The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 282

Don just cracked a smile, neither confirming nor denying, and said, "Let's stick to work now, cut the chit-chat during office hours."

And with that, he was gone.

Sophia glanced up at Don's retreating figure, shot a look at Marian, who had settled back into her chair with a thoughtful expression, but no sign of dissatisfaction on her face.

Sophia's office was close to Marian's desk, and with the door ajar, Marian had tried to keep her voice down, but Sophia caught every word of their exchange without missing a beat.

She had no idea whether Don went on to take that project or not. He never brought it up again, and she didn't pry—didn't feel like prying.

For the next couple of days, Don didn't mention it again either.

But then, on Friday afternoon, as Sophia was just stepping out of the company building, she spotted Martin sitting on a bench in the plaza right outside.

Whether Martin was just passing by or had been waiting there on purpose, Sophia couldn't tell. Upon seeing her, he stood up and approached.

"Ms. Yearwood, got any plans? How about grabbing a bite together?"

Sophia shook her head. "Sorry, I'm all booked up."

Martin's expression didn't falter at her rejection. He simply looked at her calmly and apologized,

"I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't mean any disrespect to you, Ms. Yearwood."

Sophia remained silent.

Martin continued, "I was hoping to find a moment to share with you the vision behind the project."

"Sorry, not interested in storytime," Sophia interjected softly, nodded her apologies, and sidestepped to leave.

Martin turned to follow her, "You could hear me out before deciding whether to take it or not."

Sophia paused, turned to him, "Mr. Frost, there's no shortage of talented designers out there, and I haven't even provided a preliminary draft. Your sudden 'only you will do' approach makes me question your motives."

"To be completely honest," Martin admitted as he faced her, "I didn't plan on approaching you again at first. I presented a lot of designers' work to my grandpa, and he took a shine to yours specifically. So here I am, bothering you again, hoping you would understand an old man's last wish. It means a lot to him."

"Maybe you just hasn't seen enough options. I suggest you keep looking; something's bound to click with your grandpa." Sophia offered, nodding with a hint of apology, "I'm truly sorry."

After she spoke, she headed towards a taxi parked by the curb, opened the door, and got in.

Martin watched the taxi drive away, making no move to chase after it.

Sophia headed straight home by cab.

She'd been swamped with work that week, lots of overtime, and barely had any time to spend with Theresa.

Since it was Friday, she had clocked out on time, promising the little one a trip to the children's park.

Theresa had been looking forward to it, all prepped with her bottle and diapers, waiting on the sofa with her little legs swinging in anticipation.

As soon as Sophia walked through the door, Theresa slid off the couch and lunged to hug Sophia's legs, looking up to remind her, "Mommy, park, slide."

Sophia scooped her up with a smile. "Sure thing."

She then asked, "Theresa, did you have dinner?"

Grace, who was tidying up nearby, nodded, "Yep, just ate with her. You should grab a bite too, food's still warm on the table."

Theresa bobbed her head in agreement, "Mommy, eat."

"Alright."

Sophia patted her head, set down her bag, and had a quick dinner.

No sooner had she put down her bowl than Theresa was scurrying to grab her bottle bag, then trotting to the door, placing the bag on the ground, and plopping down herself to clumsily try on her shoes.

Her excitement about going out with mom was palpable.

Sophia was both touched by her enthusiasm and felt a twinge of guilt.

She walked over, stroked her head, then crouched to straighten the shoes Theresa had managed to put on. Taking her hand, she stood up, "Let's go."

Sophia's place wasn't far from the children's park, just a 5-kilometer journey.

The park boasted plenty of large-scale children's facilities. Sophia had taken Theresa there once, and the little one hadn't stopped talking about it ever since.

Sophia and Grace went together, hailing a cab to get there.

By the time they arrived, it was nearly seven o'clock.

The park was dotted with mommies and daddies from work, along with some grandparents, but it wasn't crowded. Theresa, who remembered where the rides were from her last visit, tugged at Sophia's hand towards the Ferris wheel.

"Ferris wheel." she chirped excitedly.

Sophia got them tickets and took Theresa for a spin.

As the Ferris wheel slowly rose to over 200 meters, Theresa, fearless of heights, was wide-eyed with wonder and delight at the world outside the cabin, especially as it sparkled with lights.

Among the neon-lit skyscrapers, she spotted the Starlight building and turned to tug on Sophia's arm,

"Mommy, handsome uncle, his office."

She pointed at the Starlight building as she spoke.

Sophia was taken aback, glancing at her in surprise.