The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 273

What exactly had he done back then?!

That night, he hadn't just ruined her reputation and her pride. He had annihilated a brilliant, promising athletic career!

It was everything she had fought for over the past ten years.

The sickest irony of it all was... he had spent all those years believing *he* was the victim of that night.

Heh. For the first time in his life, Garrison felt a crushing sense of absurdity and absolute powerlessness.

Dr. Yates stood in line behind the younger athletes. He wore a dark casual blazer with a small white flower pinned to the lapel, his eyes rimmed red since the service began. He stepped up to the altar and stopped. In his hand was a single white daisy, its slender petals curled slightly, dew still clinging to its stem.

He placed the flower next to the trophies, straightened up, and stared at Sloane's picture for a long time.

Then, he pulled something out of his pocket—a small plush cat. It was no bigger than his palm, a fluffy tortoiseshell kitten, undeniably cute and inviting to the touch.

He placed the kitten carefully on the altar, right beside the daisy.

"Dr. Foster," he gave a slight, respectful bow in Garrison's direction, his voice thick with emotion. "Forgive my presumption in bringing this toy for Ms. Taylor. It's just... she seemed to really love cats."

Dr. Yates turned his gaze back to the smiling photograph, as if recalling a fond memory, and spoke softly.

"Ms. Taylor always came in for her appointments alone. Because my schedule was often backed up, she always ended up waiting in the hospital garden for quite a while. During that time, she loved sitting with this one little stray cat. That cat... was usually terrified of people, but it never seemed afraid of her. It loved her. It would just lie quietly by her side."

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