The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 79

Garrison felt as if he had just taken a brutal punch straight to the jaw. He froze perfectly still.

He stared at her, his eyes slowly turning bloodshot as his chest heaved violently.

He tried to speak, but his throat felt as if it were caught in a vice. He couldn't squeeze out a single syllable.

Finally, he violently kicked the chair aside and forced out a shattered, agonizing sentence.

"You can forget about it.

"I will never sign the divorce papers."

*

The hallway was dead silent.

Garrison walked out of Sloane's room, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths to force down the blazing turbulence in his chest.

He turned to leave, but as he did, he noticed the light was still on in the Dean's office at the end of the hall. The warm orange glow spilled out from the crack beneath the door, stretching a long shadow across the floor.

Garrison paused and walked over.

Knock, knock, knock.

He rapped on the door.

"Come in," Dean Quinton called out.

Garrison pushed the door open. Inside, sitting across from Dean Quinton, was another man.

The man was sitting on the sofa, sipping tea. Hearing the door open, he looked up and offered a warm smile.

He looked to be in his fifties, dressed in a dark gray cashmere sweater. His hair was impeccably styled, with a few streaks of silver at the temples, but it didn't age him; instead, it lent him an air of graceful maturity. His features were handsome and kind, radiating a deep sense of composure and elegance.

Lawrence waved it off and picked up his teacup again, taking a slow sip.

"So, Professor, how is the investigation into the fire going?" Garrison asked, his tone shifting to concern.

"The fire department completed their preliminary inspection. They confirmed the origin point was near the emergency stairwell, and they're leaning toward spontaneous combustion of piled-up debris. However..."

"However what?"

Lawrence set his cup down, his expression turning solemn. "The security cameras suffered a malfunction exactly thirty minutes before the fire started. The lock on the emergency door was also broken. It should have been closed, but it was propped open, which is why the thick smoke spread so rapidly."

"Every single element looks like an accident, but when you put them all together..."

Garrison lowered his head, thinking for a second before finishing Lawrence's sentence.

"It doesn't look like an accident at all."