Chapter 464
Later that afternoon, after Vesta wrapped up her work, she thought about inviting
Thorne out for dinner. She called his phone several times, but each attempt went
unanswered. Finally, she decided to ring Thorne’s assistant, Coy.
As soon as Coy picked up, Vesta asked, “I haven’t been able to reach Thorne. Is
he still busy?”
Coy seemed surprised. “Didn’t you know? The boss flew overseas on business
this afternoon.”
Vesta paused, caught off guard.
She honestly hadn’t known.
Thorne hadn’t mentioned a word to her.
“Was the trip a last-minute decision?” she pressed.
“Yes, it was.”
Even if the trip had come up suddenly, it wouldn’t have taken long for him to send
her a text or give her a quick call.
But he hadn’t said anything at all…
The thought left her unsettled.
After a moment’s hesitation, Vesta grabbed her purse and left her home office,
calling Jasmine as she walked.
Jasmine was sprawled out in the living room, piecing together a puzzle. Seeing
Vesta’s name flash on her phone, she answered cheerfully, “Ms. Hawkins?”
“Hi, sweetheart,” Vesta replied, her voice gentle. “Is Minnie home yet?”
“She’s home,” Jasmine confirmed.
Vesta smiled, “Did you have fun at the parent-teacher conference with your dad
today?”
Jasmine giggled, “Ms. Hawkins, you got it mixed up! My mom came to the
conference, not my dad.”
At the mention of Charlene, Vesta’s smile faded slightly, her tone softening. “Oh, I
see…”
She paused, then continued, “I called your dad around lunch and asked if the
conference was already finished. He said yes, so I just assumed he was the one
who went.”
Having her mom there for the conference had left Jasmine in high spirits all day.
Now, hearing Vesta bring it up, Jasmine chirped, “Nope! But after it was over, Dad
came to have lunch with Mom and me.”
Vesta’s finger lingered over the elevator button. “He had lunch with both of you?
Was that your idea, Minnie?”
“No, it was Dad’s. He said he’d join us for lunch once he finished his work.”
He went out of his way to have lunch with Charlene?
Vesta’s smile faltered again. But
then, considering that the cooling-off
period for their divorce was almost
over, maybe they still had important
things to discuss—that’s probably
why…
She tried to sound casual. “I see… Did your dad say anything to your mom during
lunch?”
Jasmine, half-absorbed in her
puzzle, had to think for a moment.
“Not really… He kept trying to talk to
Mom, but she didn’t seem very
interested. It kind of looked like she
didn’t really want to eat with him at
all.”
Vesta lowered her gaze and murmured, almost to herself, “Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
Vesta fell silent.
In truth, she knew that for the past
two years whether it was
something big or small—Thorne and
Charlene rarely spoke on the phone,
relying almost entirely on text
messages to handle things.
Even when it came to the divorce, Thorne could’ve sorted everything out with a
message.
If anything, letting the lawyers handle it would’ve been even more straightforward.
And honestly, if Thorne wanted to do something, he didn’t need Charlene’s input.
Which meant, really, there was no reason for them to meet face-to-face.
Yet today, they had.
And from the sound of it, Thorne had made a point of seeing Charlene in person…