"Charlene, you can''t do anything foolish, do you hear me?" Helena said sternly. "You have to go through with this divorce."


    Only by finalizing it could she truly have a fresh start.


    "You have a long road ahead of you. No matter what you want to achieve, there will be plenty of opportunities. But right now, the most crucial thing is to take this first step correctly."


    Charlene understood her grandmother''s worry.


    Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she nodded. "Okay. I know."


    Slightly relieved, Helena patted her hand.


    That night, sleep eluded Charlene for a long time. Naturally, she woke up a bitte the next morning.


    When she headed downstairs, only the housekeeper was around. "Where are my grandma and Aunt Maisie?" she asked.


    The housekeeper smiled. "They went out for a walk."


    Charlene nodded, leaving it at that.


    After breakfast, she wanted to go find Helena to spend more time with her. But after walking around the neighborhood, she couldn''t find them anywhere. Instead, a neighbor spotted her and asked, "Out for a walk too, Charlene?"


    "Yeah, I wanted to keep my grandmapany. By the way, did you happen to see which way she and my aunt went?"


    "Huh? Your grandmother and Maisie left the house this morning, but they didn''t go for a walk."


    Charlene paused, then realization hit her. Helena and Maisie must have gone to the hospital to visit her mother.


    Though Helena was still in decent shape, she was getting older. Perhaps feeling that her time was limited, she had been visiting her daughter much more frequently over the past six months.


    Normally, that wouldn''t be a big deal.


    But given their foul moodst night, Helena likely hid the visit because she didn''t want to upset Charlene by seeing Sybil Ross in her current state.


    Yet staying away from the hospital would hurt Helena too, so she chose to keep it a secret.


    Charlene looked away, drawing a deep breath. After a brief polite exchange with the neighbor, she headed back.


    The moment she stepped through the door, her phone rang. It was Jasmine.


    Charlene hesitated for a second before answering.


    Over the line, Jasmine asked if she had gone anywhere today, then eagerly recounted all the fun ces she had visited and the interesting things that had happened.


    Charlene listened in silence, barely interjecting.


    "Mom?" Jasmine noticed the quiet. Even though Charlene was never overly


    talkative, total silence was rare. "What''s wrong?"


    Charlene snapped back to reality. "Nothing."


    Jasmine was about to say


    something else when Vesta''s voice


    drifted through the back


    "Minnie, did you find what I for?"


    "Found it! I''ming!"


    Turning back to the phone, Jasmine said, "Mom, I have to go now."


    "Alright. Go ahead," Charlene replied softly.


    The line quickly went dead.


    Charlene lowered her phone, a suffocating tightness seizing her chest. She started toward the stairs but slowly stopped. Pivoting on her heek she grabbed her car keys and walked out.


    Settling into the driver''s seat, she dialed Stewart. "Stewart, do you have time for a drink?"


    On the other end, Stewart froze, convinced he had misheard her.


    Charlene was the furthest thing from a heavy drinker. In fact, she rarely touched alcohol.


    Hearing such a request meant something massive had gone wrong.


    He didn''t pry. "Sure."