After work the next day, Anna pulled into her driveway and noticed something unusual on her front porch. She kept driving into her garage behind her house, closed up the garage, and walked around front to see what it was.As she turned the corner, she noticed flowers, a large arrangement of spring colors arranged in a basket display.She trembled.'Alan wouldn't leave me flowers, would he? They must be from Ethan, but he agreed to give me space. They'd better not be from Alan,' she thought, looking around nervously to see if anyone was nearby. The street was empty.She took a deep breath and went closer to see who they were from, noticing a small envelope at the top. Inside was a small card with a floral watermark that read, 'Join me for another date, Anna? I promise we'll take things slow. --Ethan.'She didn't know which emotion she felt more strongly, the relief that Alan wasn't stalking her or the thrill of Ethan asking her out for another date. She smiled and brought the flowers in

Anna was excited as she got ready to head over to Ethan's farmhouse the next morning. She had heard a lot of talk about the materials Ethan had purchased for the renovations from people in the town, but because it was out in the country on several acres and the house was in the back obscured by trees, most people hadn't seen the results of the upgrades.She dressed casually, in a green t-shirt and comfortable jeans, dressing up the look with some of her favorite gold earrings and a necklace that she'd bought on one of the many shopping trips with Kelly.She gave Sammy one last pet, locked up the house, and went to her garage. She pulled out her car and looked into her rearview mirror to be sure her garage door closed. As she looked back toward the street ahead, she noticed a car driving by slowly.Instantly she recognized the light blue sedan driven by Alan Shangle, and her hands started shaking. Their eyes met as he passed, and his facial expression was as cold as stone.Anna took a d

Finally, the elevator stopped, so gently that Anna barely felt it. The doors in front of her slid open silently, revealing a slate-blue marble hallway decorated with lush greenery and a huge waterfall that seems to rain droplets from the sky. At first, Anna imagined that they'd stepped into the sunlight, because the hallway was lit with a warm, natural glow, but she realized that it must be some type of lighting."What … what is this?" Anna's voice hit the air as a whisper, out of breath from the shock of the sudden change of scenery."Good morning, Mr. Greenfield," said a woman walking by. "And hello, miss, it's so nice to see you here." She was a woman of about 50, with a warm, friendly smile that felt like that of Anna's own mother. She wore a well-tailored lavender suit that looked like silk."Hello," Anna managed to answer, smiling in amazement. She felt Ethan's touch move smoothly from her hand to the small of her back, where it warmed her as he led her forward."Hi, Louise. This

Anna awoke the next morning, her groggy eyes slowly opening in the morning light. Her hand reached to her side where normally she would give Sammy his first morning pet, but there was nothing beside her on the bed. She hazily thought of the dream she'd had the night before of a fabulous mansion and a handsome man, but as her eyes focused, she realized that her dream was indeed quite real.Her room certainly wasn't her own. The bed was huge with a cherry wood frame and luxurious green canopy, with a matching comforter and feather-soft sheets enveloping her body. She sat up and looked around, noticing the stunning detail of the wood trim on the walls, chic original artwork, and simple yet elegant furnishings in the room."Oh, my goodness," she said aloud to herself, with a twinge of anxiety growing in her chest. It was a feeling Anna experienced often in her life, feeling as though she had done something wrong or was going to get in trouble when she had done nothing to be anxious about.

"Hello?" The sound of Ethan's voice as he answered the phone made her heart flutter, but Anna was intent on breaking up with him. She couldn't live a secret life where she couldn't even confide in her best friend."Hi, Ethan," she said. "We need to talk.""Of course," he answered. "Would you like to meet somewhere?""No, no I need to say this all right now.""Need to say what? Anna, what's wrong?" Ethan asked."I can't date you anymore. I know this is sudden, and I'm so sorry," she blurted out."What … Why, Anna?""I just can't do this. I just can't. But you don't need to worry, I'll never reveal your secret to anyone," she said."I don't care about that, Anna," he said. "It's you I care about. What is the 'this' that you can't do?""This, this whole thing. I'm so sorry. I can't keep all this from my best friend, my parents. I just can't," said Anna."Anna, I never said that you couldn't …""I know. You thought I could handle this, but I just can't. I'm so sorry, Ethan," she said."The