Chapter 22

When Claudia and Tiffany heard that, they both froze. Trima scowled, "Charlene—" "Mommy's here?" Jasmine had taken the elevator to the second floor. Since it had been more than six months since she had last spoken to Charlene, Jasmine was genuinely delighted to see her when she came downstairs. She interrupted Irma's conversation and threw herself into Charlene's arms. "Mommy!" Charlene paused, gave her a gentle hug, and hummed in response, but she didn't say much. Irma didn't want Charlene to leave the Henderson Group. "I haven't had your coffee in a long time. How about making some for me?" she said, smiling at Charlene, who had grown up under Helena's tutelage.

Charlene was calm and collected from an early age and gifted, and over the years, her coffee-making abilities had become quite impressive. "Of course, that's no problem. It's just that it's almost dinner time. Tiffany preferred soda over coffee. She also didn't like seeing Charlene demonstrate her coffee-making prowess, so she shot back, "Yeah, let's wait for Thorne and Terence to come home, then we'll have dinner." As soon as she was done, Thorne entered, greeted Irma and Claudia, gave Charlene a quick glance, then turned away and sat on a far-off armchair. "Daddy!" "Hmm." Jasmine rushed over as soon as she saw Thorne.

Thorne gave her a hug, looked around, and started to say something when Terence Henderson came back. Bright and happy, he was still a minor and much younger than Tiffany and Thorne. When he entered, he jumped lightly over the sofa armrest and sat smoothly. Seeing all the people around him, he joked, "Is everyone waiting for me?" Tiffany gave him a light slap on the head and said, "Yeah, we've all been starving here waiting for you!" Thorne was quiet and didn't say much.

Terence was the family's ray of sunshine, closer to his parents in affection. His return lifted Claudia's somewhat icy demeanor, and Irma appeared happier as well. She gave the order for the lunch to begin, as she could see that everyone was hungry and it was becoming late. The nine of them made their way to the smaller dining room, where they were seated with a main focus on Charlene, Jasmine, Thorne, and Irma. "Minnie, switch places with your dad," Irma said with a grin and a wave to Jasmine. Permit him to sit next to your mother. Irma continually tried to get Thorne and Charlene together.

By then, everyone else had become used to it. Knowing that Thorne's attitude toward Charlene had not altered over the years, they all thought that Irma's efforts had been in vain. Tiffany smirked, not bothering to step in this time, and sat down easily, knowing that Irma's efforts were in vain. Thorne didn't like Irma's arrangement, but he wouldn't publicly disagree with her over trivial matters. He therefore said nothing, which amounted to a tacit assent. Charlene's excitement for Irma's matchmaking has diminished. She responded, "It's fine, Irma," with a gentle grin on her face as she turned to face Irma. As we are, let's sit.