As soon as she was in the car, Jasmine snuggled into herp. Thorne nced back at her. "Do you have any ns forter?"


    Before Charlene could answer, Jasmine looked up at her. "Yeah, Mommy, if you''re free after lunch, can we go do something fun?"


    "I—"


    "Please, please, please?" Jasmine interrupted, already in full-on charming mode. "Just say yes!"


    Charlene sighed. "...Alright."


    Half an hourter, they arrived at the restaurant. As they walked in, they came face-to-face with Maureen and Katie Hawkins. Both women froze, stunned to see the three of them together.


    "Thorne," they said in unison.


    Thorne gave a polite nod in response.


    Charlene nced at them once before looking away, continuing to walk without breaking her stride. Jasmine, who didn''t know them and was used to strangers greeting her father, simply followed her mother.


    Maureen and Katie barely registered Charlene and Jasmine''s presence. They were about to say something more to Thorne when Jasmine, noticing he hadn''t followed, turned and called out, "Daddy, hurry up!"


    "Coming," Thorne replied with a smile. Without another word, he gave Maureen and Katie another brief nod and turned to catch up with his daughter.


    The two women stood there, dumbfounded. Before they could process what had just happened, the person they were meeting arrived. "So sorry to keep you waiting."


    Maureen and Katie snapped back to the present, forcing smiles. "Not at all, we just got here. The private room is ready, shall we head up?"


    They chatted amiably as they went upstairs and quickly ordered their food.


    An hourter, their lunch concluded, and they walked their friend down to the parking lot. As they headed for their own ear, they saw Thorne, Charlene, and Jasmine walking just ahead of them. It seemed they had also just finished their meal.  s


    They were a fair distance away, and the trio didn''t seem to have noticed them. Maureen and Katie were about to look away when they saw Thorne step forward and pull open the car door for Charlene. The gesture was smooth, natural, and utterly considerate.  s


    Both women stopped in their tracks.


    Thinking back, they realized that even inside the restaurant, Thorne had been standing next to Charlene, not, Jasmine He had even been leaning in, smiling as he spoke to her, At the time, their confidence in his rtionship with Vesta had made them dismiss it.  s


    But just now, he had been right by Charlene''s side again. If he truly despised her as he once had, he would have made sure Jasmine walked between them, no matter the reason.


    If they could overlook those details, they couldn''t ignore this: the three of them leaving in the same car, with Thorne acting more attentive to Charlene than they had ever seen.


    Suddenly, something clicked. The finalization window for their divorce had opened, yet Thorne hadn''t immediately gone to sign the papers. They hadn''t thought much of it before, but now...


    Another thought surfaced. Not only had Thorne been distant with themtely, but even Vesta had barely seen him. They had all chalked it up to him being busy with work.


    But now...<fn13c6> Updates are released by </fn13c6>


    Their friend noticed them staring. "Who are they? Do you know them?"