Fireworks suddenly burst across the night sky.
Every couple in the restaurant shared brighter smiles.
Except me, sitting alone.
Whether it was the proposal five years ago or tonight’s reconciliation attempt, I always ended up abandoned here.
My phone buzzed with a message.
Opening it, I could practically see Holly’s smug, triumphant expression between the lines.
“Sophie, he chose me again!”
The video she sent showed Lucas shielding her, fighting the men who had pressured her to drink.
I remembered what Holly had told me when leaving the studio that afternoon.
“He’ll apologize to you tonight, but don’t worry, he’ll still take my side.”
“He’ll always choose me.”
I won’t lie – when Lucas apologized earlier, my resolve had wavered.
I’d thought that if he could really change, I’d give him one last chance.
But sadly, he couldn’t even do that.
—
Two days later, I went to apply for my international visa.
After finishing the paperwork, I took the ring to visit Aunt Larson at the nursing home.
I’d been there several times.
During my previous visits, she hadn’t been lucid enough to recognize me.
Fortunately this time, her mind was clear, and she called me “little Sophie.”
I told her about recent events and why I’d come.
Aunt Larson held the ring, staying silent for a long while.
She looked up with sadness in her eyes.
“When you were children, you were always together. Lucas would tell me he wanted to marry you when he grew up. Later, he begged me to arrange the marriage with your mother. I thought your love would blossom and bear fruit, but instead, it wasted so many years of your life. I’m so sorry, dear.”
“Lucas has wronged you too.”
My eyes welled up with tears as I shook my head.
“Lucas taught me what love feels like, and also that you can’t force someone to love you.”
“Aunt Larson, this is my choice.”
She tore up the wedding invitation, handed the ring back to me, and said, “Sophie, I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
—
About two weeks later, I successfully got my visa.
I boarded my flight to Italy.
I was still wearing the engagement ring.
As the cabin door closed, I couldn’t resist raising my phone to capture the sunset.
Aiming my camera at the window, I caught sight of an impossible figure.
Lucas.
