When She Walks Away (Teresa) novel Chapter 79

Chapter 79

If I tell Charles about this, hell definitely find a way to stop Jason from putting pressure on Hector, Teresa thought.

But the moment she finished speaking, her nerves kicked in.

To her surprise, Naomi’s voice came through the line. “Charles, look. There’s a shooting star. Quick, make a wish.

The line went silent for a moment, but then Naomi’s voice returned. “Charles, what did you wish for?”

Charles replied softly. “It’s a secret

His answer was brief, but the way he said it was unmistakably doting-

Even through the phone, Teresa could sense the flirty tension between Charles and Naomi.

Naomi laughed and said, “Yolanda spotted some crabs. Want to go catch them together?”

Charles answered without thinking. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Suddenly, he remembered Teresa was still on the call and asked, “Wait. What were you saying just now?”

He hadn’t caught a single word Teresa said.

Teresa didn’t respond right away.

After what felt like forever, her voice was barely above a whisper as she asked. “Where are you?”

It was something she’d asked him plenty of times before.

But this time, Teresa wasn’t doing it to keep their marriage together.

Charles paused for a moment, then asked. ‘Are you checking up on me?

Teresa said, “There are some things I want to tell you face-to-face

Charles replied with a hint of indifference. I’m busy right now. Let’s talk next time.”

Teresa had heard that line way too many times.

‘But when is the next time?’ she wondered. To him, next time usually means never

She was just about to tell Charles why she called, but he hung up on her.

Listening to the busy tone, Teresa lowered her phone, feeling like someone had pulled the plug on her soul.

For two whole days, Teresa didn’t reach out to Charles again. But Hector was suddenly unreachable.

And just when things were getting tense, Troy’s gifts showed up every single day, rain or shine.

Teresa didn’t even bother to open any of the jewelry boxes piling up.

With Troy, one could bet that nothing he sent was cheap.

Teresa knew it was all a waste, but Troy never stopped sending them, one after another.

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Right now, with everything going on, Teresa couldn’t even spare a thought for Troy; she was too busy worrying that something might’ve happened to Hector.

She waited an entire day, but Hector still didn’t reply to any of her messages. She just couldn’t sit still

Teresa made up her mind to track Charles down herself, no matter where he was.

Teresa texted Charles: [Which city are you in? I need to talk to you face-to-face. It’s urgent.]

But after she hit send, her message might as well have been tossed into the void-no response at all.

The next day, Teresa checked her phone again-still nothing from Charles.

anymore.

Teresa opened up a video app and pulled up YatesDaily’s account. The IP address showed they were in the neighboring city,

Kinsea

Cross-referencing the paparazzi’s vacation photos with the beach views and local buildings, Teresa finally pinned down their location: a coastal city called Ternton.

Teresa booked the earliest flight available, but it was still in the afternoon.

By the time Teresa landed, it was already 7 PM.

It was late fall, and the sky was already pretty much dark by then.

Teresa jumped into a cab, quizzing the driver about where Charles and his crew were likely hanging out as they headed over

Meanwhile, over at Ternton’s swankiest hotel, a beach bonfire party was in full swing.

Waiters were busy grilling meat, slicing coconuts, and whipping up food.

By the shore, Charles and Naomi carved out their little world with Yolanda.

Yolanda was in heaven, diving during the day, beachcombing at sunset, and partying by the water at night.

She wished she could stay in this paradise forever.

On the tables around the bonfire, all kinds of grilled meat skewers were piled up, with hot beer and red wine ready to go.

Jason and Finn were just chilling, snacking and sipping their drinks, every now and then shooting a look at the little family trio having fun not far away.

After a while, Jason glanced at his phone and suddenly burst out laughing. “Finn, look at this. I just made up a few accusations against Hector, and now a whole crowd is jumping on the bandwagon, trying to expose him.

“Not only that, but people have been blocking him in at home for days. The best part? He tried sneaking out in full disguise the other day, but someone caught him, beat him up right there, and even messed up his hand.

Jason shook his head, clicked his tongue, and snickered, “Finn, think about it. A surgeon with a busted hand? He’s basically dead weight now, isn’t he?”

Jason laughed even harder, like he was showing off his proudest achievement with Hector’s downfall.

Finn kept his brows furrowed the whole time, never agreeing with Jason’s remarks.

But Jason didn’t notice a thing. He scrolled through his phone and said, “I just kicked things off, and people online are even

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angrier than I am. They’re tossing out stuff like bribery and illegal fundraising.

“All I had to do was drop a few hints, and someone would jump in to do the dirty work.”

Just then, Finn cut in, “Jason, do you really think this is right?”

Jason shot Finn a glare, clearly annoyed. “Why not? He had it coming for messing with Charles’s woman. He picked the wrong fight, and that’s his problem.”

Finn sighed, “Charles doesn’t even like her. She can’t just live her whole life as Mrs. Logan, can she? Even if she’s married, she still has the right to pursue her happiness.”

Jason was fuming. “You’ve seriously lost your marbles. Maybe you need to get your head checked.”

Finn didn’t let Jason’s anger get to him. He said, “Jason, Hector’s a damn good doctor. He operated on my friend.”

Jason just scoffed, “Why should I care? I’ll never need a guy like him in my life.”

Finn retorted, “Maybe you don’t need him, but plenty of other people do.”

Jason looked surprised for a moment, then just brushed it off. “Not my problem.”

Finn continued, “Do you have any idea how long it takes to make a great doctor? Hector’s already holding his own in surgery, and he’s still young. Ever think about how many people he could help?”

Jason cut him off, clearly annoyed, “Finn, give it a rest. Who are you to lecture me?”

Not far away, Charles was hanging out with Naomi and Yolanda, hunting for starfish and crabs. The sound of their argument was drowned out by the waves crashing against the shore.

Jason and Finn were really going at it, their faces red with anger, almost ready to throw down.

Finally, seeing he wasn’t getting through to Jason, Finn stormed out of the hotel.

But just as Finn stepped out of the hotel, he nearly collided with Teresa, who was getting out of a cab.

Teresa looked up and saw Finn. She knew she’d found the right spot and couldn’t help but smile a little.

Finn stared at her, puzzled. “Teresa? What brings you here?”

Teresa used to always show up suddenly around them. But she hadn’t done that in ages.

Finn figured she’d finally stopped hanging onto Charles, but clearly, some habits are just impossible to break.