Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 87

Victoria was taken aback, surprised that Quennel would still subconsciously defend Stephanie.

She said no more, just lowered her head meekly. In moments, her eyes were as red as a rabbit's.

Quennel pulled out a couple of tissues for her, a gesture that was hardly a comfort.

“Don’t overthink it. She somehow got a video of us kissing that day and sent it to my dad’s phone.”

The kiss that day had been impulsive. Quennel had been provoked by Stephanie and had kissed Victoria in front of everyone.

He guessed Stephanie was furious and had taken all her anger out on Victoria.

In truth, Quennel regretted it. Because of the video, Ternence had taken back all the stocks, bonds, and shares he had been preparing to pass on to him.

“I’ll find time to explain to her that there’s nothing really going on between us, so she’ll stop targeting you like this.”

Quennel couldn't get in touch with Stephanie.

Not only had she blocked him long ago, but she wasn’t even in the country.

Betrayed by both her career and her relationship, Stephanie felt it was time for a change of scenery.

You can’t neglect yourself. She turned off her phone, switched to an international SIM card, and took a direct flight to Aurelia.

She got lucky. On the great plains of Aurelia, Stephanie witnessed a pride of lions hunting a zebra.

One lioness leaped onto the zebra’s back, biting down on its spine, while the alpha male clamped onto the zebra’s neck, delivering the final chokehold.

It was a zebra in the middle of giving birth. The foal was halfway out, and the scent of blood from the birth had attracted nearby predators, sealing the mother zebra’s fate.

Stephanie’s heart pounded.

She watched as the unborn foal was devoured by the lions, struck by how fragile life was.

The girl sitting next to her in the jeep started crying.

The local guide said, “Wild zebras are overpopulated, while the lion population is decreasing every year. This is just nature’s way of survival of the fittest. If the lions don’t eat the zebras, they’ll die soon enough anyway.”

…

It was half a month later when she landed back in the country. Stephanie turned on her domestic phone, and in an instant, a flood of messages poured in.

It was so overwhelming that her phone froze and shut down. She decided to ignore it for now and deal with it after she’d recovered from her jet lag.

During her trip, she had completely disconnected from the outside world, only contacting Cecilia and Steven.

She mainly wanted to follow up on the divorce proceedings and get the paperwork finalized as soon as possible.

But Steven’s reply was always the same: “Mr. Vasquez is still away on business.”

For a domestic abuser, he certainly seemed busy.

She slept until the afternoon. Lying in bed, Stephanie felt disoriented for a while before deciding to go downstairs for something to eat.

After taking a couple of steps, she realized something was off. It seemed there was someone else in the house besides her.