Chapter 1

512words2026-03-04 09:30

My in-laws,old-fashioned as they come,insisted Christmas had to be spent at their rural hometown for good luck in the new year.
Unable to get train tickets,we decided to drive.But when Nathan’s high school crush,Chloe Evans, heard about it and insisted on joining us.
She boldly claimed my front passenger seat:”Olivia,I get carsick.I have to sit up front.”

Nathan shot me a disdainful look.”It’s just a seat.Why are you so petty?”
My in-laws chimed in:”You’re older,Olivia.What’s the harm in letting Chloe have it?”
After arguing to no avail,I was forced to cram into the backseat with Mr.and Mrs.Carter.
At an interstate rest stop,Chloe spotted a stray dog and went full saint mode:
“This poor pup’s so pitiful!Let’s take it home!”
I shut it down:”Our car is already full. If we take a dog with us, we’ll be overloaded and won’t be able to drive on the road at all.”

Chloe gave Nathan a teary,pleading look.
Without hesitation,he turned on me:”Olivia,give up your spot for the dog.You can take an Uber.”
…
At the rest stop,Chloe,who’d muscled her way into our family trip,saw the stray dog and demanded we bring it along.

Despite my objection,she ignored me,batting her lashes at Nathan:
“Nathan,please,let’s save it!If we leave it here,it’ll freeze to death!”
“It’s so young—it hasn’t even had a chance to live.It shouldn’t die like this.”
As she spoke, she wrapped her scarf around the stray dog.
Nathan,all concern,grabbed my shawl from the car and draped it over her,comforting her like I wasn’t there:
“Don’t worry,we won’t abandon it. You’re already in a weak state. Take care of yourself and don’t catch a cold.”
Then he glared at me:”Olivia,where’s your compassion?”
“It might just be a stray to you,but it’s a living creature.”
“You’re just going to ignore it?Are you that heartless?”
I looked at the two of them with their overwhelming sense of compassion somewhat speechlessly. I had never said that I didn’t care about the stray dog, but they portrayed me as a heinous villain. And one of them was even my husband, with whom I had shared a bed for many years. Although I was angry, I still explained patiently,”If you really want to help,we can leave food for it.Or talk to the rest stop’s convenience store staff—give them some cash to look after it.Our car’s at capacity.Adding the dog would overload us,and we’d get stopped by highway patrol.”
I thought my reasoning was clear enough.
But I didn’t expect that as soon as I finished speaking, Chloe became unhappy.
“Olivia,I know you’re loaded,but how can you just dump this dog on store clerks?How do you know they’ll care for it properly?What if they take the money and neglect poor Shadow?”
In less than five minutes, she’d named the dog.
“How’s a tiny pup supposed to survive this winter?To you rich folks,is a dog’s life worth nothing?Not a life at all?You’re okay leaving it shivering out here alone?”
Her moral grandstanding was almost laughable.”You make a good point,”I said.
Then I changed the subject,”Why don’t you give up your seat for Shadow?”