Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 250

Celestine waited for Violet to go on, her gaze puzzled and expectant.

“Like what?”

Violet smiled, her words soft and earnest, “Like the rest of my life.”

A shrill whistle broke the moment—Flossie was the first to react.

“Come on! Violet, did you go overseas to study for cheesy pickup lines or to figure out your orientation?”

Crystal Lennox pried her hand free from Violet’s increasingly possessive grip, grinning as she warned, “No harassing your coworkers in the office, Miss O’Connor.”

Violet barely missed a beat, elbowing Flossie aside to get closer to Celestine. “Miss Selwyn, I swear we’ve met before.”

Everyone in the office instantly scattered.

Here she goes again.

Celestine played along, a little tentative. “Do you remember where?”

Violet’s eyes widened in mock outrage. “Hey! You stole my line!”

Celestine pressed her lips together, fighting back laughter.

Those were song lyrics, after all.

Around them, their colleagues looked as if they couldn’t take another second.

Violet was brilliant—no one disputed that—but she simply couldn’t resist unleashing her awkward sense of humor at every opportunity.

They tried to get used to it, really. But every time, her antics still left them in stitches or cringing so hard it hurt.

Thank goodness Celestine seemed unusually good-humored about it all. She could even keep up with Violet’s banter, which was nothing short of miraculous.

Violet stared at Celestine’s lovely face a moment longer—so long, in fact, that even Crystal Lennox had to intervene, dragging her away. “Alright, that’s enough. Don’t go scaring off our Celly.”

Violet waved her off. “No, seriously! I’m sure I’ve seen Miss Selwyn somewhere before.”

She smacked her own forehead, suddenly remembering. “Yes! That show at the art museum! There was this breathtaking portrait of a young woman—it looked just like you, Miss Selwyn!”

Her conviction made even Celestine a little curious as to how much of a resemblance there actually was.

“Do you have a photo?”

Violet groaned in disappointment. “We had to sign non-disclosure agreements for that event, so no phones allowed. I couldn’t take any pictures.”

Celestine found that a bit unfortunate, too.

She reached into a gift bag and picked out a pair of pearl earrings, offering them to Violet.

Violet’s eyes lit up.

The date for the divorce was fast approaching.

Because of the sheer number of people filing, Celestine and Chester’s appointment had already been pushed back.

Today, she’d scheduled a meeting with Mr. Ivan to finalize the divorce agreement.

But on the way to the café, her phone rang—it was the school.

Celestine spun the car around and rushed there.

In the office, the teacher looked absolutely at her wit’s end with two children sobbing uncontrollably.

No matter how she tried to reason with them, neither listened. All they did was blame each other and try to outcry the other.

When Celestine walked in, to the teacher’s relief, she seemed like a lifeline.

The moment Celia spotted her mother from the corner of her eye, her tears dried up instantly.

Hmph.

If she cried in front of Mom, she’d just look like she was backing down!

Celia lifted her chin and turned away, her tone accusatory. “Who said you could come here?”

Celestine didn’t even spare her a glance.