Charlene didn''t answer. What was there for them to talk about? Did he genuinely not understand, or was he pretending not to?


    Just then, Jasmine pulled Charlene into a conversation, and Charlene focused her attention entirely on her daughter, ignoring Thorne. He didn''t try to force another topic, but when the food arrived, he began cing a few choice pieces onto Charlene''s te.


    She paused, then said coolly, "You don''t have to. I can serve myself."


    Thorne was also serving Jasmine, who didn''t understand her mother''s reaction. "Mom, Dad just wants to help. Let him."


    Charlene was speechless.


    Thorne smiled and ced another piece of meat in her bowl.


    Just then, a waiter entered with another dish, leaving the door to their private room ajar. Maureen, Georgina, and their party happened to be walking past and witnessed the entire scene-the conversation, Thorne''s attentiveness, all of it. They froze for a second, but no one in the room noticed them.


    The waiter, however, did. Before he could say anything, Maureen regained herposure and ushered Georgina down the hall. Leah pursed her lips and followed with Rhoda.


    Once they were in their own private room, Rhoda couldn''t hold back. "I thought Thorne hated Charlene. Butst time and just now, he seemed so nice to her. What''s going on?"


    Leah scoffed, knowing exactly what her mother was implying. "Isn''t it obvious? He''s putting on a show for that brat! Mom, you can''t possibly think he''s actually developed feelings for that bitch, can you? That''s impossible!"


    Thest time they''d seen Thorne with Charlene and Jasmine, Rhoda had shared Leah''s opinion. She still did, for the most part, but she couldn''t shake a nagging doubt.


    "Both times, though, Thorne seemed so... proactive," Rhoda mused. "It felt like he wanted to be nice to her, not like he was just acting." She then recalled something fremember Vesta saying that Thorne wouldn''t even pretend to be pleasant to Charlene, not even when the child was around. He couldn''t be bothered


    to fake it. But what we''ve seen doesn''t match that at all."


    Leah remained unconvinced. "That kid was little back then; she didn''t understand anything. Now she''s older, and with the inte, she probably knows all about divorce. She''s not as easy to foot anymore It''s perfectly normal for Thorne to change his act to keep her happy, isn''t it?"


    Leah could be impulsive, but her reasoning was sound. Rhoda smiled. "That does make sense."


    Maureen and Georgina had felt a flicker of panic when they saw Thorne''s kind gesture, but they had already reached the same conclusion as Leah. They quicklyposed themselves and called the waiter over to order.


    Later that day, they recounted the entire incident to Vesta, including Thorne''s attentiveness to Charlene.


    The Spencers assumed she


    wouldn''t care, but Leah couldn''t help butin, "If you ask me, Thorne is just too wrapped up in that kid''s _feeling If he didn''t have to consider her, he wouldn''t have to force himself to y nice with Charlene." Cóntent


    "Exactly," Rhoda agreed.


    Vesta listened, her gaze dropping as she remained silent.