Chapter 10

Thorne's grandmother, Irma Henderson, was the only Henderson relative that showed any interest in Charlene. Children frequently imitate what they observe. This also applied to Tiffany's son. Although he loved Charlene's food, he treated her more like a servant than a member of the family and detested her. Charlene had previously gone above and above for Thorne and had never tolerated Tiffany's child's rudeness. However, at a time when she and Thome were about to get divorced, Charlene refused to do anything more for him. Charlene said, "I'm sorry, Tiffany.

I'm busy tomorrow," in response to Tiffany's request for a favor. After the divorce, Charlene was adamant about concentrating on her job and investing her time in it instead of worrying about Thorne or Tiffany. She needed to get over wasting her time on them. The rejection shocked Tiffany. When it came to Thorne and his family, Charlene had always gone above and beyond to please. However, Tiffany reasoned that Charlene must actually be rather busy. If not, why would she miss the chance to win them over?

Tiffany's annoyance was obvious. "Minnie and Thorne are not present. How could it be that significant? Charlene couldn't resist a sour grin. She had spent years losing herself in her roles as mother and wife, focusing all of her attention on Thorne and Jasmine. Tiffany's remarks were severe, but they had justification. Charlene, however, was prepared to go on. A group of people who were searching for Tiffany came up and yelled, "Ms. Henderson!" as they were speaking. One said, "Ms. Henderson, and who might this be?"

after examining Charlene. Without mentioning Charlene's connection to her, Tiffany icily said, "A friend." The gathering, which consisted of all Starlight University alums returning for a reunion, was hoping for someone important. Despite a few lingering looks at Charlene's remarkable appearance, Tiffany's contemptuous tone diverted their focus. Charlene, who may have previously been offended by such behavior, seemed unconcerned as the group departed with Tiffany. She took it up. She picked up her handbag and walked out.

Thorne and Jasmine returned home from their journey later that evening. Before they reached their house, Jasmine slept off. Thome brought her upstairs, seeing that the room was dark and the door to the master bedroom was open. He saw that Charlene was not in their bedroom after he had placed Jasmine in her room. With their bags in tow, the butler told him, "Mrs. Henderson has gone on a business trip." Traveling for work was uncommon for Charlene, and being away for six weeks was even more odd. With a casual hum, Thorne's query came to an end, leaving it unanswered.

Thorne bumped into Charlene in the office the next day.Charlene was unaware that Jasmine and Thome had returned from their overseas excursion.Charlene stopped when she unexpectedly ran across Thorne in the workplace.Thome's eyes flashed with astonishment when he saw Charlene, but he didn't think much of it because he thought she had just returned from a business trip.