When She Walks Away (Teresa) novel Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Troy was famous for his womanizing, but never once had he shown even a trace of submissiveness in front of others.

Yet here he was, completely losing his dignity in front of Teresa.

With Troy’s status, he didn’t have to lower himself to anyone, not even Charles.

Everyone present was left utterly stunned by Troy’s attitude.

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It wasn’t until Cedric came back to his senses that he turned to Teresa and Hector, saying, “Let’s go. We’ve got our own party to enjoy. Forget about the people and things that don’t matter.”

Teresa just nodded, “Yeah.”

Hector echoed, “Yeah.”

Then Cedric gestured for Teresa and Hector to head out first, and he quietly followed behind them.

Together, the three of them made their way out of the hall without a hitch.

Charles didn’t try to stop Teresa from leaving. He felt a heavy discomfort gnawing at his chest, but he swallowed his feelings and stayed silent.

As Teresa’s silhouette vanished from view, Charles couldn’t help but feel a shadow of bitterness flicker through his heart–so subtle, even he barely noticed it.

Just then, Naomi snapped out of her daze. She reached out and gently nudged Charles’s arm, whispering, “Charles, let’s head back.”

Charles blinked, coming back to reality, and gave a quiet nod. “Yeah.”

With that, the two of them started walking out of the restaurant.

As they passed by Troy, Naomi glanced over at him on purpose.

Troy sensed her gaze but didn’t look at her.

ཅ ཎྜ * ཋ ཎ འ འ མ ན

When Troy didn’t spare her a glance, Naomi frowned in confusion.

Just a short while ago, everything between them seemed perfectly fine.

He had even invited her “sleep” with him.

Meanwhile, Cedric took Teresa and Hector to another spot–a barbecue place.

After ordering some barbecue skewers, Cedric and Hector started talking shop about medicine.

Their conversation bounced between papers, research projects, studies, surgeries, and all sorts of tricky cases.

Every now and then, Cedric would ask Teresa a question, and she’d answer without hesitation–confident and smooth.

When it came to theory, Teresa’s foundation was impeccable.

But as solid as her theory was, Teresa had never really gotten a chance to test it out in the real world.

Cedric was full of praise for her, telling her that one day, if she kept it up, she’d become an exceptional doctor just like Hector,

Teresa just smiled modestly, promising she’d work even harder.

Seeing Teresa’s humility, Cedric couldn’t help but like her a little more.

Not like Naomi, Cedric thought–she really didn’t have the skills, yet she still had to chase after a master’s and a PhD

When Cedric glanced over at Hector again, he noticed that Hector looked totally lost in thought.

Noticing Hector was distracted, Cedric grinned and teased, “Why are you still daydreaming when she’s sitting right in front of you?”

Hector fell silent for a moment before finally turning to look at Teresa

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Chapter 243

Teresa felt his gaze and lowered her head slightly.

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Cedric glanced back and forth between them with a meaningful look, then turned to Teresa. “Teresa, what do you think of Hector?”

Teresa looked up at Cedric and, after a brief pause, answered, “Hector is an excellent mentor.”

At that, Cedric grinned, half–joking, half–serious. “If he’s so great, why aren’t you going for him? Going to wait for someone else to snatch him up?”

Teresa realized Cedric was trying to set them up, but she hesitated, feeling a little awkward. “Professor Judd, I actually—”

She was just about to say she was already married, but before she could get a word out, Hector jumped in, “Professor Judd, it’s getting pretty late. I’ll make sure Teresa gets home safe. Next time, drinks are on me–let’s do this again.”

Cedric spotted Hector’s flustered and worried expression and let out a helpless sigh, shaking his head. “You little rascal.”

Once they were far enough from the barbecue place, Teresa finally spoke up, her voice soft and hesitant. “Hector, there’s something I need to tell you.”

His voice shook with pleading as he murmured, “Just… don’t. Please don’t say anything.”

Hector already knew what Teresa wanted to say, but the last thing he wanted was to actually hear it–not from her lips.

‘Why was I such a coward back then? Why didn’t I just tell her how I felt?‘ Hector kept torturing himself with these questions, regret gnawing at him day after day.

‘I kept waiting, thinking I’d have all the time in the world. But when I finally made something of myself… she was already married to someone else.‘

But now, Hector found himself seriously jealous of Troy–jealous that Troy could wear his heart on his sleeve and say whatever he felt, without caring what anyone thought.

Teresa felt her heart twist painfully, but she forced herself to speak. “Hector, there’s something I have to say, no matter what.”

Hector pulled her in even tighter, and it really did sound like he was crying as he begged, “Please… don’t. I’m asking you, just this once.”

Teresa’s voice came out raw as she asked, “But what if even that hope ends up gone?”

Hector countered softly, “But what if it never is?”

Sure enough, his car was nowhere to be seen.

She’d never really believed him anyway, and finding him gone just proved she’d been right not to expect anything from him

Hector noticed Teresa’s subtle searching, and it only made his heart sink even more

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Chapter 243

‘She’s got Charles, she’s got Troy… Why can’t there be space for me too?‘ Hector thought bitterly.

He couldn’t help it–even if he had to be the fourth wheel in her life, he’d take that chance without hesitation.

Once Teresa saw that Troy wasn’t anywhere nearby, she turned to Hector and said. “Let’s get going.”

Hector stared at her, but no matter how hard he tried, the words he wanted to say just wouldn’t make it past his lips.

He wasn’t like Charles–just standing there was enough for Teresa to fall for him, effortless and natural.

And he sure wasn’t like Troy, who could lay his heart bare for everyone to see without a shred of shame.

Hector couldn’t help but berate himself sometimes–why couldn’t he just muster a little more courage?

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Ten minutes earlier, Troy had his Porsche parked on the side of the road. He was behind the wheel, killing time with a mobile game.

Every so often, he’d peek out through the windshield, checking if Teresa was coming out of the barbecue joint.

When she didn’t appear, he just went back to his game, not in any rush at all.

He was messing around on his phone, lost in the game, when suddenly an unfamiliar number popped up on the screen.

Troy’s heart skipped a beat–could it be Teresa calling him? He picked up right away.

As soon as he answered, the noise from the other end was all over the place–super loud and chaotic.

Then some guy he didn’t recognize spoke up, voice tense and urgent. “Is this Troy? I’m at Riverdale No. 2 Bridge. Your mom got into a car accident on the bridge–please come over as fast as you can.”

It was like Troy’s blood ran cold, and a chill shot straight through him.

For a moment, his mind went completely blank. He didn’t even bother ending the call–just slammed his foot on the gas and shot off down the road.

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