After 999 Nights, He Said We Were Never Together Chapter 25

After 999 Nights, He Said We Were Never Together Chapter 25

Winter loosened its hold, and warmth returned with spring.

The Whitfields received an update from their attorney in the United States.

After the initial proceedings, appeals, and final judgment, the court confirmed that Isabelle Monroe had

solicited the crime. She was convicted and sentenced according to law.

For the victim, knowing the person responsible had received her punishment was the best comfort possible.

The news arrived on Thomas’s birthday.

Helen cooked an enormous dinner herself, and the family of three raised their glasses in celebration.

They had lived in Spain for nearly six months, and Sophie had grown accustomed to life there.

Some things were still inconvenient, but discovering something new and interesting around each unfamiliar

corner had become its own pleasure.

She had made many friends and slowly found the direction she wanted to pursue.

On such a happy day, she announced an important decision to her family.

“Dad, Mom, I’ve decided. I’m forming a band with my friends, and I’ll be the guitarist. We’ve already written our first song, and we’re performing in public next week. On behalf of the entire band, I’m formally inviting

both of you to the show.”

Thomas came from a family of musicians. Hearing that his daughter had chosen music filled him with

excitement.

“That’s wonderful, Sophie. If you run into any problem while writing, ask me. I’ll teach you everything I know

and support your dream completely.”

Helen applauded, pride and relief shining in her eyes.

“Your father has always hoped you might continue his musical legacy. But you’re young, and your future

holds endless possibilities. We never wanted to choose your life for you, so we didn’t say anything. Now that

you’ve found this path yourself, walk it with confidence. Your father and I will always support you.”

Their trust was more than Sophie could have asked for.

For the next several weeks, she practiced until after midnight every day in preparation for the performance.

On the day before the show, she came home early so she would be rested.

The evening sky blazed with color, and the breeze was gentle.

Sophie stepped out of the car with her guitar on her back.

When she looked up, she saw someone she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Two months had changed Ryan again. He looked thinner and more exhausted, his eyes sunken and his complexion gray beneath a permanent shadow.

Sophie didn’t recognize him at first.

Only his voice made her realize who he was.

“Sophie. It’s been a long time. Have you been well?”

The moment the question left his mouth, Ryan understood how unnecessary it was.

The lively face before him, bright with a smile, looked almost exactly as it had when she was eighteen.

She was doing well.

Unlike him, she hadn’t drowned beneath endless guilt and regret.

The truth was visible in her eyes.

She no longer looked at him with deliberate coldness or made an effort to ignore him.

There was only the calm indifference she would offer a stranger.

She had truly let go of everything.

Love, hatred, resentment, humiliation, and anger all belonged to the past.

She glanced at him lightly.

“Very well.”

When she started to walk away, panic seized Ryan. He raised the letters he had carried so carefully and held

them in front of her.

“Sophie, I found the letters you wrote to me when you were nineteen. Back then, you…”

The yellowing pages stirred a faint movement in Sophie’s sealed memories.

But after a brief moment of surprise, one sentence made her position clear.

“That was then. This is now.”

“But you wrote that if I cared for you at all, if I loved you even a little, you would wait forever. You’re the only person in my heart now. Please give me one more chance.”

By the final words, Ryan’s voice had broken.

Sophie didn’t answer.

She simply reached out and took the letters.

Then, beneath his disbelieving stare, she tore the pages filled with years of memory into pieces.

“There. Now everything is erased. There is nothing connecting us anymore. Please don’t come here again.”

She lifted her hand.

The fragments scattered like snow and vanished into the wind.

Sophie didn’t look at Ryan’s face. She walked quickly toward the house.

The door closed behind her as dusk deepened and the garden lights came on one by one.

Warm gold light fell over the flowering crabapple tree in full bloom. Its branches swayed in the evening

breeze.

Gentle piano music drifted from the living room.

The cheerful rhythm made Sophie’s steps lighter.

“You’re home,” Helen called warmly. “Are you ready for tomorrow’s performance?”

Sophie set down her guitar and joined her parents, excitement in her voice.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

They would see her step onto a new stage.

And welcome the brilliant future that belonged to her alone.