Chapter 42 Chapter 42 The next day , after her shift ended at noon , Teresa headed to a nearby restaurant . She was used to being by herself ; she always did things on her own . As soon as she walked in , a waiter greeted her . " Table for one , Miss ? " Teresa nodded . " A seat by the window , please . " As soon as she finished speaking , Teresa turned her head toward the window seats - and to her surprise , she saw the dean , Paul , standing up from a table by the window . There was someone else sitting at that table . Even from just his back , Teresa instantly recognized him - it was Hector . Whatever the two of them had been talking about , Paul left without even the slightest hint of a smile on his face . Teresa didn't greet Paul . She kept herself hidden , waiting until he'd left through the door before pointing to Hector's table . " I'll sit there . " With that , she walked straight over to Hector . After sitting down across from Hector , Teresa noticed he seemed lost in thought . A pang of guilt hit her , and she quietly asked , " What's on your mind ? " ' He looks so out of it , ' Teresa thought to herself . Hector snapped back to reality and finally realized Teresa was sitting across from him . He smiled and said , " Hey , what brings you here ? " Seeing Hector still smiling at her made Teresa feel even more conflicted . She lowered her eyes and mumbled , " I saw you here , so I came over . " Hector slid the menu over to her . " Go ahead and order whatever you like - lunch is on me . " Teresa took the menu but didn't bother to order anything yet . She looked at Hector , hesitated for quite a while , and finally asked , " So , what are you planning to do next ? " Hector could tell Teresa was still worried about him . He shrugged , putting on a relaxed front . " No big plans . Just treating it like a little vacation . " Teresa kept her eyes on Hector , her gaze full of complicated feelings . Seeing her like this , Hector smiled gently . " Really , Teresa , don't worry about it ." Teresa's heart ached . ' If it really didn't matter , then why would he go see Mr. Reed again ? ' he wondered . She knew Hector was keeping her in the dark just so she wouldn't worry . Even now , Hector was still putting her first . Her eyes were red as Teresa looked at Hector , her voice thick with guilt . " I'm sorry . " This whole thing started because of her . She knew she'd wronged Hector . Hector looked confused and chuckled , " Why are you apologizing to me ? " Teresa looked up at him , her eyes red and tearful . " I'm just bad luck . You should stay away from me from now on . " She knew that if Hector hadn't gotten involved with her again , none of this would have happened to him . He'd spent years working so hard to get where he was , and now , just because of a few words from Charles , his whole life came crashing down . Teresa knew better than anyone how hard it was to study medicine , but under Charles's pressure , she felt completely powerless . Hector frowned , clearly a little upset with Teresa . But she didn't care if he was angry . She set a bank card on the table . There's no password on it . Im sorry for everything . Once I walk out that door , let's not see each other again " She had no idea how far Charles would go . but alw figured it might be safer if she and Hector kept their distance . Leaving the curd behind . Tervsa rushed out of the restaurant as if she were llecin Hoctor was still in a daze . By the time he tried to a ver be . Terex had already disappeared , 12 Chapter 42 Jason just shrugged . " It's nothing , Naomi ." Naomi didn't press the issue . She turned to Teresa and asked , " Ms. Sullivan , want to have lunch together ? " Teresa looked at the smile on Naomi's face and felt nothing but disgust . " Drop the act . I don't need your fake concern , and I have no interest in hanging around with petty people like you . " Jason bristled at Teresa's attitude . " Is that any way to talk to Naomi ? " Naomi stepped in front of Jason and said , " Jason , it's fine . Charles is on his way . Don't stir up trouble . " Hearing that , Jason finally backed off . Teresa thought the whole thing was just ridiculous , but she didn't say a word . She simply turned around and walked away . As she hurried out of the restaurant , she missed a step and stumbled off the edge of the stairs . But right then , someone reached out and steadied her . " Hey , are you alright ? " 시 田