Next Man Better Plan novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Victoria spoke up then. “We’re all on the same project team, which means we share responsibility. The experiments are done in pairs, and Stephanie and Serena were partners.”

Victoria looked at Troy with a gentle, harmless smile.

“If Serena had to step away for an emergency, it was Stephanie’s duty to keep an eye on things for her. Besides, isn’t everyone saying Stephanie is about to be promoted to assistant director? And Mr. Cooper, you’ve always been the one who puts in the most effort for the team. We all appreciate everything you do.”

Serena realized Victoria was defending her and shot her a grateful look.

Victoria returned a friendly smile. Her words had also subtly flattered Troy by praising his dedication.

As expected, Troy let the matter drop.

Stephanie watched Victoria’s smooth, diplomatic performance and thought to herself that the simple, earnest girl who had once begged for sponsorship to attend school was long

gone.

The Victoria of today had lost her former innocence and naivety; her eyes now held the cunning and worldliness of someone tainted by society.

Stephanie shook her head. It was her own fault for misjudging her.

Sponsoring Victoria had been an act of kindness. At the time, her father and two brothers had just passed away, and Stephanie had been taken in by the Gonzalez family.

Reflecting on her own situation, she felt a sense of pity for the orphaned Victoria and decided to sponsor her on a whim.

They were the same age. In the beginning, Victoria was thrilled to receive the sponsorship and corresponded with Stephanie by letter, writing frequently to express her gratitude.

Stephanie would encourage Victoria to study hard in her replies. Although they had never met in person, Stephanie already considered Victoria a friend.

Later, Victoria was accepted into the same university, and she logically enrolled in the same major as Stephanie. They finally went from being “pen pals” to meeting in person, though Stephanie was a year ahead of her.

At first, Victoria just admired a dress in Stephanie’s closet, and Stephanie gave it to her without a second thought.

Then it was her handbags and her jewelry. Stephanie never cared much for material possessions, and since Victoria had nothing, she was happy to give them to her.

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Chapter 43

She treated Victoria like a doll she could dress up, enjoying watching her transform. But as it turned out, human greed is endless.

She never thought Victoria would end up stealing her man, too.

Victoria had always known Stephanie had a childhood sweetheart, but Stephanie was very low-key at school and never had Quennel pick her up.

But one day, on Quennel’s birthday, Stephanie was kept late in the lab by her advisor, her phone turned off as required.

Unable to reach her, Quennel came to wait outside the university gates. When Stephanie saw him from a distance, she pointed him out to Victoria, saying that was her boyfriend.

From that moment, Victoria’s eyes never left Quennel.

But Quennel was exceptionally handsome and always turned heads wherever he went, so Stephanie didn’t think anything of it.

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