Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 196

He felt that if he stayed here any longer, he would suffer internal injuries from pure rage.

Quennel put down his silverware and shot to his feet with a loud scrape of his chair. “Stephanie and I are not siblings! And I’m not your brother-in-law! Jonathan, Stephanie and I are the ones who belong together. We’re childhood sweethearts, and you tore us apart! Stop the act!”

The room fell silent.

The family had been maintaining a fragile peace at the dinner table, each with their own thoughts, but Quennel’s outburst was like a thunderclap shattering the calm.

“Is that so?” Jonathan casually draped an arm around Stephanie’s shoulder. “So you’re aware you were childhood sweethearts. Then why did you cheat on her and hurt her?”

“Victoria and I are nothing! We ended it long ago!”

“‘Ended it’? So that means there was something to begin with?”

“Jonathan, don’t twist my words!”

Compared to Quennel’s fury, Jonathan was perfectly calm.

His gaze was cold, clearly dismissive of Quennel. The look he gave him was one of pure disdain.

Only losers resorted to shouting and making empty threats. In the end, Quennel was a complete and utter loser.

Ternence’s face was stern as he reprimanded his son. “Quennel, shut your mouth!”

Quennel had always been polite and sensible, but now he had lost all reason, repeatedly giving his opponent ammunition.

Ternence was deeply disappointed in the heir he had so carefully groomed.

Although Ternence had wanted Stephanie as a daughter-in-law, she was now legally married to Jonathan. For Quennel to continue pursuing her was not only wrong, but also undignified.

After the scene Victoria had caused at the Yates family’s anniversary party two days ago, everyone knew he and Stephanie had broken up because he had cheated with some classless woman.

The scandal was already public. If Quennel kept making a scene, he would only become a laughingstock.

For top-tier families, reputation was everything.

Now that Stephanie had remarried, her actions were perfectly reasonable.

Quennel was shocked. “Dad! Why are you taking an outsider’s side!”

“Let go!”

…

As he watched them leave, Quennel’s face was a mask of bitterness. “Dad, why didn’t you help me keep Stephanie here?”

“They’re legally married. Don’t you understand? What will this look like if you keep it up? Quennel, you’re the one who lost her. Who can you blame now? Do you want to be the other man?”

“If it means getting Stephanie back to my side, what’s wrong with being the other man?”

Slap!

Ternence’s hand struck Quennel’s face.

Quennel stared in disbelief. “Dad, you hit me?”

“I’m trying to knock some sense into you! Before you lose your mind completely! Do you know who you are? How could you say something like that? If anyone heard you, you would drag all of Verdant Grove Capital down with you!”

It wasn't an empty threat. In this day and age, public opinion was everything. If word got out that the heir of Verdant Grove Capital was willing to be a homewrecker, their family’s reputation would be in tatters.