with grandpa and grandma. It's

opened

a moment of silence, closed her laptop and

is. Why change it? Revising is a

clinging to Louis' arm, "I want to create an even better manor for you

there was no need for changes, he couldn't resist Marian's charm. He patted her hand reassuringly, "Alright, alright. I just

"It's fine. As long as you're happy, I

couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear, but still couldn't help but advise her, "Take care of yourself; don't run

"I know; don't worry."

head,

the back of her

remember to hit the hay

said her goodbyes to Louis and headed back

went to look for

room was connected to a small study and

her cell phone

old girl?"

as a child's, "I want to call Yoli,

forgotten how to use

let alone

she remembered that girl named Sophia especially well, always

feelings about her. Brandon was someone he'd watched grow up, and he knew him well; although always a bit cold and distant, he had always been dutiful to his parents. But today, to go this far, he was inclined to believe

and knew that Sophia's family,

they're worth, sometimes even crossing the line. So, from a parental standpoint, he totally got why Daniel and Patricia would

were him, he'd have broken

no feelings for the girl, to get his dad so worked up this time

saying a word, pushed him

reality, trying to persuade her, "Yoli has gone to bed. Let's look for her tomorrow,

not my Yoli." Renata's stubborn streak kicked in, "If