Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 287

The next morning, Stephanie woke up with a dull ache in her lower body.

Last night had been wild and unrestrained, and she felt unsteady as she got out of bed.

She opened the bedroom window, and a wave of damp air rushed in.

The rain had stopped sometime in the middle of the night. The dark green leaves of the trees were still dripping, and the ground was wet.

She instinctively reached out to catch a drop of water falling from the eaves. On her fair wrist was a faint bite mark, already starting to fade.

Last night, Jonathan had kissed every inch of her skin, leaving his marks.

In retaliation, she had left plenty on him as well.

The memory alone was enough to make her blush.

Noticing the time, Stephanie was about to get ready for work when her phone rang. It was Ternence.

Stephanie paused.

She guessed that Ternence must have heard about Quennel's injury and was calling to ask what had happened.

She cleared her throat. “Mr. Gonzalez.”

“Stephanie, why did Quennel collapse?”

Stephanie frowned. “Collapse?”

He had been fine when she and Jonathan left the hospital last night.

Had something else happened?

“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly.

“Hobart said Quennel was out in the rain at The Obsidian Circle all night. You live there, don’t you? You didn’t know? Wasn’t he there to see you?” Wilma's voice came through the phone, tinged with accusation.

“I’m married now,” Stephanie said gently. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to see him. Besides, I don’t want to end up in the headlines with Quennel again. Please try to understand.”

She had just been called back to the Vasquez estate a few days ago. York might believe it was a misunderstanding once, but if it happened again, the Vasquez family was bound to have other ideas.

After she hung up, the Gonzalezes looked at each other.

Wilma, heartbroken for her son, dabbed at her teary eyes. “Stephanie is so heartless. She lived with us for so many years and grew up with Quennel. He’s injured! She could at least come visit him as a family.”

Ternence was more rational. “If you don't make a clean break, you'll only suffer more later. It’s better that she doesn’t come. It might help Quennel wake up and realize that it’s impossible between them now.”

“You can’t say that. Didn’t you hear what Hobart said? If Quennel hadn’t pushed Stephanie out of the way yesterday, he wouldn’t have been hurt so badly. Our son was injured for her. Isn’t this just ungrateful?”

Ternence fell silent.

Wilma grew more agitated as she spoke. “I’ve been wanting to say this for a while. It’s true our son cheated, and that was wrong. But he worked diligently at Meridian Consortium all these years, even more so than at our own company.”