Chapter 26
He was stunned but thought she was having a moment, so he did not pay much attention to her unusual behavior.
He didn’t even care to know why she was upset, dismissively saying, “Minnie’s enrollment is all set. You’ll drop her off at school tomorrow morning.”
Charlene replied, “Got it.”
Thome said nothing more, heading toward the walk–in closet to pick out clothes for a shower. That was his attitude toward her.
Watching his retreating figure, Charlene remembered their impending divorce and wanted to ask when they could go and get the divorce
papers.
But Thorne was busy, and given his nature, he would contact her without needing any nudging if all the paperwork was ready. After all, he was the one more eager for the divorce. So, she had been quietly waiting for his update for the past two weeks, never once rushing
him.
Then Thome’s phone rang.
Charlene watched him answer the call. His tone was instantly softer than when he spoke with her. It was a tender tone.
Almost immediately, Charlene guessed it was Vesta on the other line.
While she was thinking this, Thorne let go of the closet door, saying, “I’ll
come right now.”
With that, he left the room without looking back. Charlene watched him go without calling out to him.
Soon after, she heard the sound of a car. Thorne had left the mansion.
Charlene closed her eyes, calmly turned off the light, and slept.
The following morning, since she had to take Jasmine to school, Charlene woke up around 6:30. She was alone in the room. Thorne hadn’t returned since he left the night before. Charlene didn’t mind anymore.
She checked the time, saw that Jasmine wasn’t up yet, and went to wake her. Since Jasmine still had her door locked, Charlene had to
knock.
After a while, Jasmine finally got up to open the door.
Upon seeing Charlene, Jasmine pouted unhappily. “Mommy, why did you knock so hard? You gave me a headache.”
She talked to Vesta about it last night. Even though Vesta agreed it was best for her mom to take her to school, her voice was so sad. Jasmine felt guilty about it. She had several nightmares throughout the night. Being woken up by Charlene, she was in a terrible mood. Seeing Jasmine upset but not getting angry, Charlene calmly said, “It’s a long drive to school. We need to get going soon.”
Not being taken by Vesta made Jasmine not want to go to school at all. She grunted but didn’t reply. Stubborn as she was, she knew better than to be capricious about school matters.
She lay back down, sulking. “I know.”
After lying there for a bit without moving, she looked at Charlene. “Mommy, can you squeeze the toothpaste for me?”
Charlene nodded. “Sure.”
After Charlene went into the bathroom, Jasmine grabbed her phone to send a good morning text to Vesta, then followed into the bathroom to brush her teeth with the toothpaste Charlene had squeezed for her.
As Jasmine finished up, Charlene warmed up a towel, wrung it out, and handed it over for her to wipe her face.
Charlene opened the wardrobe, asking, “Which outfit do you want to wear?”
Jasmine replied, “Mommy, I can dress myself. You can go out.”
Charlene closed the wardrobe. “Okay.”
After Charlene left, Jasmine picked out the outfit she had brought from home the day before. Vesta had chosen this super cool camo outfit for her. She was going to wear it to cheer Vesta on!
