Anna was just about to reach the café when familiar voices floated through the evening air.
“Forget the anniversary party,” murmured Ethan close to the ear of Anna’s closest friend, Claire, his tone low and teasing. “Come over to my place. Or yours. Anna’s not coming back anyway,” he added with a smirk.
Claire hesitated. “Sure, I’ll come to you… but when Anna returns, what then? Climb through a window?”
Ethan laughed softly. “No need for windows,” he said confidently, sliding his arm around Claire’s waist. “If you agree, I’ll show Anna the door.”
Anna didn’t wait to hear more. She knew Claire well—free-spirited and unpredictable. But Ethan… They’d been together for three years. She had been waiting for a proposal that never came. They’d been living in Ethan’s newly bought apartment for a year—mortgaged, under renovation. Expenses were high, so Anna covered most of the bills. She thought the wedding was just a formality.
Suddenly, everything became clear. It was all a lie. They’d never have a real family. For that role, he’d find someone else. She was just a convenient companion during tough financial times.
Six months earlier, Anna’s mother had passed away. Even then, Ethan’s coldness surprised her. He hadn’t attended the funeral or helped with arrangements. He had said bluntly:
“Sell something. You know I’ve got the mortgage and repairs to pay for. Maybe your family can lend us money. When the house sells, you can pay it back.” His words felt like a stranger’s, as if she was just a creditor.
The sting of that phrase hurt deeply, but Anna excused him—he’d chosen his words poorly. Ethan was not a man of many words. She liked his quietness. “He keeps everything inside,” she told her friends proudly. “He won’t betray or hurt me. You have to be skilled to cheat on someone.” They laughed. Claire laughed too.
Not knowing what to do next, Anna frantically waved down 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. Ethan.
“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, Anna calmed down and realized she hadn’t given the driver an address.
“Where are we going?” she asked cautiously.
“Home,” came the reply. But Anna 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,” Anna whispered fiercely, a sudden will to live igniting inside her. She wouldn’t give up. She would fight.
“Don’t be foolish, Anna,” the driver said calmly. They had arrived.
Anna 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…” Anna 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.”
Anna 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.”