Emily was just steps away from the café when she overheard familiar voices.
“Forget this anniversary nonsense,” murmured Jake close to the ear of Emily’s best friend, Sarah, his tone low and coaxing. “Come over to my place. Or yours. Emily won’t be back, anyway,” he added with a smug chuckle.
Sarah hesitated. “Sure, I’ll come to you… but when Emily returns, what then? Climb through a window?”
Jake laughed softly. “No need for windows,” he said confidently, slipping his arm around Sarah’s waist. “If you say yes, I’ll make sure Emily takes the hint.”
Emily didn’t wait to hear more. She knew Sarah well—free-spirited and unpredictable. But Jake… They’d been together three years. She’d been waiting for a proposal that never came. They’d lived in Jake’s new apartment for a year now—mortgaged and under renovation. Expenses were piling up, and Emily bore most of the household costs. She’d believed the wedding was just a formality.
Suddenly, everything became painfully clear. It was all a facade. They’d never be a real family. For that role, he’d choose someone else. She was just a convenient companion during tough financial times.
Six months earlier, Emily’s mother had passed away. Even then, Jake’s coldness shocked her. He hadn’t come to the funeral or helped with the arrangements. He’d said bluntly:
“Sell something. You know I’ve got the mortgage and the renovation to pay for. Maybe your family can lend us money. When the house sells, you’ll pay it back.” His words felt like those of a stranger, as if she were a mere creditor.
The sting of that phrase cut deep, but Emily excused him—he’d chosen his words poorly. Jake wasn’t a man of many words. She liked his quiet nature. “He keeps everything inside,” she told her friends proudly. “He won’t betray or hurt me. Cheating takes skill.” They laughed. Sarah laughed too.
Not knowing what to do next, Emily frantically hailed a passing taxi. The car stopped; she slipped in as unnoticed as possible, feeling watched. She tapped the driver’s shoulder urgently.
“Faster, please.”
Before she’d traveled far, her phone lit up with a call. Jake.
“Where are you? I’m here alone, everyone’s asking about you. You should’ve been back by now. Did something happen?” She ignored the call and threw the phone out the window, then burst into tears—like a child losing a treasured toy. She cried hard, bitterly, wailing softly.
The car kept moving. Slowly, Emily calmed down and realized she hadn’t given the driver an address.
“Where are we going?” she asked cautiously.
“Home,” came the reply. But Emily saw they were speeding down a lonely country road.
“Home where?”
“Want me to say the address?” The driver’s tone was rough, almost mocking.
“Stop the car! Now!” she screamed.
“In the middle of nowhere?” He laughed. “What are you going to do here?”
“I’m calling the police!” she said, grasping at straws. But then she remembered she’d thrown away her phone. She’d told a stranger everything—now he knew she was alone. He could leave her stranded in the woods; no one would miss her.
She tried to jump out while the car was moving and even fumbled for the door handle, but darkness and trembling hands betrayed her. Defeated, she slumped back and wept quietly—resigned.
Maybe this was her fate—to be killed by some madman, to escape pain and betrayal.
Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. The driver got out silently.
“Get out.”
“I won’t,” Emily whispered fiercely, a sudden will to live igniting inside her. She wouldn’t give up. She would fight.
“Don’t be foolish, Em,” the driver said calmly. They had arrived.
Emily looked up, meeting the driver’s face for the first time.
“Sam?” she breathed.
“Who else?” Sam smiled warmly, the same familiar laugh she remembered from school days. Memories flickered—he’d left town after graduation and apparently made a career elsewhere.
“You’re a taxi driver now?” she asked skeptically.
Sam chuckled. “Not exactly.”
“Then why did you pick me up?”
“You were waving like you wanted to throw yourself under the wheels.”
“I was…” Emily tried to explain.
“I know everything,” Sam said, wrapping her in a comforting hug. “This trip was a blessing. You’ve never been this honest before.”
Emily laughed, feeling a lightness she hadn’t known in ages. She stood on the doorstep of her home.
“I came because of you,” Sam said softly, his large hand gently playing with her fingers. “Good thing you never married him.”