HANDICAPPED GOD OF WAR

Episode2

Lucas sat in his wheelchair, feeling the weight of Claire's despair as she paced the room, her anguish palpable. He knew he had caused her so much pain, but he was trapped in a situation where revealing the truth could put her in even greater danger.

"Claire," he began softly, trying to reach out to her with his voice, "knowing too much… it won’t help you. It could put you in harm's way."

Claire stopped pacing, her eyes wide with frustration and pain. "Harm’s way? You think that’s comforting?" she cried out, her voice breaking. "Do you have any idea what people are saying about us? There are rumors everywhere, Lucas! They say you’re using my money to support a mistress! And here I am, standing by you like a fool, while everyone laughs behind my back!"

Lucas felt as if a knife had been driven into his heart. Hearing her pain, knowing he was the cause, was unbearable. "Claire, please…" he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "You’re my wife. I never wanted this for you. I want to protect you, to keep you safe—"

"Protect me?" Claire interrupted, her voice trembling with anger and sorrow. "You’re not protecting me, Lucas. You’re making me look like a fool! What kind of husband disappears for days, spends all our money, and then tells his wife she doesn’t need to know why?"

Lucas reached out to her, desperation in his eyes. "It’s not what you think," he said, his voice pleading. "I’m not… I would never do anything to hurt you like that. You have to believe me."

Claire took a step back, shaking her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "How can I believe you, Lucas? You’ve left me in the dark for three years! Do you know what that feels like? To wonder where you are, what you’re doing, and why you’re keeping secrets from me? To hear people whispering behind my back that my husband is living off of me like some parasite? It’s humiliating!"

Lucas’s hands tightened on the arms of his wheelchair, his knuckles white with the strain. "You don’t understand," he said, his voice low and pained. "I’m doing this for us, for you. There are things I can’t tell you—things that would put you in danger if you knew."

"Danger?" Claire echoed, her voice laced with bitterness. "What danger? The only danger I see is losing everything because I trusted you. A man who relies solely on me isn’t worthy of being my husband."

Her words cut deep, and Lucas could feel the weight of her disappointment pressing down on him. "Claire, I’m more than just this… this wheelchair," he said, trying to convey the depth of his feelings. "I’m still the man you married. I’m still fighting for you, even if you can’t see it."

Claire let out a bitter laugh, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "The man I married? The man I married wouldn’t disappear without a word, leaving me to fend off rumors and insults alone! The man I married wouldn’t make me feel like a fool!"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, delicate necklace, holding it up for Lucas to see. "This," she said, her voice trembling with emotion, "this belonged to the man I truly love. The man who saved me on the battlefield, who gave me this necklace before disappearing into the chaos. He was my hero. I’ve waited for him, held onto this necklace, hoping he’d return one day. But you… you could never be him."

Lucas stared at the necklace, his heart pounding in his chest. He recognized it instantly—it was identical to the one he had worn during the war, the one he had lost in the heat of battle. "Claire…" he began, his voice choked with emotion, "that man…"

"Isn’t you," Claire interrupted, her voice cold and final. "I could never love you, Lucas. Not when my heart belongs to someone else."

Lucas’s breath caught in his throat, the pain of her words hitting him like a physical blow. "You don’t mean that," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Claire, I’ve been fighting for you all this time. Everything I’ve done has been for you. Can’t you see that?"

Claire shook her head, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I don’t know who you are anymore, Lucas. You’re not the man I thought I married. You’ve kept me in the dark for so long, and now… now I don’t even recognize you."

Lucas felt his heart shatter as he realized the depth of her disillusionment. "I’m still here, Claire," he said, his voice breaking. "I’m still the same man. But I’ve been fighting battles you don’t know about. I’ve been trying to protect you, to keep you safe. Please, just give me a little more time. Let me prove to you that I’m still the man you fell in love with."

Claire looked at him, her expression torn between anger and sadness. "I don’t have any more time to give, Lucas," she said quietly. "If you can’t tell me the truth now, then we’re done. I can’t keep living like this."

Lucas stared at her, his mind racing. He wanted to tell her everything, to explain the truth behind his disappearances and the money he had spent. But he knew that revealing too much could put her in danger—danger she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

"Please," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. "Just trust me a little longer."

But Claire shook her head, her expression hardening. "No, Lucas. I’ve trusted you for three years, and all it’s brought me is pain. I deserve better than this. I deserve a husband who will stand by my side, not disappear into the night without a word."

Lucas could only sit there, devastated and powerless, as Claire turned away from him, clutching the necklace to her chest. The revelation that she had been waiting for him all this time, without even knowing it, only deepened the pain.

"Claire," he called out to her one last time, his voice trembling. "Please…"

But she didn’t turn back. "It’s too late, Lucas," she said softly, her voice filled with resignation. "You’ve already lost me."

As she walked away, leaving him alone in the study, Lucas felt the weight of his secrets crushing down on him. He had fought countless battles, faced death itself, but nothing had ever hurt as much as this—knowing that the woman he loved, the woman he had been fighting for, had lost all faith in him.