Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2957

It was already noon when Sylvia arrived in C City. As she drew closer to the Jarvis residence, hesitation crept over her once again.

She pulled her car over to the roadside for a moment. After pausing, Sylvia started the engine, made a U-turn, and drove instead toward the old town.

Nearly two hours later, she reached the small town on the outskirts. After parking her car, she continued on foot.

Though it wasn’t a holiday, the old town was still lively with visitors—mostly young people, some with backpacks, others carrying cameras, all wandering through the winding streets.

Nestled between mountains and rivers, the town stayed cool and refreshing, even in the height of summer. Sylvia found a clean little restaurant and had her lunch.

Afterward, she followed the familiar cobblestone path toward a small alley she knew well.

The alley was quiet and deep in the afternoon light. In the shifting shadows, a cat darted across the top of a wall. A flower petal drifted down, landing on moss in a corner, speckled with sunlight.

Tucked away in the alley was an unremarkable bookstore. In the backyard, a rosebush stretched its blooms over the crimson tiles, its faint fragrance mingling with the unique scent of the old alley, carried through the golden sunlight of the afternoon.

The bookstore’s door was half open. Sylvia pushed it and stepped inside. It was just as peaceful as she remembered, with only a few people quietly reading at small tables.

The girl tending the shop was arranging books on a shelf. When she heard someone enter, she turned with a bright, welcoming smile. “Welcome!”

She caught sight of Sylvia, her eyes widening in surprise and delight. “It’s you!”

Sylvia returned her smile. “Long time no see.”

The girl wore light blue denim overalls and round, black-rimmed glasses. With her youthful, friendly face, she was instantly approachable. Climbing down from the wooden ladder, she walked over to Sylvia with an easy, familiar grin. “I knew you’d come back!”

Sylvia gave her a puzzled look. “Why?”

The girl shrugged, her eyes sparkling. “Hard to say. Just a feeling, I guess.”

She glanced behind Sylvia. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

Maybe because both Sylvia and her boyfriend had stood out so much, she remembered them clearly.

Sylvia’s lips curved warmly. “He had something to take care of.”

One night, he came into her room, brought some medicine, and carefully applied it to her injured leg. He asked, “Do you regret following me?”

The room was dark. She was curled up under the covers, while his tall figure loomed like a mountain before her.

She looked at him, answering with quiet determination, “I don’t regret it.”

In the darkness, he said to her, “If you hold on to that resolve—not to regret—your life will have direction. Every hardship will become the foundation for your ideals. With that mindset, things won’t seem so bitter.”

At the time, she only half understood, nodding with a hint of confusion in her gaze.

But because of those words, she kept searching for her ideal and the direction for her life. For a while, she even thought her ideal was to become the most outstanding person at his side.

But later, she realized there were so many brilliant people around him. No matter how well she did, she could never become the one who was truly unique in his eyes.

After all these years, does she really understand her own belief and ideals now?

Sylvia turned to look out the window. The sky she longed for—what did it really look like?