The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 583

"Garrison, let the past stay in the past. Okay?"

Those words completely wrecked him.

He had imagined a million different outcomes, but he had never expected this. Sloane finally knew the devastating truth; she had every right to despise him. Yet, she had chosen to cast her hatred aside just to comfort him.

He tightened his grip around her, pulling her flush against his chest. His voice was thick with emotion. "Do you... really mean that?"

"Yeah."

He buried his face in her locks, letting his scalding tears seep silently into her hair.

His voice quivered. It was as if six years of unspoken words were spilling out all at once, an avalanche he was powerless to stop.

"I'm so sorry, Sloane. I'm so sorry, my beautiful wife... I lost you for so, so long."

He choked on a sob, the agonizing ache of the past half-decade heavy in his throat. "Do you have any idea how much I regret everything? Do you know... how deeply I've missed you?"

Sloane remained quiet in his embrace for a moment before speaking. Her tone was airy, layered with a profound sense of relief. "I still haven't forgiven you, you know."

"I know, I know..."

"I don't expect your forgiveness. I don't even expect things to go back to the way they were..."

He finally voiced the question he had kept locked in his heart for six long years. "But, could you... give me one more chance?"

"Let me try to win you back."

Garrison lifted his head. Gripping her by the shoulders, he looked directly into her eyes.

Teardrops still clung to his eyelashes. A tempest of complex emotions swirled in those amber depths: guilt, remorse, sheer relief, endless gratitude, and a fierce, undying love that he could finally express openly after years of repression.

"I love you, Sloane."

"I want to give you the rest of my life."