After checking out, Katherine and Hector went to a restaurant in the mall. There weren’t a lot of people
there even at lunchtime. It was a Thai place, the kind of restaurant that Hector seemed to frequent.
Katherine didn’t know much about the cuisines when ordering, so Hector provided a detailed
explanation for each item on the menu.
Katherine laughed and asked, “Did you ever feel kinda bad during important holidays, back when you
were living overseas?”
That made Hector pause. “It was okay. I lived with the Bennetts for a while and found it restricting.
That’s why I went abroad. There, away from the Bennetts’ way of life, I did feel a bit lonely, but also
freer.”
Katherine tilted her head to stare at Hector, a thought on her mind. “Why didn’t you get yourself a
girlfriend during all this time then? Life might have been relatively easier if you had company.”
Hector watched her for a few seconds before he looked away. “Thought about it. But then I decided
against it.”
Hector had his concerns. He shouldn’t start a relationship with anyone willy-nilly. At the end of the day,
a couple would have to plan for the future. He would need to explain to his significant other everything
about his life, and he was actually a little scared of doing this. His identity was something he could
never ignore, and his life at the Bennett household wasn’t exactly easy. He really shouldn’t drag
someone else into the abyss because of his supposed loneliness.
But all this, Hector couldn’t say.
Watching him, Katherine grinned suddenly. “But you’re a good-looking dude, and a good singer, too. So
I’m guessing there’s no shortage of girls throwing themselves at you, right?”
It was the same with Marshall. His good looks were enough to attract plenty of people – Clara
Henderson, for example, who came onto him despite knowing that he was married. Someone like
Hector would captivate even more hearts, Katherine thought.
Hector laughed, his voice deep. “On the contrary. You ought to know that most girls are pragmatically
minded, too.”
With neither permanent housing nor a fancy job, Hector couldn’t provide the so-called “security” in
order to attract lots of women. The only handful of girls who liked him were too young to understand the
hard reality of life. Thus, Hector wasn’t interested in them, as he didn’t want to feel like he was messing
around with kids.
As food began to be served, Katherine changed the subject, spoon in hand, and talked about Hector’s
job at Bennett & Co.
“I understand little about it, as I’m still new to the job.” Hector told her. “I’m feeling extremely insecure,
even if the title of VP is just that – only a title. But Mr. D, another VP at the company, is a good guy, and
has taught me a lot, even the little things.”
“Do you think your colleagues know about the whole situation with your family?” Katherine asked,
blinking.
Hector considered for a while, and answered, “I don’t think they know the whole deal. They probably
think I share a mother with David.”
With Kevin Bennett’s wife AND his mistress, nobody would suspect the existence of yet another side
chick, with whom Kevin even had a child.
Katherine felt a bit more assured after that. “If they assume you have David’s backing, you can
probably breathe a little easier at work.”
Curious, Katherine then asked, “Does David get along with Patrick and Alexis? I should think not.”
Hector chuckled at the question. Patrick and Alexis were scared of David, actually. Ariel, the mother of
the two young Bennetts, apparently used some pretty unseemly tricks in order to marry Kevin, who
raised some serious hell in front of the entire family around that time. And David knew everything about
everything. Therefore, Patrick and Alexis always got kind of embarrassed whenever David was around,
the same way a court mistress would feel in front of the Queen. And after spending time with them for a
couple of days, Hector could already tell that even Ariel would behave quite carefully in David’s
presence. At the Bennett household, David carried practically the same weight as Kevin.
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