It wasn''t until dinnertime, when they saw Vesta packing her things to leave, that the Hawkinses and the Spencers learned Thorne was back from his trip abroad.


    Upon hearing he had returned that afternoon, Rhoda stamped her foot in frustration. "This afternoon? If only he''de back half a day sooner! The cooling-off period is already over-"


    "Exactly," Leah Spencer chimed in.


    It wasn''t just them; Maureen Spencer and the others felt it was a huge missed opportunity. Although Vesta had mentioned a few days ago that Thorne likely wouldn''t make it back before the cooling-off period ended, they had secretly harbored a sliver of hope. They imagined he might rush back early for Vesta''s sake, and that his im of not being able to return was just a ploy to surprise her. The reality, however, was that Thorne had truly failed to return before the window to finalize his divorce with Charlene Ross had closed.


    That''s why learning he had arrived that afternoon felt so unfortunate. If he had been just half a day earlier, he and Charlene would be divorced by now. Because of that small dy, they would have to wait at least another month. But what was done was done, and there was no point dwelling on it.


    Georgina Spencer said, "It''s been a while since Thorne joined us for dinner. I wonder if he''s still busy. If he has time, Vesta, make sure you invite him over. We still haven''t properly thanked him for all his help."


    Vesta gave a quiet, nomittal reply.


    Meanwhile, after finishing their work, Charlene and Stewart Ferguson went out to dinner with Kenton Wagner and Malvina. Afterward, Charlene went shopping with Malvina and didn''t get home until after nine.


    Back at home, she discovered several messages from Jasmine Henderson. Thorne had brought back gifts for everyone, and Jasmine promised to bring hers over in a few days when she was free. Charlene stared at the message for a long moment before simply replying with an "Okay." After responding, she remembered that tomorrow was Friday. She closed the chat with Jasmine and checked again, but there were no messages from Thorne. After a moment of silence, she set her phone down and went to take a shower.


    ***


    The next day, Charlene kept an eye on her phone from the moment she woke up but even after she arrived at the office, there was no message from Thorne about going to city hall to finalize the divorce.


    When Stewart arrived and saw her there be knew immediately that the divorce hadn''t happened Lie couldn''t help but scoff, "Is he really that busy?"


    Charlene didn''t want to talk about it. She briefed Stewart on a few matters, and half


    an hourter, they headed to The Henderson Group.


    They were in a meeting room discussing things with staff from The Henderson


    Group when they heard someone politely call out, "Mr. Henderson."


    Charlene and Stewart looked up to see Thorne walking into the room. He noticed


    their gazes and gave them a polite nod of acknowledgment.


    Charlene paused. Stewart frowned.


    The meeting began and proceeded smoothly, just as they had anticipated. Thorne was present, but he merely listened for the entire duration without participating. It was clear that his presence was entirely unnecessary for this meeting. So why was he here?


    Stewart gritted his teeth and leaned closer to Charlene. "No time, my foot. He looks


    like he has all the time in the world to me!"