Chapter 1: The Woman in the Rain
I shared a taxi with a woman who couldn't stop talking about her married boyfriend — then she showed me his picture, and her phone landed face down on the floor.
It had been one of those exhausting days when all I wanted was to get home.
The rain was pouring, and every taxi in the city was booked.
When one finally pulled up, the driver asked if I'd mind sharing the ride with another passenger heading in the same direction.
I agreed.
The woman who climbed in beside me looked cheerful.
She apologized for talking so much...
Then she spent the next twenty minutes telling me all about the man she was hopelessly IN LOVE WITH.
"He says his marriage is basically OVER," she sighed.
"They're only together because it's complicated."
I forced a polite smile.
I'd heard stories like that before.
She laughed.
"He keeps promising that next month we'll finally be together."
Something about the way she said it made my stomach drop.
I tried changing the subject.
It didn't work.
She couldn't stop talking about him.
How thoughtful he was.
How successful.
How he never forgot flowers.
How he called EVERY NIGHT before bed.
Then she smiled and pulled out her phone.
"I know you'll think I'm CRAZY..."
She laughed.
"...
but isn't he handsome?"
She turned the SCREEN toward me.
Before I could really see the photo, the taxi hit a pothole.
Her phone SLIPPED from her hand and landed face down on the FLOOR.
She picked it up before I got a good look.
My heart finally slowed.
Maybe I was imagining things.
A few minutes later, we reached my street.
As I reached for my purse, she smiled.
"I've talked about him this whole ride..."
"What's your husband like?"
I smiled politely.
"We've been married for twelve years."
Her eyes lit up.
"OH?"
"What's his NAME?"
I hesitated for only a second.
Then I told her.
The smile disappeared from her face.
She didn't blink.
She didn't move.
For several long seconds...
She just STARED AT ME.
As if she'd SUDDENLY forgotten how to breathe.
Then, very quietly...
She reached back into her purse.
Pulled out her phone again.
Unlocked it.
Opened the same PHOTO.
This time...
She didn't show it to me.
She just looked at the screen...
Then back at me.
Her lips trembled.
Finally, barely above a whisper, she said:
"Oh...
I don't think either of us knows the WHOLE TRUTH."
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What did she see in that photo?
May you like
And what does she know that you don't?
Comment **"TRUTH"** if you want Part 2 — it's in the comments below.
