Chapter 288
Claudia and the others arrived home, expecting to find Charlene, but she was nowhere in sight. They assumed she must have gone to the airport with Thorne to pick someone up.
Now, with Thorne and Jasmine back, Charlene’s absence struck them as odd. Still, none of them were too
concerned to ask about her whereabouts.
Thorne simply mentioned, “She’s got something going on.”
Terence didn’t think much of it and continued playing with Jasmine.
Irma seemed to have an inkling but chose to stay silent.
After dinner, Jasmine played by herself for a while. Feeling a bit bored, she decided to give Charlene a call, even though she wasn’t expecting much.
Charlene wasn’t one to let herself take it easy, even during a holiday. When Jasmine called, Charlene was absorbed in going through the materials Kenton had provided. When she saw Jasmine’s name flash on her phone, she realized it had been almost a month since their last conversation. She quickly picked up and answered, “Hello?”
Jasmine was surprised, as Charlene hadn’t picked up her calls in ages. “Mom!”
Charlene kept her focus on her computer and responded nonchalantly, “Yeah.”
Jasmine didn’t notice her distracted tone, too thrilled to care. “Mom, I’m back from Europe!”
Charlene had no idea Jasmine had even left the country. “Okay,” she replied, acknowledging the news.
Once Charlene answered, Jasmine couldn’t contain her excitement. She bounced on the bed, brimming with joy. “Mom, when will you be done with your work? Will you come home tonight? I want you to cuddle me to sleep, and I have so many fun stories to tell you. Plus, I’d love to have your breakfast tomorrow morning. When are you coming back?”
Charlene hadn’t mentioned that she wouldn’t be returning to the Henderson house anymore. “Mom’s busy these days. How about next month? I’ll take you out somewhere fun.”
It had been ages since Charlene took her out, so the prospect of an outing delighted Jasmine.
But…
“Next month?” Even though it was just a few days away, it seemed like forever to Jasmine. But she didn’t complain. Instead, she asked, “When next month?”
Even through the phone, Charlene could feel Jasmine’s longing and eagerness to see her. Charlene’s grip on her mouse tightened before she replied, “We’ll see. I’ll let you know once I’ve decided, okay?” “Alright…”
Charlene asked, “Have you taken a shower?”
“Not yet, but I will soon.”
“Okay, go ahead and shower. Mom has work to do, so I’m going to hang up now.”
“But we just started talking, and you’re already leaving?” Jasmine was reluctant to end the call. She checked the call duration, then pleaded, “Mom, we’ve only talked for two minutes. Can we chat a bit longer?” Charlene assured her, “Next time I have some free time, if you want to chat, I’ll talk to you longer.”
Hearing this, Jasmine reluctantly agreed, “Okay… you have to promise, Mom.”
Charlene replied, “I promise.”
With that, Jasmine said, “Alright… bye, Mom.”
“Bye,” Charlene said, then ended the call.
Jasmine suddenly remembered she hadn’t told her mom about the gift she bought for her. Just as she was about to say something, she realized Charlene had already hung up, leaving her feeling a bit dejected. She put down her phone and headed to the study to find Thorne,
Thorne was in the middle of a video conference. When Jasmine entered, he turned off the camera and muted the microphone. “What’s up? Couldn’t get through?”