After 999 Nights, He Said We Were Never Together Chapter 02

After 999 Nights, He Said We Were Never Together Chapter 02

The next morning, Sophie woke to a flood of messages from Ryan.

He had sent dozens, all asking when she was coming over.

Bitterness twisted through her.

Ryan Blackwood, did you have any idea how cruel you were?

Her hand trembled as she typed a reply.

[I’m not feeling well. I’m not coming.]

A few minutes later, her parents knocked on the door.

“Sophie, even if you and Ryan had a disagreement, this isn’t the time to refuse him. Get dressed and go to his house. You have no idea how seriously he’s taking this meeting. He’s liked the Monroe girl for years. The moment he heard she’d come back from Europe, he asked your father to help reconnect them.”

Helen continued, “Isabelle studied piano with me for a while. I had to visit the Monroes personally to arrange this. Everything, from the gifts to the dinner, is being handled very formally. Ryan asked you to come so the atmosphere would feel more relaxed. Isabelle won’t be as uncomfortable if there’s another woman her age there. He’s serious about her this time, and you two are so close. How could you not help him?”

Ryan had actually called Sophie’s parents when she refused to go.

Listening to their earnest persuasion, Sophie could only force back her tears, wash up, and go downstairs.

The two families lived close to each other. Ten minutes later, she stood inside the Blackwood entryway and opened the storage cabinet.

It was empty.

Her rabbit slippers were gone.

She searched everywhere before finally finding them in the trash bin outside.

Her cup was there too.

Her toothbrush.

Her towel.

Her pajamas.

Everything belonged to her.

“Miss Whitfield, Mr. Blackwood asked us to clear those things out,” a housekeeper said. “Please use the guest slippers for now.”

Sophie stared at the trash for a long time without speaking.

The Whitfields and Blackwoods had been close for years. She came over almost every day and sometimes stayed the night.

Ryan had prepared a bedroom specifically for her and filled it with daily necessities, all decorated with the little rabbits she loved.

He had told her the Blackwood house was her home too.

They had hidden their intimacy from both families. They kissed at the front door, linked fingers under the dining table, and made love in the study.

Now Isabelle was back.

Ryan was afraid the girl he loved might misunderstand, so he had thrown away every trace of Sophie.

It took her a long time to steady herself. Then she put on the guest slippers and walked inside.

Ryan sat on the sofa, cutting fruit for Isabelle. The two of them laughed easily together.

He wore a perfectly tailored dark suit. His hair had been carefully styled, and a faint trace of cologne clung to him, making him look polished and distant.

Back in school, Sophie had often heard girls say Ryan could turn heads in an old T-shirt. If he ever truly dressed up, even Hollywood actors would struggle to compete.

But Ryan had always been careless and rebellious. He usually wore simple T-shirts and button-downs and rarely bothered with his appearance.

So he did make an effort for the woman he loved.

The man who had tangled with Sophie in bed only yesterday now looked through her as though they were strangers. He spared her one glance before returning all his attention to Isabelle.

They talked about everything. Hobbies, weather, work, jewelry brands, childhood memories, and their school years.

Watching Ryan constantly search for new things to discuss, Sophie lowered her eyes with a self-mocking smile.

So he could be this eager when he was with someone he truly liked.

“It was funny in high school,” Isabelle said with a laugh. “You were a year ahead of me, and we weren’t even in the same building, but we kept running into each other. Maybe it was fate.”

Sophie saw the tips of Ryan’s ears turn red and smiled silently.

Fate?

Every one of those encounters had been arranged by Ryan.

Back then, Sophie had followed behind him and watched him use every trick he knew to get closer to the girl he loved. It had hurt even then.

When Isabelle moved overseas, Sophie thought her own chance had finally come.

Now she understood.

Ryan was the one whose wish had come true.

Lost in thought, Sophie suddenly heard her name.

“I heard in high school that you had a close friend you’d grown up with,” Isabelle said. “That must be Miss Whitfield, right?”

Sophie looked up and found Isabelle watching her with a probing expression.

Before she could answer, Ryan’s parents, Richard and Grace Blackwood, laughed and joined in.

“They’ve always been extremely close. They were nearly inseparable as children. We even used to think we might set them up once they were older…”

Ryan’s face darkened before they could finish.

“Mom, Dad, stop making things up. I could fall for anyone in the world before I’d fall for Sophie Whitfield.”

Sophie lowered her gaze to hide the hurt in her eyes and forced a smile.

“Same here. I could date anyone, but never Ryan Blackwood.”

Ryan’s expression froze for a fraction of a second, then returned to normal.

He slung an arm across Sophie’s shoulders the way he would with an old friend and said carelessly, “Exactly. We’re just friends.”

The tension in the room eased at once.

Sophie laughed along with everyone else. Through the noise, she heard Ryan murmur with obvious relief,

“Nice save. Thanks.”

She said nothing.

She merely shifted a few steps away, quietly putting distance between them.

A save?

No.

She had meant every word.