Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 54

His eyes were filled with fatherly concern. "Stephanie, where are you living now?"

Ternence always felt a sense of guilt toward Stephanie. After all, he was the reason she'd lost her home years ago.

Even now, Ternence found it hard to believe that Stephanie was truly breaking up with Quennel. They had grown up together and shared such a long history.

The villa was a joint development by Verdant Grove Capital and several other developers. Ternence had already received several calls from friends asking what was going on and why the house was suddenly for sale.

Ternence had been wanting to find a chance to talk to Stephanie alone.

Stephanie didn't tell Ternence she had rushed into a marriage with a complete stranger. Instead, she said, "Mr. Gonzalez, Quennel and I are really over. I thought I'd be heartbroken after leaving him, but now, I actually feel a sense of relief. Maybe he wasn't the right person for me, and we were only bound together by an engagement."

Stephanie admitted she had once loved Quennel, loved him with all her heart.

But the boy she knew had changed for the worse, and she saw no reason to keep wasting her energy on him.

Ternence had been very good to her over the years, which was why she was being so open with him. If it had been Wilma sitting in front of her, she wouldn't have been nearly as forthcoming.

Ternence frowned. "Tell me, what exactly has he done to wrong you?"

Stephanie remained silent.

She didn't want to list all the ways Quennel had disappointed her; it would make her sound like a bitter, complaining woman. Nor did she want to relive those unpleasant memories.

"Stephanie, in my heart, you're like my own daughter. You've been wronged in this matter, and I will make Quennel compensate you."

Ternence lamented that their engagement had ended this way, blaming himself for not raising Quennel better and allowing him to do something so disgraceful.

"I'm also at fault in this, Stephanie. I've failed your late father. I didn't take good care of you." Speaking of his old friend, Ternence's eyes grew red, filled with guilt.

Stephanie had been cherished by her parents and two brothers in the Jackson family, but in his home, she had been made to suffer.

Stephanie shook her head gently. "Mr. Gonzalez, it's not your fault. Quennel and I just weren't meant to be. As for compensation, I've already asked Quennel for it. I plan to sell him that villa for two hundred million."

Hearing this, Ternence was taken aback for a second, then nodded in agreement. "You did the right thing. He should be the one to pay for it. Don't worry, I won't give him a single cent. This is what he deserves."