Unknown Divorce Revelation Beyond Time (Charlene and Thorne)

"No, thank you. I've already eaten.”

To be honest, his confession had been touching—almost moving, really.

But still-

The only reason she'd answered his call tonight was to finally make things clear once and for all.

With quiet resolve, she spoke, her tone both sincere and final. "I really appreciate your feelings for me, but as you said, I'm simply not ready to start a new relationship right now. I'm sorry-and please, don't wait for me."

She noticed York Watson wanted to say something more, hesitated for a second, but in the end, she simply hung up.

Afterward, she stood there with her phone in hand, a swirl of emotions passing through her.

She let out a wry smile after a long moment, then turned and headed back toward the private dining room.

She'd been gone for quite a while.

The moment Stewart Ferguson figured out it was York who had called her,

curiosity gnawed at him-he was dying to know what was really going on between them.

When he saw just how long she'd been on the phone with York, his curiosity only grew.

As soon as she returned, he leaned in and lowered his voice. "What's going on between you and York?"

Charlene Ross took a sip of her lemon water and replied evenly, "Nothing, really."

Stewart caught her drift. "Not convenient to talk about now, huh? I'll ask you later, then."

Charlene just gave him a look.

Gaylord Hearst was even more anxious than Stewart.

When Charlene stepped out to take the call, he'd been waiting for her to come back too.

He had no idea who York was, and while he waited, he shot a message to a friend, fishing for information.

Since everyone moved in the same circles, his friend knew York as well. The moment Gaylord asked, his friend filled him in on the essentials.

Right as Charlene returned to the dining room, his friend sent the last bit of info, then couldn't help but text: [Why the sudden interest in York?]

Unable to hear what Charlene and Stewart were discussing, Gaylord glanced away and replied: [No reason.]

Thorne Henderson also glanced up when Charlene came back, but after just a second, he smiled and turned back to his conversation with the others.

Charlene, meanwhile, was oblivious to the little glances from Thorne and Gaylord. She barely paid them any mind-after exchanging a couple of words with Stewart, she joined Professor Hancock's group and started chatting with them.

A while later, Professor Hancock, who was seated next to Thorne, needed Charlene's input on a professional matter.

Charlene moved over to their side of the table. At that moment, Thorne was busy texting.

As Professor Hancock stood up to make room for her, he accidentally bumped into Thorne's phone, sending it tumbling to the floor. Charlene, not realizing whose phone it was, bent down to pick it up, intending to hand it to Professor Hancock-only to notice the screen displayed a chat with Vesta Hawkins.

Realizing it was actually Thorne's phone, she quickly averted her gaze and considered just putting it back down.

But Thorne had already reached out his hand, looking at her. "That's mine, thanks."

She handed it over without a word and then sat down next to Professor Hancock.

About twenty minutes later, dinner officially wrapped up.

Charlene got up, ready to leave with everyone else.

As their group stepped out of their dining room, the door across the hall swung open at the same time.

Stewart's eyes narrowed. He leaned in and muttered to Charlene, “What a coincidence...or more likely, perfectly planned."noveldrama

He clearly suspected Thorne and Vesta had coordinated their exit.

In truth, when Charlene had picked up Thorne's phone, she'd caught a glimpse of their chat-and as Stewart guessed, the two of them had indeed arranged to leave together.

Gaylord hurried over to Charlene's side. She thought he wanted to say something, so she asked, "What's up?"

That question made it painfully clear to him that she was oblivious to his feelings. He'd wanted to take things slow, to let them develop naturally, but now he realized he couldn't afford to wait.

Still, this wasn't the right place or time.

"Nothing," he said quietly.

Thorne watched Gaylord approach Charlene, then turned his focus to Vesta as she stepped out from the other dining room.

Charlene and Stewart had no interest in meeting the eyes of anyone from the Hawkins or Spencer families, nor did they care to witness whatever affection might be on display between Thorne and Vesta. They simply left.

Downstairs, after a brief conversation about work, Thorne and Vesta got in their car and drove off.

Remembering how Charlene had left just now with Stewart and Gaylord, Georgina Spencer commented after getting in the car, "That girl-besides Stewart, wasn't the Hearst family's golden boy with her too? If something does happen between those two, it'll definitely complicate things with Stewart, don't you think?"

Everyone in the Hawkins family knew about Vesta and Gaylord's history.

But Vesta had chosen Thorne over Gaylord, and her family supported that decision without hesitation.

After all, Thorne was not only more accomplished in his career, but he was also the kind of man who would go further for Vesta than Gaylord ever would.