Jasmine ran excitedly towards Charlene, her little hand raised for a high-five. “Mom, we did it! We won!” Charlene grinned, giving her daughter a high-five. “Yeah, we sure did.”

Thorne walked over, a smile playing on his lips. “Did you get it all on camera?”

“Yep,” Charlene replied, sending the video to him with a quick tap on her phone.

After the thrill of musical chairs, it was time to tackle the next adventure: the unstoppable wheel of fun.

The rules were simple: four families formed a team, each member stepping and spinning the hula hoop tape as they moved forward. The first team to reach the finish line would claim victory. Thorne turned to Charlene. “You want to join this round?”

Jasmine nodded eagerly. “Yeah, Mom, come with me!”

Charlene was game. “Sure thing.”

As the game was about to start, Charlene glanced at her purse. She hesitated for a moment before Thorne reached out his hand. “I can hold that for you.”

“…Thanks,” Charlene said, handing it over.

For many couples, a husband carrying his wife’s bag was pretty common. But for them, this was the first time Thorne had ever held her purse.

Charlene wondered if he’d ever carried a bag for Vesta.

Today, Thorne wasn’t dressed as formally as usual, but with his straight black coat, he somehow looked perfectly natural holding her purse, as if he were waiting for his beloved to return. Charlene quickly looked away.

This game was all about teamwork and coordination.

Charlene stood in the middle, matching the rhythm of those ahead as she lifted her arms to spin the tape.

Jasmine clung to the hem of her mom’s sweater, following along and having the time of her life.

When she noticed Thorne filming them with his phone, her laughter grew louder. “Dad!”

Thorne stood slightly in front of them, and though Charlene was aware of his presence, she focused on the game, avoiding looking directly at him.

She heard Jasmine’s voice trail off, followed by Thorne’s calm instruction from the side. “Keep your eyes on your mom and stay in sync.”

Jasmine replied with a cheerful, “Got it!”

Earlier, when Charlene filmed Thorne and Jasmine, she stood still, capturing footage without following their

game movements.

But Thorne, recording Charlene and Jasmine, moved backward with them, keeping pace with their game.

After a back-and-forth, the game concluded.

> Jasmine dashed over to Thorne. “Dad, that was so fun! Can we do it again sometime?”

Thorne smiled. “Absolutely.”

Charlene returned and took her purse from Thorne’s hand.

st then, she heard the familiar ping of a message notification from her phone.

Reaching into her purse, she found that Thorne had sent her a video.”

Charlene noticed the message but didn’t open it immediately.

Meanwhile, Jasmine snuggled up next to Thorne, excited to see the video he had just shot. Thorne passed her the phone, then cracked open a bottle of water and handed it to Charlene. “Thanks,” Charlene said, accepting it gratefully.

She was indeed a bit thirsty and took a couple of refreshing sips before screwing the cap back on.

No sooner had she done so than Thorne asked, “What’s the next game?”

Charlene found it hard to believe that with his memory, he wouldn’t recall the schedule.

Still, with the water bottle freshly capped in her hand, she sighed.

There was an old saying about being gracious when someone does you a favor.

With that in mind, she replied, “It’s the Ant Ball Relay.”