The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 65

"Are you okay?"

The next second, Sloane looked up in shock, her face inches from Josh's sharp jawline. The young man's brow was slightly furrowed, his breathing a bit rapid, but the arm wrapped around her was rock-solid, locking her in a fiercely protective embrace.

"I'm fine. What about you, Josh? Are you hurt?" Sloane asked, her heart racing.

"I'm not. Don't worry," he reassured her.

The banquet hall plunged into dead silence as everyone turned to stare.

Lydia's face went completely pale. She waved her hands frantically. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I just slipped..."

Josh slowly released Sloane. He quickly checked her over to ensure she was unhurt before turning his attention to a panicked Lydia. His face was devoid of emotion, but his eyes were as sharp as a scalpel.

"You and I both know whether it was on purpose," he said, his voice low but dripping with icy precision. "This is a formal event. You should be more careful. If you end up hurting someone or ruining something important, you won't be able to talk your way out of it."

Lydia's face flushed crimson, then turned a sickly white, her lips trembling as she failed to form a coherent sentence.

Standing a short distance away, Garrison watched the entire scene unfold. In that split second of chaos, he had moved to rush forward, but the moment he took a step, that quiet, brooding young man had beaten him to it, pulling his own wife firmly into his arms.

He had been forced to watch helplessly as Sloane looked up from the young man's embrace with an expression of shock and utter reliance. He had heard their intimate exchange.

So... they already knew each other.

At that moment, Dean Quinton and Professor Harrison hurried over, asking with concern, "Is everything alright?"

"It's nothing," Josh replied, shrugging off his ruined suit jacket and tossing it casually over his forearm. He looked at his mentor. "Her dress got a bit stained. I'm going to take her to get it cleaned up."

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