The day before Thanksgiving. I was on the Acela Express to Boston, ready to give my husband a surprise. The food cart rolled by. The girl across from me spoke at the same time I did. "No nuts, please!" We both froze for a second. Then we shared a smile. Her fiancé, she said, had a severe nut allergy. After all this time, she avoided them too. I smiled back and replied, "My husband's the same. Even a trace of nuts sends him straight to the ER." "Oh my god, exactly the same!" She pulled up her phone and leaned closer. "Look. When I order takeout for him, I always add a note in all caps. NO NUTS. Three times." I saw the note. And right below it—I saw the delivery information. Julian Vance. Pier 7, Seaport. Apartment 1803. The sandwich in my hand suddenly felt too hot to hold. Julian was my husband. Pier 7, Seaport, Apartment 1803. That was my destination. The train plunged into a shadow. The window reflected my pale face. She was still smiling. "Are you going to Boston too? Maybe our guys are colleagues." ... "Hey, you went quiet. Are you okay?" Chloe tilted her head, her eyes so innocently clear. "It's nothing," I said. My throat felt like it was closing up. "It's just... such a coincidence." "Right? I feel like we were meant to meet!" She grinned so hard her eyes crinkled. Then she poked at her fifteen-dollar train salad with disgust. "What is this? The lettuce is all wilted." "That's train food for you." I tried to keep my voice steady. "You'll have to make do." "No way." She shook her head, a pout in her voice. "It would kill my fiancé if he knew I was eating this." With that, she swiped open her phone again, shoving the screen in my face. "See? This is the French restaurant he took me to last Thursday. The bottle of wine alone was over a grand." I said nothing. I just looked down at the identical salad in front of me. Last Thursday. I had a 102 fever and drove myself to the clinic for an IV. My phone screen was blindingly bright. I texted Julian, asking for two thousand dollars for the medical bill. Three hours later, he sent a single reply. "In a meeting. Use your credit card. Don't bother me with petty stuff like this." So this was the meeting.
I looked down. My throat felt tight. It took me forever to get the words out. "He really goes all out for you." Chloe's smile got even sweeter. She looked completely smitten. "He just loves spending money on me. He gives me twenty thousand a month as an allowance. I tell him I can't spend it all, but he insists. He says he works his ass off just to make me happy." She cupped her chin and leaned closer. "So, what about your husband? How much does he give you a month?" I swallowed a mouthful of cold lettuce and said drily, "Five hundred." Chloe froze. Her eyes went wide as saucers. "Five hundred? What can you even do with five hundred dollars? Julian spent almost forty grand last month just taking me shopping." She didn't say anything else. Her eyes swept over me and stopped on my faded T-shirt. I knew that look in her eyes all too well. It was pity, mixed with a weird, awkward discomfort. I found that shirt at an outlet mall. Thirty-five dollars. I've had it for three years. Chloe seemed to sense how awkward things had just gotten. She quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, how did you and your husband meet? You should tell me the story."
Chloe dug a bag of organic dried fruit out of her purse and offered it to me. I recognized the brand. I'd picked it up and put it back on the shelf at Whole Foods more times than I can count. Every time I saw the price tag, I'd quietly walk away. "We were college classmates," I said. "Back then, he was so poor he couldn't even afford his textbooks. I worked two cafeteria jobs. Every penny I saved went to his tuition. We'd split a single cold sandwich for dinner. That was our meal." Chloe's eyes lit up. She looked genuinely moved. "Oh my god, that's amazing... You stuck with him through the absolute worst of it. So now he must worship the ground you walk on, right? Maybe not big on words, but grateful as hell? He must treat you like a queen." I turned to stare out the window, at the blur of scenery rushing past. My voice was flat. "No." I paused. "Now... he's probably tired of me."
Chloe was about to say something comforting, but her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and let out a little laugh. Then, she turned the screen towards me. "Look how cute my fiancé is." I stared at the two messages. 【Babe, wait for me right at the exit. Be good, don't wander off.】 【We're spending Thanksgiving together. I can't wait to see you.】 And I thought about the text Julian had sent me last night. A curt, dismissive message. Project's at a critical stage. Can't make it back for Thanksgiving. I had planned to surprise him. I was going to sneak up to Boston on the train. Now, it looked like the surprise was turning into a complete shock. I forced a smile. "Yeah. He's really into you." Chloe looked a little embarrassed. "He's insisting I move to Boston. He wants us to be together before the baby arrives."
My chest tightened, making every breath hurt. Julian and I had been together for seven years. I worked multiple jobs to support his startup. I ran myself into the ground. My body has never been the same since. In those seven years, I had three miscarriages. Last month, I finally got pregnant again. I was overjoyed. I showed him the test results. He told me to get rid of it. I froze. He put on this look of deep concern. He said my health was too poor. That the pregnancy would be a risk. He said we only needed each other. That we could stay child-free forever. I was so moved I could barely think. I actually believed he was doing it for me. Looking at the girl across from me, I finally got it. He already had another family. "Hey, you spaced out." Chloe's voice pulled me back to reality. "It's nothing." I forced a smile. "Your fiancé... he really loves you." "Yeah. He's gotten everything ready for me." She pulled out her phone again, showing me more photos. "This is the home he bought me last month. It's a waterfront condo in the Seaport. Killer view."
The photo showed a huge, bright living room overlooking the Boston Harbor. But my eyes locked on the date the photo was taken. It was from last month. That was when my handmade jewelry business was falling apart. My cash flow had dried up. I was desperate. I had nowhere else to turn. For the first time in my life, I swallowed my pride. I begged Julian, crying, to lend me thirty thousand dollars. All I needed was to survive the month. I told him I'd pay him back as soon as my next collaboration advance came in. But he was so annoyed. So dismissive. "Where am I supposed to find spare company cash to fund your little hobby? I told you you weren't cut out for business. You should close up shop and stay home." I couldn't get that thirty thousand dollars. So my business—my baby for three years—had to be sold. I had to sell it off cheap to cover the debt. I locked myself in my room and cried all night. And I still kept making excuses for him. Telling myself his business was struggling. Telling myself I had to understand. But his company wasn't struggling at all. He was using that money to buy another woman a multimillion-dollar waterfront home.
Chloe was completely clueless, still gushing about her perfect life. "Did your husband buy you a house?" I twisted the cap off my water bottle and took a huge gulp. "No." Chloe frowned. "Your husband doesn't appreciate you. At all. That kind of man is completely selfish." She was furious on my behalf. "You're only with him because you're too nice and you put up with it. If it were me, I would've dumped him ages ago." I looked at her, so innocent and naive. It all felt so ridiculous. Julian had spoiled her into this clueless princess. With his own hands, he crushed my pride. He turned me into a bitter, paranoid mess, always bracing for the next blow. "You're right." I turned to the window. My voice was quiet. "I really shouldn't be with him anymore."
The train rolled on smoothly. Chloe must have sensed how uncomfortable I was. She tried to change the subject. "Do you like dogs?" "My fiancé got me a golden retriever. He's such a good boy." In the photo, she was holding a big, beautiful golden retriever. She was smiling brightly. A few young guys stood around them. They were all laughing and playing with the dog. "His partners and friends love him. They always ask me to bring him to their get-togethers." She covered her face, a little embarrassed. "They always joke around, calling me Mrs. Vance. But we're not even married yet." I stared hard at that photo. Chloe's happy laughter faded away. My hands started to shake again. The golden retriever had a small nick in its left ear. A scar from when he was a puppy. That was my dog. He was the only piece of my parents I had left. His name was Sunny. Three months ago, Sunny disappeared. I went into a total panic. I plastered the entire neighborhood with 'Lost Dog' flyers.
Julian even canceled his work. He spent two whole days with me, searching in the pouring rain. He watched me cry until I threw up. Then he pulled me into his arms like it broke his heart. "Eleanor, you still have me. I'll always be here for you." After losing Sunny, I fell apart for a while. I'd wander the streets alone late at night. The only way I could sleep was by taking a handful of antidepressants. Every night, Julian would set out a glass of warm water. He'd watch me take the pills. Then he'd sigh and say I was "too emotional." But Sunny was never lost. And the men in the photo, the ones calling Chloe "Mrs. Vance"... I knew them. They were Julian's business partners. His best friends. We had been together for seven years. He never once let me into his social circle. His excuse? The business world was too complicated. He was "protecting" me from it. Turns out, he had no problem introducing a partner to his friends. It just wasn't me.
Bzzz... Bzzz... On the table, Chloe's phone buzzed again. "It's my fiancé!" She answered happily and hit the speakerphone button. "Babe, where are you?" Julian's voice came through the phone, crystal clear. I held my breath. I didn't dare make a sound. "Almost at the next stop, I think." Chloe whined into the phone. "This train salad is disgusting. I'm starving." "Don't worry. When you get here, I'll take you to that Italian place you love in the North End. I already made a reservation." Julian's voice was syrup-sweet. "It's windy out. Remember to put on your coat when you get off. Don't catch a cold." "Okay, okay, you're so fussy. I'll see you soon." Chloe hung up with a playful huff. The train car fell quiet again. And right at that moment, my own phone screen lit up. A text. It was from him, too. 【Project's crazy busy. Don't text me unless it's urgent. I won't have time to check.】
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