Chapter 1 Birthday

• It was past nine at night when Charlene Ross landed at Goldland Airport.
• She came here from afar, exhausted, in order to spend her birthday with her husband and daughter.
• Yes, it was her birthday.
• She hadn't seen Thorne and Jasmine for more than two months.
• Jasmine was her favorite daughter. She had raised Jasmine with all the love a mother could give. Yet these past two years, the father-daughter bond had seemingly grown stronger with her husband, Thorne, spending more time with Jasmine. Thome had moved to Goldland last year to expand his business, and Jasmine insisted on going with him.
• Since then, she had no choice but to live apart from them and stay in the country to take care of the business.
• As soon as she turned on her phone, it lit up with a barrage of birthday wishes. All were from colleagues and friends. But not a single word from Thorne Henderson.
• After seven years of marriage, she had long been accustomed to such indifference.
• She even began to believe that even if Thorne could never care for her like what other husbands used to do, they could still spend their lives together. After all, they already had a daughter, and they both loved Jasmine so much.
• Charlene and Thorne grew up together. Thorne had been the dream of her youth, yet he had never cared about her. If it weren’t for that one night’s mistake and the pressure from their families, he would have never married her.
• Thinking of this, Charlene's smile faded slightly.
• When she got to the villa, it was well past ten.
• The housekeeper, Latonia, was stunned upon seeing her. “Mrs. Ross, what… what brings you here?”
• “Where are Thorne and Minnie?”
• “Mr. Henderson hasn’t come home yet, and Miss Minnie is up in her room, playing”
• Handing her luggage to Latonia, Charlene went upstairs. She found her daughter, cozy in pajamas, totally wrapped up in whatever she was doing at her little table, too absorbed to even see her mom come in.
• “Minnie?”
• Jasmine Henderson looked up with a bright smile, “Mommy!” Then, she quickly turned back to what she was doing.
• Charlene wrapped her in a hug, only to be pushed away gently. “Mommy, I’m busy now.”
• It had been two months since Charlene last saw Jasmine, and no amount of hugs seemed enough. She was eager to catch up with her.
• Seeing her so focused, Charlene didn’t want to dampen her spirits. “Are you making a seashell necklace, Minnie?”
• “Yes!” Jasmine perked up. “It’s for Ms. Hawkins‘ birthday next week. Dad and I picked these shells and polished them ourselves. Aren’t they pretty?”
• Vesta Hawkins! Thinking of the nightmarish name from her daughter's mouth, Charlene felt her throat choke.Charlene felt a lump in her throat.
• Vesta was the bastard daughter of Charlene's father, who was actually her nominal stepsister.
• Calling Vesta a product of an affair might not be entirely accurate. After all, when Charlene was eight, her father, determined not to let Vesta and her mother suffer, divorced Charlene's mother to marry Vesta's mother instead.
• After the divorce, Charlene lived with her mentally ill mother and was raised by her grandmother and uncle.
• Over the years, while her uncle's business faltered, the Hawkins family's enterprises thrived.
• People said to compensate for Vesta's difficult childhood, her father spared no expense in giving her the best of everything and invested a fortune in her upbringing.
• And, living up to expectations, Vesta was exceptionally accomplished. Thus, the once illegitimate daughter, Vesta, was then a legitimate heiress of a wealthy family. Having lived the life of an heiress for over a decade, Vesta exuded an aura of nobility that even Charlene, the original heiress, couldn't match.
• As Charlene's stepsister, Vesta also grew up with her and Thorne. Vesta was always so dazzling that Thorne, who had high standards, fell in love with her at first sight when he was a child...
• Jasmine excitedly continued before she could speak, “Dad also ordered some other gifts for Ms. Hawkins. Tomorrow-”
• Charlene felt a sudden pang in her chest and couldn’t hold back. “Minnie… do you know what today is?”
• “Huh? What?” Jasmine glanced up briefly before making her necklace again, “Mom, please, I mixed up the order of the beads now.”
• Charlene, let go, standing in silence for a long moment. Seeing Jasmine not even bothering to look up, she left the room without a word.
• Latonia saw her distressed look. “Mrs. Henderson, I called Mr. Henderson earlier. He said he’s tied up tonight and asked you to rest.”
• “I understand.”
• After remembering Jasmine’s words, Charlene dialed Thorne’s number.
• It took a while before he answered, his voice distant. “I’m still busy. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
• “Thorne, who’s that so late?” It was Vesta Hawkins‘ voice in the background.
• Charlene’s grip on the phone tightened.
• “It’s nothing.”
• Before Charlene could get a word in, Thorne had hung up.
• It had been months since they last saw each other. Charlene had made the trip to Goldland, but he couldn’t manage to come home or even stay on the phone long enough for a proper chat.
• Their marriage had always been cold, distant, and impatient like that, and she had grown accustomed to it.
• Usually, she would have called back, patiently asking where he was and if he could come home. But perhaps too weary, she couldn’t muster the energy to do so.
• The following morning, she gave Thorne another call after some thought. With the time difference between Goldland and back home, it was still her birthday in Goldland.
• She came hoping to see Jasmine and Thorne, wishing they could spend this special day together as a family and have a meal. That was her birthday wish for the year.
• Thorne didn’t pick up.
• Much later, he sent a message. [What’s up?]
• Charlene: [Are you free for lunch? Can you bring Minnie? Just the three of us.]
• Thorne: [Alright, let me know where.]
• Charlene: [Will do.]
• After that, Thorne went silent.
• He had completely forgotten it was Charlene’s birthday. Even though Charlene had braced herself for disappointment, she still couldn’t help but feel a sting of sadness.
• After getting ready for the day, she was about to head downstairs when she heard Jasmine and their nanny, Latonia, chatting away.
• “Is everything alright, sweetie? You seem a bit down,” Latonia inquired, concern lacing her voice.
• Jasmine answered sadly, “I was really looking forward to hitting the beach with Ms. Hawkins tomorrow. Dad and I had everything planned. Now that Mom’s shown up out of nowhere, it’d be kind of awkward if she came with us. And Mom’s always so mean to Ms. Hawkins.”
• Latonia said, “Honey, she’s your mom. You shouldn’t talk like that. It could hurt her feelings.”
• “I know, but Dad and I like Ms. Hawkins more. Can’t I have Ms. Hawkins be my mom?”
• Charlene froze, her face turning pale as Jasmine’s words weighed her down, rooting her to the spot. She had taken time off work to come to Goldland, hoping to spend more quality time with Jasmine. But it seemed utterly pointless then.
• Retreating to her room, Charlene carefully repacked the gifts she had brought from home into her suitcase.
• Later, Latonia called to say she had taken the child out, telling Charlene to reach out if she needed anything.
• Sitting on the bed, Charlene felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness. She had made this trip, leaving her job behind, only to realize only to realize they didn’t need her. Her presence felt like a joke.
• After some time, she left the house and wandered through this land that was both foreign and familiar to her.
• It wasn’t until nearly noon that she remembered she had made lunch plans with Thorne. Recalling the morning’s conversation, she hesitated on whether to go back and include her daughter when a message from Thorne popped up.
• [Something’s come up. I need to cancel lunch.]
• Charlene wasn’t surprised. She had grown accustomed to this. To Thorne, work or social gatherings and everything seemed more important than his wife.
• He would cancel their plans on a whim, never considering her feelings. Did it hurt? Maybe it once did. But at the moment, Charlene felt numb, immune to the disappointment.
• Charlene felt even more lost. She had come all this way, eager and hopeful, only to be met with indifference from both her husband and her daughter.
• Before she knew it, she was standing outside a restaurant she and Thorne used to go to all the time. As she was about to enter, she spotted Thorne, Vesta Hawkins, and Jasmine inside, cozily seated together.
• Vesta was engaging warmly with their daughter, sharing laughs and bites of her pastry while Thorne looked on with affection, his attention seemingly reserved for Vesta alone.
• So, this was Thorne’s important matter. And there was their daughter, born from Charlene’s flesh, enjoying the company of another woman.
• Charlene laughed bitterly. She watched them for a moment longer, then turned and walked away.
• Back at the villa, Charlene prepared a divorce agreement.
• She had naively thought he would notice her one day if she tried hard enough. But reality had slapped her hard in the face.
• It had been almost seven years. It was time to wake up.
• She placed the divorce papers in an envelope and gave them to Latonia, telling her to hand them to Thorne. Then, with her suitcase in tow, Charlene instructed the driver, “Take me to the airport.”