A thought suddenly struck Tiffany, and she turned to Thorne. "By the way, your


    divorce cooling-off period is almost over, isn''t it?"


    "Yeah. Soon," Thorne replied.


    At the mention of the divorce, the warm smile vanished from Irma''s face. She let out


    a sharp scoff and t-out ignored him.


    Jasmine wanted to go back and stay with the Ross family.


    This time, Thorne personally drove her over.


    When he dropped Jasmine off, he and Charlene merely crossed paths, exchanging brief, polite nods.


    Once the little girl bounced happily inside, Thorne left without another word.


    Charlene walked Jasmine upstairs. Just as they reached thending, her phone buzzed.


    It was a text from Thorne: [Are there any more changes you need made to the settlement agreement?]


    Charlene certainly hadn''t forgotten that their mandated waiting period wasing to an end.


    She read the message and fired back a reply without a second thought: [No.]


    Thorne''s response was equally swift: [Okay.]


    When Monday rolled around, Charlene was back to the daily grind at PrimeStar Technologies.


    She had originally been scheduled for an out-of-town business trip that would keep her away for a week. However, the final day of her divorce waiting period was just three days away.


    Desperate to finalize the paperwork the very second she legally could, she asked Stewart to handle the trip in her ce.


    Not wanting anything to jeopardize her split from Thorne, Stewart agreed immediately. "Consider it handled!"


    Gaylord Hearst had also been closely tracking the timeline of her divorce.


    When he found out she had pawned off the business trip to Stewart, he let out a sigh of relief but couldn''t help asking, "So, you''ll be officially divorced in a few days?"


    "Yes," Charlene confirmed.


    His breath hitched at her answer, and a slow, genuine smile spread across his face. "Good."


    The moment the ink was dry on those papers, he was going to make his move.


    Stewart and Gaylord weren''t the only ones eagerly counting down the days. The Hawkins and Spencer families were on high alert as the deadline approached terrified that some unforeseen disaster would derail the divorce yet again.


    Yet when Vesta arrived home that day, she lookedpletely at ease.


    Leah rushed up to her. "Vesta, Thorne doesn''t have any business trips lined up this week, right?"


    Vesta offered a serene smile. "He was supposed to, but he delegated it to someone else. His schedule ispletely clear for the next few days."


    Hearing that he had intentionally cleared his calendar to ensure he wouldn''t miss the appointment at city hall allowed a collective wave of relief to wash over both families.


    Even so, Georgina Spencer let out a cynical scoff. "Who knows if that Ross girl will try to pull somest-minute stunt."


    Stewart was a fine catch, sure, but Georgina fully expected Charlene to drag her heels out of sheer spite, refusing to step aside and let Thorne and Vesta be happy.


    At the mention of Charlene, Vesta''s smile faltered slightly. "I heard she canceled her uing business trip, too."


    Leah''s face lit up with surprise. "Really?" She scoffed haughtily. "Well, at least she knows her ce."


    Maureen Spencer and Laverne Hawkins weren''t particrly shocked by the news.


    "If she keeps dragging this out and refusing to let Thorne go, it''s bound to ruin her rtionship with Stewart," Maureen noted coolly. "Cutting ties with Thorne now to secure here future with Stewart is the smartest y she could make."


    Laverne nodded in agreement. "Exactly."