Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 156

Jonathan's act of voluntarily giving her his private assets struck Stephanie as very strange.

It couldn't be out of love. They had a flash marriage with no emotional foundation.

As for the real reason, Stephanie was still unsure.

Jonathan had another meeting to attend.

Stephanie left first.

If all went as planned, Jonathan would make his move on Meridian Consortium after the weekend.

Jonathan had arranged for a driver to take Stephanie home, but fearing he might need the car for work, she decided to take a cab instead.

...

Tobias somehow got wind of the news and called Jonathan.

"Jonathan, I heard you gave all your personal assets to Stephanie. What are you doing? Getting married and giving away half your life's fortune?"

Jonathan didn't trust his company's legal department, so he had hired an outside lawyer to draft the contract.

That lawyer happened to be the son of the Sanders family's butler, a connection Tobias had provided.

"It's my wedding gift to her. She deserves it."

"What if Stephanie runs off with all your money?"

"She's not that kind of person."

Tobias slowly pieced it together. "Holy crap, Jonathan, you're playing the guilt trip card, aren't you?"

"Are you afraid that... one day, Stephanie and Quennel will rekindle their old flame?"

"You're tying her down with these assets, making it impossible for her to escape. If Stephanie has any conscience at all, she could never run away with the money and leave you behind."

That was Jonathan for you.

With the wife in hand, why worry about the money?

Both the wife and the fortune were his.

Jonathan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window as the city lights began to twinkle, casting a soft glow on his face.

Stephanie even used Joseph in an act to spite him, which only fueled Quennel's anger.

She had found a man who was inferior to him in every way, someone who couldn't even find a job. It was an insult to him, and an insult to herself!

Frankly, he had kept Victoria around partly out of spite, wanting to see Stephanie back down and show some weakness. But this time, things had gotten out of hand and spiraled beyond his control.

"At the team-building event, Joseph publicly called himself your husband. Did you ever consider my feelings? That's why Victoria and I went along with our plan. Stephanie, you're at least half responsible for this! You can't deny that!"

Hearing this, Stephanie found it laughable. "You're right, it's my fault. Quennel, my biggest mistake was ever loving you!"

A perfectly good young man had suddenly gone rotten and was now shifting the blame onto her.

Stephanie found it ironic. She was the one who had been hurt, yet she was being accused.

Stephanie pushed him away with all her might and turned to leave, but Quennel blocked her path again.

"Nothing happened between me and Victoria! I never touched her!"

"Stephanie, my body and soul belong to you. I don't want to fight anymore! Let's just put this behind us and go back to how things were!"

Go back to how things were? But some things, once broken, can't be fixed. Could they really go back?