Charlene had a pretty good idea of what was going through her mind.


    She was about to brush it off when Laverne stormed in, spotting Jta, and snapped, "Where have you been roaming around? Do you have any idea how long I''ve been searching for you? Ignoring my calls, you-"


    She cut herself off mid-sentence when she saw Charlene standing with her back turned. Her expression instantly turned cold.


    At that moment, a sales assistant approached Charlene and said, "Ms. Ross, your items are all wrapped up. Here''s the receipt, totaling five hundred eighty-nine thousand seven hundred sixty-four dors. Would you like to check it?" Charlene nodded, taking the receipt.


    They were currently at a high-end designer store, and Charlene''s purchases were all neatly bagged, scattered across the floor-a total of over thirty shopping bags.


    Charlene nced over the receipt, confirmed everything was correct, and handed her card to the assistant.


    Laverne and Jta were momentarily taken aback.


    Did Charlene just spend nearly six hundred thousand dors on clothes in one go?


    But Laverne quicklyposed herself, figuring Charlene was just putting on a show, trying to keep up


    appearances.


    After all, without Thorne, the Hawkins family''s financial situation was shaky at best. Even Vesta couldn''t afford to spend that much on clothes in a year. The Ross


    was struggling financially, and Charlene didn''t have any notable skills or job prospects. Where would they get any ie?


    Jta, however, was a bit worried.


    She''d hear


    that while the Ross family hadn''t gone bankrupt, they were certainly not in a good ce financiall Spending half a million on clothes just like that... Laverne scoffed but didn''tment further. She turned to Jta, saying, "Your uncle''s almost done with dinner. Do you


    ant everyone to wait for you to start eating? Let''s go."


    Jta nced at Charlene, nodded a quick goodbye, and hurried after Laverne.


    Previously, Jta had heard that the Hawkins family''s new house was bought by Thorne for over six million dors for Maureen.


    That amount didn''t even include the cost of all the expensive furniture and decorations.


    Laverne had mentioned that just therge vase in the living room was worth over a million dors, a housewarming gift from Thorne to Vesta.


    And there were other costly decorations throughout the house.


    Jta was from a wealthy family herself, but this was the first time she''d seen such a luxurious and upscale vi. Her eyes were wide the whole time, and she moved carefully, as if she was afraid of identally knocking something valuable over. Leah,fortably lounging on the couch with a bag of pretzels, watched Jta with amusement and couldn''t help but chuckle at her awe-struck demeanor.


    Vesta descended the staircase with a nonchnt grace, noticing Jta''s unease. She casually remarked, "They''re just bits and pieces of decor. No need to be so tense. If something gets broken, we can simply rece it."


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    Vesta''s tone made it clear she didn''t particrly value these items.


    Jta was surprised by the casual attitude. Was Vesta always thisvish?


    Leah smirked proudly, adding, "My brother-inw has money to burn and he''s generous with my sister. If it makes her happy, she could break one of these every day, and he''d just buy her a new batch to y with." Jta was left speechless.


    She''d heard about Thorne''s generosity toward Vesta-giving her money, shares, connections, and helping the Hawkins family establish themselves in Starfall City...


    But hearing about it was one thing, seeing it firsthand was quite another.


    Moreover, she''d heard Thorne was rather tight-fisted with Charlene.


    The Ross family had fallen into hard times, and he hadn''t lifted a finger to help. Yet he was so extravagantly generous with Vesta...