Charlene hesitated for a moment before replying with a natural expression, "But Mom has a business trip tomorrow."


    "What?" Jasmine''s face fell. "Another one?"


    "Yes." Charlene gently stroked her hair. "It''s gettingte. Go home with your dad and get some rest. I''ll call you when I get back."


    Jasmine pouted. "Okay."


    Just then, Thorne, who had been standing silently by, spoke up. "How many days?"


    Charlene assumed he was asking so he could schedule a time for them to rece the marriage certificate and file for divorce.


    "Probably two or three days," she answered.


    Thorne nodded, his tone surprisingly mild. "Alright. Have a safe trip."


    With that, he and Jasmine got into the car and drove away.


    They had just arrived home when Moran Albright called. "Heard you were back. Finally done with all that work?"


    Thorne watched Jasmine head upstairs before settling onto the sofa. "Not yet."


    Moran sighed dramatically."


    "So, no time for dinner tomorrow either?"


    "I have time tomorrow," Thorne replied.


    Hearing that, Moran''s mood instantly improved. But then a thought urred to him. "Are you and Charlene going to city hall tomorrow to file for divorce again?"


    "She can''t. She has a business trip."


    Moran was exasperated. "..."


    "Another business trip? When are you two ever going to get divorced? Honestly, this has dragged on for so long. If I wasn''t worried about the optics, I''d be telling you to just sue for divorce."


    Thorne casually flipped through a newspaper, smoothly changing the subject. "Where are we eating tomorrow?"


    Assuming Thorne didn''t want to discuss it, Moran dropped the topic. "I''ll ask Granger first. I''ll send you the addresster."


    "Sounds good."


    When Granger received Moran''s call, he hesitated for a second before declining, citing an important


    engagement. He couldn''t resist


    asking Are Thorne and Charlene'' scheduled to file for divorceO tomorrow?"


    Moran, thinking it was just idle gossip, answered without thinking, "Nope. Thorne said Charlene has a business trip and won''t be free."


    Granger''s gaze fell. "I see."


    The next day at noon, Moran arrived at the restaurant to find Thorne alone in the private room. "Vesta''s noting?" he asked, surprised.


    Thorne calmly poured tea. "No."


    Moran figured Vesta must be busy and sighed as he sat down. "Just the two of us again. It''s pretty quiet."


    Thorne simply smiled withoutmenting.


    After their meal, as they were leaving the private room, they ran into Vesta and her family emerging from another room down the hall.


    Everyone, except Thorne, was visibly surprised by the encounter.


    However, when Vesta and Maureen saw that only Thorne and Moran were in the room, their surprise quickly faded, and the smiles on their faces vanished. They knew that whenever Thorne got together with Moran and the others, he always invited Vesta. But not this time.


    Moreover, since his return, Thorne had found time to have lunch with Moran yet he hadn''t contacted. Vesta even once. If they hadn''t run into him here today, they wouldn''t have even known he was back.


    And since he was back, they couldn''t help but wonder if he and Charlene had gone


    to city hall today to finally see the divorce through.