Welcome back to Jealous or Justified, Beautiful Machine’s thought-provoking and always unpredictable column where readers bring us their dilemmas, and we turn to you—our intelligent, open-minded audience—to help decide: are they being reasonable… or is something deeper at play?

This week, we’ve received one of the most unique, challenging letters in the history of this column. It’s intimate, complex, and layered in ways most of us will never experience—but still, it touches on universal themes of boundaries, respect, and the right to one’s body.

Let’s dive in.

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We met on a dating app and hit it off instantly. We both loved traveling, trying new foods, and staying up late talking about places we wanted to see. We FaceTimed a lot—mostly because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being catfished. She thought it was funny, but she played along, showing me her face from every angle like a passport check.

After a few months, we were excited to meet in person. My work schedule was crazy, so I offered to buy her plane ticket. She was grateful and sweet, and everything felt right.

On the day she flew in, I waited for her at Gate 12, rehearsing how I’d greet her. Then the crowd parted, and there she was—rolling toward me in a wheelchair. I froze. She looked completely calm, like this was normal.

“Hey!” she said brightly. “Can you grab my luggage and push my chair?” Then she giggled.

I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t the wheelchair that shocked me—it was the fact that she never told me and led me to believe otherwise. After all the long calls and FaceTimes, she hid something so important.

I felt tricked and played, left standing there in the middle of the airport, wondering if I would be wrong for turning around and walking away.

Now I need help from the readers of Beautiful Machine Magazine. Am I justified in feeling this way, or am I wrong for being hurt and confused by what she didn’t tell me?

Would you have stayed, or would you have walked away?