Chapter 873

That night, after eating a few skewers of meat, playing with her blocks, and stargazing for a while, Jasmine headed back down the mountain to rest at the hotel.

The next day, aside from discussing business with Stewart Ferguson and some of the staff, Charlene kept her daughter by her side.

Both Stewart and Gaylord made a few more attempts to interact with the little girl.

Every time, Jasmine would politely greet them and say her thank-yous, but the invisible wall between them never came down.

At first, they assumed she was just being shy, but they quickly realized she was actively shutting them out.

She simply had no interest in being friends.

In the past, Stewart had felt terrible for Charlene regarding Jasmine’s blatant preference for Vesta Hawkins. However, since the girl was young and naïve, he had never truly blamed her.

She was Charlene’s daughter; how could he not want to genuinely care for her?

But Jasmine’s current attitude left a bitter taste in his mouth. Unable to help himself, he muttered, “She looks polite, but she’s completely walling us off. Do you think she resents me for what I said about Thorne and Vesta at Dr. Lucas’s gala?”

Charlene shook her head. “I don’t know.”

She, too, had noticed her daughter’s deliberate distance from Stewart and the others.

Honestly, it wasn’t just Stewart—Jasmine was even acting aloof toward her.

Her entire personality had undoubtedly shifted.

Charlene didn’t know the exact reason, and Jasmine hadn’t offered a single explanation…

Stewart didn’t actually care how the girl treated him; his heart simply ached for Charlene.

He never expected that, even after everything that came to light at the gala, Jasmine would still side with Thorne and Vesta.

Knowing it wasn’t his place to interfere, he gave Charlene’s shoulder a comforting squeeze and steered his focus back to work.

By Sunday afternoon, the company retreat concluded, and the group went their separate ways.

Even though it was technically a retreat, Charlene and Stewart had been tied up with work. She hadn’t found many opportunities to bond with Jasmine; Latonia had spent most of the weekend looking after the girl.

However, Charlene was well aware that Thorne had been trying to contact Jasmine non-stop for the past two days. Her daughter simply refused to answer his calls.

Charlene didn’t pry or ask a single question about it.

Even so, she could tell that a spark of joy still flickered in Jasmine’s eyes whenever Thorne’s name lit up her phone screen.

Now that the retreat was over and

they were settled in the car, Chartene offered “When we get back to the

city, how about we grab dinner

together and then I drop you off at home?”

Jasmine nodded. “Okay.”

After arriving in the city and finishing their meal, Charlene stayed true to her word

and drove her daughter back.

When the car pulled up to the estate, Charlene remained in the driver’s seat.

Jasmine hopped out independently and waved. “Bye, Mom.”

Over the weekend, Latonia had mentioned that Thorne was still away on a business

trip and wouldn’t be returning anytime soon.

In the past if Thorne had been gone

this long and Charlene was right there in the driveway, Jasmine would have begged her to stay the night or insisted on going back to the Ross residence with her.

Yet, over the entire weekend, she hadn’t brought it up once…

Instead, it was the Butler who, upon seeing her arrive only to immediately depart,

couldn’t help but ask, “Ma’am, won’t you stay the night?”

Charlene shook her head. “No, I have things to handle.”

With that, she turned to her daughter. “Jasmine, I’m taking off. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay,” Jasmine replied softly. “Bye, Mom.”