The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 453

He heard her voice in that distant hum—not any specific lyric, but the sheer, breathless silence that had fallen over the auditorium the second she started to sing.

Tonight, Sloane was like a diamond wiped clean of dust, standing brilliantly at the center of everyone's attention, absolutely radiant.

This was the life she was always meant to have. Bathed in the spotlight, carried by applause, surrounded by the genuine admiration of countless strangers.

She had always been this extraordinary—from the very first time he saw her at her graduation ten years ago, right up until tonight.

If only she hadn't met him back then. If only she hadn't married him...

If it weren't for his Vitas Strain, or The White Microbe, the trajectory of her life might have been entirely different!

She wouldn't have been trapped in that suffocating cage. She wouldn't have stood in the kitchen heavily pregnant making meals for him, only to be met with his cold indifference. She wouldn't have been forced to beg on her knees to Rosemary Hayes, pleading to get Archie back...

All the suffering she endured ultimately traced back to him.

If this new life—a new name, a new degree, new friends, a new partner—could finally bring her happiness and peace, then he was ready to step out of her life forever.

He was willing to be exactly what he was tonight: sitting in the shadows, quietly watching her shine, and walking away silently when it was over.

He turned the thought over in his mind, holding onto it until he finally felt he had convinced himself.

Then, his wrist vibrated violently.

Garrison glanced down. The health monitoring interface on his smartwatch was flashing a frantic, blinding red.

It was the data transmitting from the ceramic patch secured over Sloane's heart.

He stared at it for three agonizing seconds before confirming it wasn't a glitch—Sloane's heart rate had spiked to 190, and her oxygen saturation had plummeted to 83%. Both numbers were in a terrifying freefall.

Another girl jumped in to save her...

Who else could it be but Sloane?!

Damn it, did she still think she was a championship swimmer? Did she forget every single word he had drilled into her head? Her broken body couldn't handle the water anymore!

Garrison ran faster than he ever had, the rushing wind tearing past his ears like a desperate scream.

*Sloane!*

He didn't even realize he was screaming for his wife in his head.

*You have to hold on!*