Chapter 32
Chapter 32
On the weekend, Hector swung by Sullivan Mansion to pick up Teresa, and they attended a lecture at the medical school together.
They showed up five minutes early, but the best seats were already taken, so they ended up sitting in the very front row.
Teresa wasn’t one of Cedric’s students. She couldn’t help feeling a little guilty and nervous.
As soon as Hector walked in, folks near him waved and said hi to him. Some of them looked curious about Teresa, but Hector just gave a small smile, not bothering to explain.
idn’t like
Cedric was old and didn’t like noises, especially when class was about to start. Hector did want to reply, but he just didn’t want to cause a stir.
In Cedric’s class, even Hector had to play by the rules.
When the clock hit the hour, Cedric walked in–cup in hand, a stack of files tucked under his arm. He wore a jacket, with glasses perched on his nose.
He had a very different teaching style–no slides or textbook reading.
He set the attendance sheet down on the podium, pushed his glasses up, and slowly scanned the room.
His eyes landed on Hector, and then on Teresa sitting next to him.
Cedric was about to ask something when a soft voice came from the door. “Excused me, Professor Judd.”
Every head in the room turned toward Naomi, standing at the door.
She was late–Cedric’s least favorite thing.
Cedric stared at Naomi for a moment, clearly not planning to let her in, or trying to waste words scolding her.
His rules had been laid out the very first day, and he wasn’t about to repeat himself.
But then, Charles appeared behind her, his hands shoved in his pockets, looking relaxed, except for that quiet, unspoken pressure in his gaze.
Cedric could ignore Naomi, but he couldn’t do the same to Charles.
The medical school owed a lot to Cedric for teaching, but it was Charles’s money that kept the labs running.
Still, seeing Charles step in to cover for Naomi put Cedric in a mood.
But for the school’s sake, Cedric swallowed it and said, “Come in.”
Naomi gave a polite nod, smiling, “Thanks, Professor Judd.”
Then she reached back, grabbed Charles’s hand, and walked in with him.
The back row was full–only the front seats were left. Naomi spotted Hector and headed straight over, but when she noticed Teresa sitting there, she froze for a beat, her eyes full of surprise and confusion.
Charles saw Teresa too, and right next to Hector Jason’s words popped into Charles’s head.
Could Teresa really be cheating? Charles thought.
But before he could stew on it. Naomi tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “Hey, sit down.”
Charles glanced up at Cedric, noticed the sour look on his face, and finally took a seat.
Cedric was still annoyed However, had no choice but to move on with the lecture.
Finally. Nauji sat next to Heater, while Teresa and Chales ended up on either side.
Teresa didn’t care about Charles or acut She was focused on Cedric’s lecture, jotting down notes from time to time
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Chapter 32
She figured maybe she wouldn’t need this stuff, but learning more never hurt.
Hector and Naomi weren’t exactly close, and ever since he found out Charles was Teresa’s husband, Hector had grown some aversion to Naomi.
So when Naomi sat down beside Hector, he didn’t even bother with a smile.
Under the desk, Charles was on his phone assigning work to his men. Naomi, however, was paying attention to class.
Teresa’s gaze followed Cedric as he moved around the room.
When Cedric stopped by Charles’s side, Teresa accidentally caught sight of Charles.
She scoffed inwardly, ‘See? He’s not actually so busy as he always said. He even got time to attend the lecture with Naomi. Work was just
his excuse.
She let out a bitter smile and went back to her notes.
Near the end of the lecture, Cedric took a sip of water, then scanned the students below the podium. He said, “Next, I’m gonna call on someone to answer this. If a patient has both a surgical contraindication, like severe clotting issues, and a life–threatening acute abdomen, how should we build a risk stratification model? Give me a decision process for different situations. You’ve got three minutes to talk it over.”
As soon as he finished, the whole room lit up with chatter.
Charles wasn’t a medical student, so Naomi instantly turned to Hector. “Hector, let’s work on it together.”
Hector didn’t even look at her. He just turned toward Teresa and started discussing with her instead.
Naomi froze for a beat, her smile fading right from her face.
Teresa caught the scene. Seeing Hector stick with her and refuse Naomi made Teresa feel genuinely grateful.
When it came to relationships, it would take two to tango, but Naomi was far from innocent.
She became a homewrecker even when she knew Charles had a wife and daughter. Thus, Teresa never saw Naomi as a good person.
So during the whole three–minute discussion, Naomi was the only one without a partner.
Picking up on her discomfort right away, Charles leaned closer and asked, “Wanna leave now?”
Naomi shook her head, her eyes already shimmering with tears.
Under the table, Charles took Naomi’s hand and gave it a small pat, like he was saying “It’s no big deal“.
Just then, Cedric tapped the table to signal time was up.
The students stopped discussing, and the room instantly went quiet.
Cedric’s gaze scanned the room before finally landing on Teresa. He spoke up, “I don’t remember seeing you before. Why don’t you try this question?”
The second she saw Cedric point his finger toward her, Teresa felt her stomach drop.
She hadn’t even gone to grad school, and here she was in a PhD–level class. Of course she was nervous,
But Cedric’s commanding presence left no room for hesitation, so Teresa finally pushed herself to her feet
“What’s your name?” Cedric asked
Teresa was to nervous that her palins were sweating
She slammered Tm. Intera
Cedric frowned and tipped through the attendance. “No Teresa out the sheet
lectus spoke up. “Professur Judd i brought Teresa here. Sla’s a big fan of yours. She’s been wanting to hear one of your textures forever”
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Chapter 32
Cedric shut the sheet with a snap and shot Hector a look, his tone edged with annoyance. “I never said you could just bring whoever you want to my lectures.”
He wasn’t just talking to Hector–he was taking a dig at Naomi too.
He hated to see outsiders show up at his lectures.
Hector knew Cedric was angry, so he kept quiet.
Teresa knew she broke the rules, but this was such a good learning opportunity for her. Thus, she took a breath and dove into her answer on Cedric’s question.
Her answer was detailed—covering almost every possibility, weighing different types of acute abdomen against various risk levels, and matching each to the right approach.
Cedric’s face was ice–cold, but as she went on, a smile crept back in.
Hector caught the change on Cedric’s face and flashed Teressa a thumbs–up under the desk.
When she finished, the room broke out in applause.
Naomi didn’t clap. She just stared at Teresa, stunned.
Some of the points Teresa brought up hadn’t even crossed Naomi’s mind, yet Teresa had nailed them.
Charles was just as surprised to find that Teresa actually excelled in her professional field.
For the first time, he thought she looked radiant.
Charles wasn’t a professional in medicine, but her reasoning was so clear that he could follow it.
And the spark of approval in Cedric’s eyes confirmed that she crushed it..
When the clapping died down, Cedric gave her an approving nod before motioning her back to her seat.