LOGINThey desired to speak with her briefly. "Charlene..." Henley began. "Mr. Hawkins, are you here to announce to everyone about you and Charlene?" Stewart asked with a laugh before Charlene could reply. "Mr. Ferguson, I have something to discuss with Charlene, if you could just—" Stewart didn't even let Charlene speak before he stepped in. "If Mr. Hawkins wants to let everyone know about you and Charlene, by all means, go ahead." Henley's smile wavered a little, but he quickly forced a laugh. Henley did not want to irritate Stewart.Thus, he and Laverne were forced to depart with a dejected sigh. However, he told Charlene, "I'll give you a call later, don't forget," before leaving. Charlene chose not to answer. She just didn't give a damn. She was most definitely not going to answer the phone. "I'd love to just let it all go up in flames," Stewart said, clearly irritated. Charlene had similar feelings. However, she had yet to uncover any evidence that would absolve her of the Thorne even
Their eyebrows furrowed slightly as they looked at Thorne, Charlene, and then Vesta. "Been a while since you played chess?" Thorne asked abruptly during the quiet. Without looking up, Charlene simply replied, "Yeah," as she concentrated on undermining his plan. She had essentially given up playing chess since becoming married to him. "You seem a bit rusty," Thorne remarked. Charlene remained focused on the board and did not respond. The circumstances were not favorable to her. There appeared to be a promising path close to Thorne's side, but in fact, he had put traps there, waiting for her to fall for them so he could surprise her. After giving it some thought, Charlene moved away from his traps. At last, the board started to clean up. Thorne was now at a disadvantage.Thorne smiled and arched an eyebrow, pausing for a long moment before continuing. Once again, the game became tense. Charlene lost by a slim margin after a few more exchanges. "Pity," said Campbell, "but compared to the
Vesta started to pay more attention to Charlene's predicament. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched Charlene handle the difficult situation Thorne had put up in unexpected ways. It sank like a stone as she heard Quintin's applause. Charlene was staring at the chessboard in front of her with serious concentration. For now, things were stable, but she sensed that victory was almost... She stopped and looked at Thorne. Thorne took the initiative. Charlene stopped her hand in its tracks."This is really impressive," said Campbell, grinning. I never imagined that I would see a chess battle this captivating in such a setting, especially between two young players. Very impressive. The noise annoyed Quintin, who yelled, "Keep it down!" Campbell stopped talking. After a few tense minutes, Charlene finally moved to gradually level out the tilted board once more. Thorne replied with another piece two minutes later. After returning the piece she was holding to the board, Charlene declared, "I
That's when Thorne said, "Alright." Calm and collected, Charlene took a seat across from him. Vesta immediately recovered her composure after the initial shock. After saying hello to Campbell and the others, she went back to Thorne's side. Granger, the Hawkins family, and the Spencer family were not the only ones who were taken aback. Campbell and York were equally surprised. York and Campbell knew virtually little about Charlene, despite the fact that Hickey had introduced her to everyone earlier at the art gallery. They noticed how calm and kind Charlene was, and they didn't think she would be interested in the limelight.They reasoned that she wouldn't offer to play chess in such a situation, even if she were capable of doing so. Charlene had captured Quintin's attention even though he didn't know her. She gave him the impression that she came from a respected household because of her striking appearance and her composed, courteous manner. He even believed that she would be the ide
With a laugh, Quintin said, "Not bad at all.""Why aren't you busy with your painting?" he then inquired. "I'm just here to make sure you feel well taken care of; I didn't want you thinking I was neglecting you." "Go on, get back to your work, and stop interrupting my chess game." Campbell, however, remained unmoved. When Quintin and Campbell complimented Vesta, the Hawkins and Spencer families grinned broadly. Vesta was well known to everyone in the area. She was a person who evoked both respect and jealousy. After all, Vesta had it all—beauty, intelligence, and now both Campbell and Quintin were interested in her because of her chess abilities.In addition, the Spencer and Hawkins families had risen in the social hierarchy as a result of Thorne's admiration for Vesta. That kind of daughter—who wouldn't want one? Enviously, someone said to the Hawkins and Spencer families, "Katie, Mr. Hawkins, Mrs. Hawkins, you really have a wonderful granddaughter and daughter." "Absolutely," others
Charlene was mentally reviewing their chess battle when she noticed something. She heard Vesta say, "Quintin, after watching your game, I'm really tempted to give it a try, but I'm afraid I'm not quite skilled enough yet to take on Thorne." "Oh, don't worry about it," Quintin said with a laugh. "Earlier, I was just kidding. Go ahead and do it if you're interested." As Vesta opened her mouth to reply, someone laughed and said, "If Ms. Hawkins is playing, the outcome really is anyone's guess, haha." "That's right! Another said, "Mr. Henderson might end up sleeping on the couch when he gets home if he beats Ms. Hawkins, even if he is a chess whiz. " The remark caused the audience to burst out laughing. Quintin was unaware that Vesta and Thorne were connected. He could see why Vesta was a wonderful fit for Thorne, given her remarkable beauty and self-assured demeanor. "Oh?Well, in that case, I'm eager to see if you can keep your cool like you do against us old-timers when you're playing
The evening's stillness was broken by Tiffany's voice. Charlene's eyes turned to the sound's origin. Thorne and Tiffany were standing there. She stopped in her tracks. Thome made no answer, a cigarette hanging from his lips. Thome was standing against the light, and from a distance Charlene could n
To contain her laughter, Charlene had to bite her tongue. Following Charlene and Thorne's marriage, Vesta got to know Thorne. Vesta was aware of the relationship between Thorne and Charlene. Charlene found it incomprehensible that Vesta's father, Henley, was unaware that Thorne was the husband of h
Che instantly collected herself and inquired, "Have Auri Pinda and the rest not returned from their vacation yet? I was afraid Helen would be disturbed if she told him about her unhappiness." "Nope, they're having too much fun," they said, adding that they will return in a week. "But what about Unc
Charlene's coworkers were frightened as she spoke, looked at Vesta, and quickly retreated to rest against the wall. Intimidated. Esta saw Charlene too, but she averted her gaze immediately, displeased, and made her way to the elevator amid a gathering of terrified people. team of managers. set of m







