Chapter 255
Charlene and Nadine were grabbing lunch when Charlene decided to buy some movie tickets.
After they finished their meal, they caught the movie and then did a bit of shopping.
While Nadine tried on some clothes and Carl went off to check out some collectibles, Charlene turned to Jasmine and said, “Your mom will drop you home later.”
“Home?” Jasmine, sitting beside her, replied, “I’m not going home. I’m staying at Grandma’s for another night. I’ll head back tomorrow evening.”
Charlene took a sip of her water and said, “Tommy and Max have been hanging out with you all day. They need to buckle down and do their homework tomorrow. You might distract them at the Smiths’ place.” “I don’t need them to entertain me. I can play on my tablet by myself,” Jasmine insisted.
Charlene didn’t push the issue further but found a moment to text Thorne, asking him to arrange for Jasmine to be picked up a little later.
Thorne seemed busy and didn’t reply for quite a while.
After Nadine finished shopping, they wandered around a bit more before heading back to the Smiths’.
Helena and Vernon were truly happy to see Jasmine. They genuinely doted on her.
Jasmine, with her charming demeanor, made sure to sweet-talk them. After dinner, she joined Helena for a walk, leaving Helena utterly delighted. Still, no word from Thorne.
That night, Jasmine stayed over at the Smiths’.
The next day, Nadine and Carl dutifully stayed in their rooms to tackle their homework.
True to her word, Jasmine busied herself downstairs or sat quietly beside Charlene, not causing any disruption.
It was then that Thorne finally messaged Charlene, saying he’d send someone over soon to pick up Jasmine.
Charlene didn’t respond.
A few moments later, Jasmine’s phone rang. She turned to Charlene and said, “It’s Dad.”
Charlene just nodded.
After Thorne finished his phone call, Jasmine looked up and said, “Mom, Dad says he’s taking me out for some fun…” Charlene replied, “Yeah, he mentioned it to me. If you want to go, then go ahead.”
“Alright!”
Half an hour later, the car Thorne sent to pick up Jasmine arrived.
Helena, upon hearing Jasmine was leaving, felt a tinge of reluctance. As she always did, she packed plenty of goodies for Jasmine to take home. As the car drove away, Helena sighed, “I thought he was more generous than this. Who knew? Just two days, and he’s in a rush to have her back.”
She didn’t wait for Charlene’s response, heading back inside with a mix of sadness and contemplation.
Just then, Charlene’s phone rang. It was Padgett.
He said, “I’ve met with Thorne’s lawyer I have the new agreement. The additional properties are worth about ten million altogether. Everything seems fine.”
Charlene replied, “Okay, got it.”
Padgett continued, “Thorne’s lawyer mentioned that if you need money urgently, Thorne can advance part of the assets to your bank account. What do you think?” Yesterday, Thorne got the wrong idea about her intentions.
The two birthday gifts he had given her grandmother were already auctioned off, and the money was in the account.
For now, Vernon wasn’t exactly strapped for cash.
However…
Charlene said, “Let’s go with the advance.”
They weren’t officially divorced yet, so things were still up in the air. If he was offering, why shouldn’t she take it?
After all, if she didn’t take it now, who knows if it would still be there later?
Padgett replied, “Alright, understood.”