As they walked down the corridor, Roger’s voice cut through the tense silence, sharp and accusing. “Why is Weston here?”
Stella’s face immediately dropped, a flicker of uncertainty passing through her eyes. “I don’t know.”
Roger’s gaze turned more intense. “Do you really not know, or are you pretending you don’t?”
His words were like a jolt, and Stella’s heart skipped. “I didn’t go see him!” she replied, her tone defensive, perhaps a bit too much. The sharpness in her voice caught her off guard, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.
Seeing his surprised expression, she realized she had snapped. With a calmness that didn’t quite match her inner turmoil, she said, “Let’s just get lunch.”
Roger, though clearly still bothered, didn’t push further. He fell silent, his irritation slowly simmering down.
But as they walked side by side, there was an unspoken distance between them, a quiet tension neither of them could ignore. He didn’t know when it had started, but somehow, an invisible barrier had formed—one he couldn’t cross, not anymore.
Back in the office, Weston stood up and glanced at the person in charge, his demeanor still cool and collected. The man, sensing the change in the atmosphere, immediately asked, “Mr. Ford, would you like to go somewhere else?”
Weston shook his head and glanced at the clock. “No, actually. I’d like to take a look at your cafeteria.”
The person in charge blinked, clearly caught off guard by the request. After a brief pause, he quickly recovered and smiled. “We’ve arranged for you to dine at a hotel, Mr. Ford.”
Weston’s gaze remained steady. “Do the students usually eat in hotels?”
The man hesitated, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. “Of course not. They eat at the cafeteria!” he stammered, now understanding what Weston meant. “Right, of course. Let’s go have a look at the cafeteria.”
With that, Weston turned and walked toward the door, the man following him closely.
Meanwhile, as Stella and Roger made their way to the cafeteria, Weston’s voice suddenly interrupted the quiet. “Which cafeteria are they heading to?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he watched them.
The person in charge, flustered, quickly replied, “It’s the one closest to the Computer Science faculty. Would you like to head there, Mr. Ford?”
Weston nodded. “Sure.”
With Weston following them, the man had no choice but to trail along behind. Meanwhile, Justin, who had wanted to follow, remained behind in the office. His distrust of Weston around Stella kept him rooted in place, but Jack’s lingering presence made him hesitant to leave just yet.
As Stella stood in line, collecting her food, she noticed Weston had followed them into the cafeteria. Her stomach tightened with unease, and she felt Roger’s glare before she even turned to look at him.
His face had darkened, his features hardening as he sat down beside her. “He’s here for you,” Roger muttered, his voice tight with frustration.
Stella felt a wave of panic surge within her. What did Weston want? She glanced quickly at Roger, then back at Weston, who had yet to break his intense gaze from her.
Roger’s voice was laced with anger. “What does he want with you?”
Stella, caught off guard by the sudden intensity of his words, found herself at a loss. Why was Weston here? Was he trying to check up on her? Had he come because he suspected something?
Her grip on the chopsticks tightened, the wood creaking slightly under the pressure. She had to stop herself from fidgeting, trying to keep her composure. Thank God she had decided to come to the university today—if she hadn’t, she might have ended up cornered by Weston if he had suddenly called for a meeting.
Although Roger had been against her little “performance,” his concerns now seemed secondary. He wasn’t wrong—if Weston had made up his mind about something, there was no way she would have gotten out of it. He would have locked her away and kept her under his watch without a second thought.
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