The boy fell in love with a paralyzed girl in the countryside but did not know that the girl was…

The boy fell in love with a paralyzed girl in the countryside but did not know that the girl was…

Ethan had grown up in the same small countryside village all his life. The world beyond its rolling hills and narrow dirt paths was a mystery to him, but he didn’t mind. He enjoyed the simplicity—feeding animals at dawn, fixing fences under the summer sun, and sharing quiet dinners with his grandfather in their modest farmhouse.

One autumn afternoon, as he carried a basket of apples back from the orchard, he noticed a girl sitting under an old oak tree near the abandoned stone bridge. She was in a wheelchair, her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, and her eyes fixed on the distant horizon. She looked out of place—too elegant for the dusty countryside, yet there she was, alone.

Ethan hesitated but approached her. “Hi,” he said, holding up the basket. “Want an apple?”

She turned her head slowly. Her eyes—clear and striking—met his. “Thank you,” she said softly, taking one. Her hands were delicate, and her voice carried a kind of grace he’d rarely heard.

“Are you new here?” Ethan asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “I’m… visiting for a while.” She didn’t say more.

Over the next few days, Ethan kept seeing her in different quiet spots—near the lake, by the flower fields, always alone. Her name, he learned, was Anna. She was gentle but guarded, as if she carried stories she wasn’t ready to share.

Despite her wheelchair, Anna radiated strength. She didn’t complain or ask for help unless absolutely necessary. Ethan admired that. He found himself drawn to her—not just because she was beautiful, but because she seemed to hold an entire world inside her, a world he wanted to understand.

One evening, after helping her pick wildflowers, Ethan asked, “Do you like it here? Our village, I mean. It’s not very exciting.”

Anna smiled faintly. “It’s quiet here. I like quiet. In the city, people never stop rushing. Here, I can hear myself think.”

Ethan chuckled. “I’ve never even been to the city.”

Anna studied him for a moment. “Maybe that’s why you seem different. You’re… kind. Genuine.”

Ethan felt his face flush. “I just do what anyone would do.”

“Not everyone,” Anna murmured.

As the days turned into weeks, Ethan realized he was falling for her. It wasn’t sudden—it was in small moments: the way she laughed when he told clumsy jokes, the softness in her eyes when he pushed her wheelchair along the dirt path, the way she listened as if his words mattered.

Yet he noticed something strange. Occasionally, men in suits would appear at a distance, watching Anna from a black car parked on the edge of the village road. Whenever Ethan asked about them, Anna would change the subject.

One afternoon, under the same oak tree where they first met, Ethan finally said, “Anna, why are you really here?”

She hesitated. “I needed to escape,” she admitted. “I needed to be somewhere no one knew me.”

“Escape from what?”

Before she could answer, a voice called from behind them. “Miss, it’s time to go.”

A tall man in a formal suit stood by the road, waiting. Ethan frowned. “Who is that?”

Anna lowered her gaze. “Someone who works for my family.”

“Your family? Are they worried about you?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “But it’s more complicated than you think.”

That night, Ethan lay awake, staring at the wooden ceiling of his room. Who exactly was Anna? Why were men in suits following her? And why did she look so sad whenever they appeared?

He didn’t know it yet, but the truth about Anna would change everything.

Ethan couldn’t get Anna’s words—or the suited men—out of his head. By the next morning, he decided to confront her. He found her by the lake, her wheelchair parked close to the water’s edge, the breeze lifting strands of her hair.

“Anna,” he said, his voice firm but not harsh, “I care about you. But I don’t understand what’s going on. Who are you really?”

Anna looked at him for a long moment, then exhaled. “You deserve to know,” she said quietly. “I’m not just some girl visiting the countryside. My full name is Anna Whitford.”

Ethan froze. The name meant nothing to him. “Okay… should I know who that is?”

Her lips curved into a small, almost sad smile. “Probably not. But my family owns Whitford International. It’s one of the largest corporations in the country.”

Ethan blinked. “Wait… you’re… rich?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “Extremely. And ever since my accident—since I lost the ability to walk—my life has been… controlled. Every moment planned, every move monitored. My family wants to protect me, but it feels like a cage. I came here to breathe—to be someone other than the girl in the wheelchair that everyone pities or manipulates for money.”

Ethan stepped back slightly, processing. “So those men…”

“Bodyguards,” Anna said. “They think I can’t take care of myself, but I just wanted a few weeks of freedom. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

Ethan looked at her. “You thought I’d treat you differently if I knew?”

“Yes,” Anna whispered. “Everyone does.”

He knelt beside her, meeting her eyes. “Anna, I liked you before I knew any of this. You’re… you. That’s all that matters.”

For the first time, she looked like she might cry. “You don’t know how rare it is to hear that.”

That evening, things changed. As Ethan walked Anna back to the small cottage she had rented, the black car appeared again. One of the men stepped out. “Miss Whitford, your father insists you return home immediately. This… ‘trip’ has gone on long enough.”

Anna tensed. “I’m not ready to leave.”

“Ma’am, your safety is at risk.”

Ethan stepped forward. “She’s safe here.”

The man’s eyes flicked to him. “And who are you?”

“Someone who cares about her,” Ethan said.

“This isn’t your concern,” the man replied curtly. “Anna, please. Your father’s orders.”

Anna’s hands tightened on her wheelchair. “Tell him I’ll come back tomorrow. Just one more day.”

The man looked reluctant but finally nodded. “Tomorrow. Noon.”

That night, Anna and Ethan sat under the stars, knowing their time was running out.

“I don’t want to leave,” she admitted. “Here, I’m just Anna. There… I’m the Whitford heir. Everyone either pities me or wants something from me.”

Ethan reached for her hand. “You can come back. This doesn’t have to be goodbye forever.”

Anna searched his face. “Would you wait for someone like me? My world is… complicated.”

“I don’t care how complicated it is,” Ethan said. “You’re worth it.”

The next day, when the car arrived, Anna didn’t want to go, but she knew she had to. She turned to Ethan. “Promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t forget me. And don’t think this is the end.”

He smiled, though his chest felt heavy. “I couldn’t forget you if I tried.”

Months later, Ethan’s quiet life was interrupted when a sleek black car pulled up outside his farmhouse. A driver stepped out. “Mr. Ethan Carter?”

“Yes?”

“You’re requested in the city. By Miss Anna Whitford.”

When Ethan arrived, he was led into a towering glass building. Anna was there—still in her wheelchair, but with a different aura now: confident, radiant, and smiling.

“You came,” she said.

“Of course I came.”

She wheeled closer. “I told you I’d find you again.”

Behind her stood her father, a distinguished man with silver hair. “You’re the boy my daughter wouldn’t stop talking about,” he said. “I owe you thanks for taking care of her when she ran off.”

Ethan nodded awkwardly. “I didn’t do much.”

Anna smiled softly. “You did everything.”