Carl nearly dropped the box. "That... that much?"


    He wasn''t the only one in shock. Helena and Maisie were speechless.


    "Charlene,e look at this," Helena called out.


    Charlene had heard everything. When she''d first held the box, she knew it wouldn''t be something cheap, but she had never imagined this. As her aunt had said, this diamond was far more brilliant and wless than the one she''d bought at auction. And three hundred million was, if anything, an understatement.


    From Charlene''s calm expression, they could tell she was just as surprised as they


    were.


    "What do we do now?" Carl asked. "Send it back?" A gift this extravagant between two people on the brink of divorce was unheard of.


    "Keep it." Helena closed the velvet box. "Think of it as holding it for Minnie. When she''s older, you can give it to her. If you return it, it''ll just end up in someone else''s hands."


    Everyone knew that "someone else" meant Vesta.


    "Okay," Charlene agreed. Her thoughts aligned perfectly with Helena''s. While the gift was shocking, she felt a strange sense of calm. She didn''t know why Thorne had sent it, and she didn''t care to waste energy figuring it out.


    After breakfast, she went upstairs, ced the diamond in a drawer without a second nce, and left for work.


    Stewart, of course, had remembered her birthday. A bouquet of flowers and a gift were waiting for her when she arrived at the office. After


    making a wish and blowing out the candles on the cake he''d brought she began slicing it for her colleagues.


    Stewart took the first piece she offered, a contented smile on hisz face. Amid the cheerful chatter, he leaned in and whispered, "So, Thorne you


    didn''t call about the divorce...


    today?"


    He had been worrying about it for days but hadn''t wanted to voice his fears. Seeing


    her at work, he felt a wave of relief.


    "No," Charlene replied, her expression neutral. She didn''t mention the gift.


    Just as everyone was finishing their cake, the receptionist came in with another bouquet. "This was just delivered for you, Ms. Ross."


    It was a stunning arrangement of red roses. The small card attached read: *Happy Birthday, Charlene. -York.*


    Gaylord, who had walked over when the flowers arrived, saw the name on the card, and the smile on his face tightened.


    After the impromptu party, everyone


    ???


    returned to their desks, but the deliveries didn''t stop. Over the next twenty minutes, three more bouquets arrived. One was from Connie. Another, also red roses, was from Gaylord. Fearing it would be inappropriate to give it to her in person while she was still married, he''d had it sent by a courier even though he was just a few offices away. He had wanted to give her a proper gift, but worried she wouldn''t even ept the flowers, he had restrained himself.


    The third bouquet was from Granger.