Vesta went upstairs and called Moran.

"What's up? Why the sudden call?" Moran asked.

"I was hoping you could do me a small favor," she said.

Vesta didn't actually need anything, but she invented a plausible request to make the call seem natural. It was a minor thing that Moran could handle easily, so he readily agreed. "Sure, I'll have someone take care of it for you later."

"Thanks so much," Vesta said, then shifted into a more casual tone. "It's been a while. What have you been up to lately?"

"Me? You know me, I'm never busy. It's you guys who are always impossible to pin down."

Vesta laughed. "Minnie's on a break from school, so I took her out yesterday and we just got back this afternoon. If you're bored, we should get together for dinner in a couple of days."

"Sounds good!"

In Moran's mind, Thorne had already discussed the temporary halt on the divorce with Vesta. Hearing that she'd spent the last two days with Jasmine and that she sounded relaxed and happy, he assumed she wasn't upset by the decision.

"You know, Thorne and Charlene are only putting the divorce on hold because of Minnie," he said conversationally. "The more time you spend with her, the stronger your bond will be. It'll help her rely less on Charlene, which will make it easier for her to accept the divorce when it finally happens."

Vesta's hand tightened around her phone.

"Putting the divorce on hold?"

So, not only had they not filed the papers, but they had actually reached an agreement to not divorce, all for Jasmine's sake? But was really about protecting Jasmine, or was Thorne just his daughter as a shield, an excuse to stay married to Charlene?

Vesta didn't voice these thoughts to Moran. From his comments in their group chats, she knew he was completely in the dark about the real state of her relationship with Thorne. He still believed they were the same as they'd always been, which is why he interpreted Thorne's approval of her time with Jasmine as a strategic move to prepare the child for the divorce.

But she knew the truth.

eť

If Thorne was using Jasmine as an excuse to avoid divorcing Charlene, then Charlene... Given how much she loved her daughter, and the fact that, as far as Vesta knew, she

wasnt seeing anyone else- andr might even still have feelings for Thorne-it was entirely plausible she would agree to this arrangement.

A dark look crossed Vesta's face. She chatted with Moran for a few more minutes before hanging up.

After a moment of silence, she called Jasmine.

The little girl answered quickly. After a few pleasantries, Vesta got to her point. "Minnie, lately... when you see your mom, does your dad still go with you?"

"Yeah, whenever Dad's free, he comes with me to see Mom," Jasmine replied, then asked, "Why, Ms. Hawkins? Is something wrong?"

Nothing was wrong. Vesta had just confirmed her suspicion. Thorne was still using Jasmine as a pretense to get close to Charlene. Which meant the decision to postpone the divorce was almost certainly his idea.