On Saturday evening, Charlene apanied Helena to the theater.


    As they reached the ticket check, a man who had attracted quite a bit of attention nearby spotted them, broke into a smile, and strode over.


    "Charlene."


    Hearing her name, Charlene turned and immediately saw Gaylord weaving his way through the crowd toward her.


    She greeted him with a bright smile. "What a coincidence! You''re here to see the maestro''s performance too?"


    But it wasn''t really a coincidence.


    Gaylord had nned this.


    At the office, he always called her Ms. Ross.


    Other than the day of her interview, this was the first time he''d addressed her by her first name.


    Noticing she didn''t seem to mind, he smiled faintly. As Charlene introduced Helena, Gaylord nodded politely. "Good evening, ma''am."


    Helena returned his greeting with a warm nod. "Good evening."


    These days, it was rare to see young people genuinely interested in opera.


    And the way Gaylord looked at Charlene while they talked...


    As an observer, Helena instantly understood how Gaylord felt about Charlene.


    But since Charlene seemedpletely oblivious, Helena kept her thoughts to herself.


    Seeing that only Charlene and Helena hade, Gaylord asked, "Didn''t bring your little one along? Not a fan of opera?"


    At the mention of Jasmine, Charlene''s smile faded a touch.


    Jasmine had said she''d be back in Starfall City by noon, and that Charlene should take her out once she returned.


    Now, it was already night. Jasmine hade back hours ago.


    But she hadn''t asked Charlene to pick her up from the airport, nor had she called to say she wanted to meet.


    Charlene, however, didn''t dwell on it.


    She was used to this by now.


    She could guess exactly what Jasmine was up to.


    When Gaylord asked, she replied quietly, "Something like that."


    Gaylord had thought this would be a good topic for a long conversation.


    But Charlene''sck of interest-and the way her expression cooled at the mention


    of her daughter-caught him off guard.


    Then again, he figured she might be upset about possibly losing custody.


    Sensing Charlene didn''t care to talk about it, he let the topic drop.


    Once inside the auditorium, Gaylord swapped his front-row tickets with someone so he could sit next to Charlene.


    He''d made a point of brushing up on opera beforehand.


    He picked out a few topics to chat about with Charlene and Helena, and the three of them ended up having a pleasant conversation before the Show began.  s


    As the performance neared its


    climax


    everyone watched quiet et


    in the spectacle Suddenly, Charlene''s phone buzzed softly.  s


    She nced down. It was a message from Thorne.


    "Grandma''s feeling much better now. Thank you for visiting her so often at the hospital. Are you free on Monday?"


    Charlene only needed to see the opening words to know what Thorne really meant.


    Sure enough, as she read on, it was exactly as she''d expected: Thorne wanted to arrange their divorce.


    She picked up her phone and typed back, "Yes, I''m free."


    His reply came almost instantly: "Great. See you in the morning."


    Charlene didn''t reply again. She slipped her phone back into her purse and turned her attention to the stage.<fnbb7b> ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? f?ndnovel</fnbb7b>


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    The show had just reached its most dazzling moment. Gaylord, eager to discuss it with her, nced over. But when he saw Charlene''s expression, the words caught in his throat. The Stile faded from his face,  s


    He realized, all of a sudden, that Charlene''s mind was elsewhere-and her mood


    had darkened.