Chapter 420
On her mother’s birthday, Charlene received a divorce reminder from Thorne.
How fitting.
Padgett spoke up again, “Mr. Henderson’s office said if you’re free
Monday morning, he’d like to schedule the paperwork for next Monday at
9 a.m. at City Hall. What do you think, Ms. Ross?”
Charlene replied, “I’m available Monday morning.”
“Alright,” Padgett said. “I’ll let Mr. Henderson’s attorney know.”
“Okay.”
Aside from Padgett’s call, Charlene also noticed a missed call from Thorne.
She could guess Thorne’s reason for calling it was probably the same as Padgett’s.
So, she didn’t bother to call him back.
After spending the weekend with her family, Charlene drove out early Monday, just after eight.
When she pulled up outside City Hall, Thorne was already there.
She hadn’t taken their marriage certificate with her when she moved out, so Thorne had brought both the certificate and the divorce agreement with him.
Back when they got married, Thorne had left immediately after the paperwork, his expression cold, not sparing their marriage certificate so much as a glance. Naturally, the certificate had always been in her care.
She’d nearly forgotten where she’d put it, but now, for the divorce, Thorne hadn’t even needed to ask her-he’d managed to find it himself and bring it along, perfectly intact.
When she arrived, Thorne got out of his car and handed her the divorce agreement. “Do you want to go over it one more time?”
The marriage certificate in his hand was open, their photo clearly visible. It seemed he’d just been looking at it before getting out of the car.
Charlene looked away without a word, took the papers, and returned to her car to read through the agreement.
By the time she finished, it was almost nine o’clock. She got out and headed straight for City Hall.
Thorne followed behind her, and the two of them entered together.
Their documents were all in order, and with nothing left to dispute, the process went quickly.
As they stepped back out into the morning air, Thorne said, “Once the waiting period is over, we’ll need to come back for the final paperwork.”
“I know.” Charlene didn’t meet his eyes. She brushed past his car and got into her own.
Thorne didn’t say anything else. He got in his car as well.
Their engines started up almost in unison, and within moments, their cars had vanished from the curb outside City Hall, each heading in a different direction.
Afterwards, Charlene drove back to PrimeStar.
She and Stewart still had a meeting at The Henderson Group that day.
When she walked in, Stewart glanced at the clock. “You’re late today. I thought you weren’t coming in.”
“Had to go to city hall for divorce paperwork,” Charlene said, her tone even.
Stewart blinked, then caught on. “So it’s official? You and Thorne are finally divorced?”
“Not quite. We still have to wait out the mandatory period before it’s finalized.”
“…Alright.” He hesitated for a moment, then asked, “You still going to the Henderson meeting?”
“Yes.”
Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Stewart smiled. “Okay.”
Twenty minutes later, Charlene and Stewart arrived at The Henderson Group. By the time they reached the conference room, Thorne and his team were already seated.
When they walked in, Thorne greeted them politely. “Mr. Ferguson, Ms. Ross. Glad you could make it.”
Charlene and Stewart both nodded coolly and took their seats.
The meeting began promptly.
Throughout, Charlene kept her focus on work, and Thorne, maintaining a cordial demeanor, spoke with Stewart and the others.
The conference room was full, but aside from Stewart, no one knew that Charlene and Thorne-who seemed to barely interact-had seen each other that very morning at city hall, quietly finalizing the end of their marriage.