The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 416

Sloane Sutton?

Josh Jace watched the retreating figure, a strange sensation washing over him. It felt like someone had just plucked a dormant string in his chest.

It was a hazy, inexplicable sense of familiarity. Like a forgotten memory from a lifetime ago—so old he couldn't pinpoint the time or place—where he had stood just like this, watching someone walk away.

A late summer breeze ruffled his hair. Josh reached up, brushing a stray lock from his forehead, and continued on his way.

He walked down the long corridor of the administration building, stopping at the very last door. A brass plaque read: "Office of the President." He knocked.

"Come in."

Behind the large oak desk sat a woman in her early fifties. She wore a simple knit cardigan, her short, naturally wavy black hair threaded with elegant streaks of silver.

She was looking over a document but glanced up as the door opened, revealing a kind, round face and a pair of delicate reading glasses. She didn't look like a high-powered university president; she looked more like a warm high school English teacher months away from retirement.

This was Mildred Fairfax, President of Riverdale University.

"Take a seat." She pulled off her glasses, setting them on the paperwork, and gestured to the chair opposite her.

Josh bowed slightly in thanks and sat down.

Mildred opened her drawer, pulled out a crimson-covered offer letter, and slid it across the desk to him.

"Congratulations. Welcome to the Riverdale University faculty."

Her voice was measured and steady, tinged with a soft southern accent, yet every syllable was crisp. "I've reviewed your file. It's exceptional. Getting your doctorate this young and passing three rounds of rigorous interviews is no small feat. Keep up the good work, and if you ever need anything, my door is open."

Josh took the letter with both hands, his expression solemn. "Thank you, President Fairfax."

*

Sloane's days had fallen into a simple, rhythmic routine.

Every morning, she left her apartment at Emerald Grove, rode the bus two stops to campus, and sat in the Business building classrooms from dawn until dusk.

Business administration wasn't her first choice—she had originally wanted to study psychology—but she had long stopped mourning over things like that.

Just being able to sit in a classroom again, to open a textbook in the bright daylight, felt like an absolute luxury. Like stolen time.

She took meticulous notes during lectures, color-coding every page with highlighters.

It had been a long time since she was in school. She had forgotten a lot of the basics, and the theories had evolved. She knew she had to work twice as hard as the other students just to catch up.