**Broken Roses: A Love Drama of Anna and Simon**
Evelyn burst into her daughter’s flat at dawn, her footsteps echoing in the silent hall. Seeing Anna in the kitchen, face buried in her hands, shoulders trembling with tears, Evelyn froze.
“Annie, what’s happened?” Her voice quivered with worry.
Anna didn’t answer, just gasped between quiet sobs.
“Darling, is it the baby?” Evelyn pressed, her heart tightening with dread.
“No, Mum, the baby’s fine,” Anna whispered, wiping her wet cheeks.
“Then why are you crying like this?” Evelyn stepped closer, searching her daughter’s face.
Anna, unable to speak, thrust her phone forward with a choked cry:
“Mum—look!”
Evelyn took the phone with shaking hands, skimmed the message, and went still, as if struck by lightning.
Meanwhile, Simon, just back from a long work trip, quietly set his heavy bag down by the door of their home in Sussex. In his hands, he clutched a lush bouquet of red roses—Anna’s favourite. He’d dreamt of surprising her, imagined walking in, embracing her before she even knew he was home, breathing in the scent of her hair, kissing her like he hadn’t in months. Treading carefully, he stepped onto the porch—then froze at the sound of Evelyn’s voice from the kitchen.
“I’ve told you a hundred times, Annie—you deserve better! It’s time to break free, to end this! No more patience, no more silence! You *must* decide!” Evelyn’s tone was sharp, absolute. “He’s drained you, and you still pity him! This can’t go on, love—some things can’t wait. Trust me, it’s for the best!”
Simon felt the floor drop beneath him. The words burned like hot iron. Anna stayed silent—no denial, no defence—and that silence shattered him. Did she truly believe he wasn’t good enough? Had she been suffering all this time? The roses trembled in his grip. Instead of entering, he slipped his shoes back on, grabbed his bag, and shut the door behind him without a sound, leaving behind the home he’d thought was his.
His chest felt hollow, icy, like a winter wind had swept through him. He couldn’t believe Evelyn—someone he’d trusted—despised him so deeply. And Anna… if she’d already made her choice, he wouldn’t let her be the one to say goodbye. He loved her madly, but if she was unhappy, he’d let her go—for her sake.
Simon crashed at a mate’s place, lying awake all night, replaying Evelyn’s words. At dawn, heart heavy, he texted Anna: *”I’ve fallen for someone else. Don’t wait for me. Be happy. Goodbye.”* Sending it felt like severing something inside. He boarded the first train to London, determined to bury the past.
There, Simon changed his number, deleted every photo of Anna, and threw himself into work as a bus driver, renting a tiny flat and collapsing into bed each night to escape his thoughts. Days, weeks, months blurred together.
Anna, jolted awake by the message, couldn’t believe her eyes. She reread it again and again, tears streaming. She’d counted the days until Simon’s return—only for him to betray her. When Evelyn found her weeping the next morning, she rushed over, frantic.
“Annie, what’s wrong? Is it the baby?”
“No, Mum,” Anna sniffled, handing her the phone.
Evelyn read aloud:
*”I’ve fallen for someone else. Don’t wait for me. Be happy. Goodbye.”*
She gasped, clutching her chest.
“Mum, why would he do this?” Anna wept. “He found someone else while he was away! And I—I’m alone. How do I go on? Our baby—he wanted this so badly, and now he’s left us!”
“Don’t you dare say that,” Evelyn said firmly, wrapping her in a hug. “You have *everything* to live for. You’ll be a mother soon—that’s your joy, your purpose. We’ll manage; I’ll help. And *he*… he isn’t worth these tears.”
Her mother’s words soothed Anna slightly. She still loved Simon, but locked those feelings away, hoping he’d return one day. Soon, she gave birth to a healthy boy, naming him Oliver. He was Simon’s double—same eyes, same fair curls. Anna often murmured to him,
“Oliver Simon, my little one, are you hungry?”
Oliver grew bright and cheerful, filling Anna’s days with light. When he turned three, she took him to London to visit her friend Louise, who’d long invited them. Days later, they rode a bus to the zoo—where Anna spotted *him* at the wheel.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“Simon!” slipped out before she could stop it.
He turned, their eyes meeting—just for a second, the world stopped.
“Hello, Anna,” he managed, voice quiet.
He didn’t notice Oliver at first. A bitter ache twisted in his chest—had she had a child with someone else? They’d dreamed of this… Then Oliver looked up and asked,
“Mum, who’s that?”
“That’s your dad,” Anna said loudly, tugging Oliver off the bus before Simon could react.
Simon stiffened. *”Your dad.”* The words echoed. He couldn’t breathe. Apologising to passengers, he stopped the bus and sprinted after her, catching her arm.
“Is it true? He’s mine?”
Anna nodded, eyes glistening.
“I never lied to you. Go—they’re waiting,” she said, nodding toward the bus.
Simon knew this wasn’t the place, but he couldn’t let her leave.
“Meet me here tonight—nine o’clock. *Please*.”
At the zoo, Anna couldn’t focus. His shock haunted her. Did he really think she’d move on so quickly? Logic said to walk away, but her heart pulled her back. That evening, leaving Oliver with Louise, she returned.
Simon waited under drizzling rain, umbrella in hand. Spotting her, he rushed over, shielding her.
“Let’s talk in there,” he said, nodding to a nearby café.
Over tea, silence hung thick until Simon finally spoke:
“That boy… he’s really mine?”
“Yes,” Anna whispered. “When you left, I was pregnant. I waited for you, wanted to share the news—but you didn’t give me the chance.”
“I was there,” Simon admitted roughly. “I heard everything.”
“Heard what?”
“I came home early, roses in hand. Then I heard your mum telling you to leave me. Saying I’d worn you down, that you deserved better. You didn’t argue. I thought you’d already decided—that I wasn’t enough. So I sent that text. But there was never anyone else. *Only you.*”
Anna stared, tears falling.
“You got it all wrong!” she cried. “We weren’t talking about you—it was my *boss*! Remember James Whittaker? He made my life hell, overworked me, humiliated me. Mum begged me to quit before the pregnancy was too far along. I loved you then, I love you *now*—but you left before I could explain!”
Simon reeled. How could he have misread it so badly? Anna stood to leave, but he grabbed her wrist, pulled her close—and kissed her.
From that day on, they never parted again, raising Oliver together with all the love he deserved. That awful moment became their lesson: never assume, never run—always *listen*.
