The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 48

"I didn't hit you because you ruined some damn birthday party!" Eleanor's voice trembled with sheer agitation, yet every word struck like iron. "I hit you for being utterly blind! I hit you because you've read so many books and worked as a doctor for years, yet you can't even distinguish the genuine from the fake in your own home!"

She raised the cane again, bringing it down hard against the floor tiles with a resounding thud.

"Do you just believe whatever people tell you? Someone puts on a pitiful act, squeezes out a few tears, and you buy it entirely? What exactly are your eyes for? What is your heart for?"

Eleanor finally turned around, the dim light casting deep shadows across her wrinkled but exceptionally sharp face.

Her eyes, having seen through decades of human nature, were now filled with profound disappointment and heartbreak. "Garrison, you are the eldest grandson of the Foster family, and I raised you myself! I taught you to be educated, I taught you the compassion of a doctor, and most importantly, I taught you to be a man of integrity who knows right from wrong! Look at how you behaved today!"

Garrison stood with his head bowed; the stinging in his back paled in comparison to the heavy blow of his grandmother's words.

"But in that moment... everyone was watching... I just wanted to..."

"Because everyone was watching?" Eleanor saw right through his pitiful excuse, letting out a cold scoff. "Let me tell you something! The more everyone points fingers and misunderstands her, the more you, as her husband, should stand directly in front of her! That isn't showing favoritism—that is the most basic duty of a husband!"

"But... Quinn really was... bleeding."

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