The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 156

Early morning veiled the Foster Estate in a delicate mist.

The June pomegranate blossoms were in full bloom, their vibrant red petals heavy with dew, catching fractured glints of the rising sun. A few sparrows hopped between the branches, their cheerful chirping making the secluded grounds feel all the more peaceful.

Inside the master bedroom, Garrison crouched on the floor, shoving a heavy-duty parka into his suitcase.

The door swung open.

Rosemary stood in the doorway, draped in an emerald silk robe, her hair impeccably styled. Her eyes darted from the overstuffed suitcase to a brand-new pair of snow goggles resting on the bed.

"Where are you going?"

Garrison straightened up and met her gaze.

"A business trip," he replied evenly. "It'll be a month or two."

Rosemary didn't say a word. She stepped into the room, walked up to the suitcase, and peered down. Down jackets, snow goggles, thermal gloves, high-altitude climbing boots—none of this was standard corporate travel gear.

She looked up at her son.

"You're going to Antarctica." It wasn't a question.

Garrison didn't deny it.

"To find her?" Rosemary's voice turned icy. "Garrison, do you need a reminder that you two are divorced?"

Her?

Garrison's jaw tightened. She had a name, yet he couldn't remember a single instance where his mother had actually used it.

"Garrison, I don't blame you. After all, you grew up treating each other as siblings in name. But things are different now. You're a divorced man..."

"You know I raised Quinn as if she were my own flesh and blood. I wanted to marry her off to a good family, but... her heart has always belonged to you. She waited twelve long years for you! All these years, she never demanded anything, never fought for attention. She just quietly stayed by your side, taking care of Archie, taking care of this household... It breaks my heart, it really does!"

"Besides, she's highly educated, sweet-tempered, and exceptionally beautiful. She's one in a million. Every single person in the Foster family sees how devoted she is to you. Even outsiders tear up when they talk about her dedication... Does none of that move you at all?!"

Garrison didn't respond. For a split second, his mind forcefully drifted to Sloane...

Sloane's mother had died when she was just ten years old. But she never got a loving adoptive mother. She never had a single person willing to stand up and protect her.

Instead... she was surrounded by vultures and predators, people desperate to strip her to the bone and devour whatever was left.

Over the years, was there ever a moment where she had looked at Quinn and felt a pang of crushing envy?